WORKDAY

So – after we left Staples on Friday, Mike and I drove on to the homestead. We had called Pete, our neighbor, and he agreed to plow out Dobson Road and our lane so that we could get in to the house. We were able to make it in and so did the Sears repair tech, who thinks he fixed the tv set. We’ll know for sure come May when we start keeping house again.

We laughed when we saw that the outhouse is now upside down. I haven’t used the place since the day I found the rattlers in there. This isn’t the first time it has tipped over, but it is the first time it landed on its roof. Checking our mousetraps, we found only two victims. I suppose there’s still 18 inches of snow there, though standing water at the clothesline indicates the ongoing thaw.

I have learned to start with the important stuff first, so I went to the vintage sewing room before I did anything else. I picked up a few more projects and odds and ends of this and that.

Then I set to work in earnest. As I undecorated the tree, I was so grateful that I streamlined my ornaments and my storage system. You know, I miss having a big “real” tree and putting up all my ornaments, but when it comes to putting them away, I’m glad I can do it quickly. And besides, the collection continues to grow in spite of me. I was reminded of family and friends as I worked.

Then I cleaned out the refrigerator so that we could turn it off. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it? One short sentence. But of course, even though it was basically bare, dressings and sauces, jams and jellies, ketchup and mustard -- it all adds up. We left nothing in the fridge or the freezer and turned it off. I also gathered open products from the pantry so that we can use it up during town time.

Mike hitched the 4-wheeler to the Dakota and we left before 3:00. Arriving back at the Clarkston house, I combined containers of like products so that I could fit the food into the refrigerator and freezer.

It felt like a day of real work.

BLESSINGS

I’m counting my blessings today – the way we should when we’re upset about something. Sometimes you just have to say: “For health, for food, for love and friends, for everything Thy Goodness sends, Father in Heaven we thank Thee” . . . because, of course, these are the important things in life. I have many blessings and I know it.

I’m telling you this because my laptop died Thursday night and I have been devastated. I knew it was coming. I noticed its tendency to be temperamental on October 23. Yes, I know the exact day because it was the day Spencer Hagen got married. Hallie tried to help at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. She advised me there was indeed something wrong with it. ”How can I go through all that set-up stuff again?” I asked, hardly keeping the frustration out of my voice. “Oh, they won’t give you a new one,” said my savvy daughter. “They’ll fix this one – and be prepared for it to take a long time.” So, I said I would deal with it after Christmas. Meanwhile I added more photos, more family history documents, an iPod, iTunes and music and personal spoken recordings, etc., etc. . . . The potential loss of some or all of that – which, yes, I should have backed up – is not as devastating to me as the loss of the laptop itself. In just a few month’s time it had become the center of my life. Maybe God is telling me something. . . (It was useful, even with the “God” stuff.)

So, yesterday (Friday) morning Mike and I took the laptop to Staples where the tech performed diagnostics and ascertained that the laptop is indeed dead. Only one option is available, he said, and that is to call HP and they will send me a box so that I can ship it to them for repair. No one locally can help, he said. No one can touch it. It must go back to HP.

“That was quick and painful,” said Mike as we exited the store. I guess I should add “still under warranty” to my list of things for which I am grateful. And I can also add that at least we have this big old desk model from which I can carry on, if I promise to turn off the “cap lock” key and return the printer to “photo” from “scan.” KW

A CHUKAR TALE

I recently read that Idaho Fish and Game will close the partridge season, including chukars, as of Saturday, January 10, because of low populations and stress conditions for the birds. Normally the season would have extended to the end of the month, I believe. This reminded me of an experience our friend Cris, my supervisor at the Industrial Commission, shared with us last summer. At that time she had just moved to a Clarkston Heights neighborhood on the other side of the golf course from our house. We have game birds in this area, including chukars.

One day Cris' dogs (Bubbies and Muffy) walked through some thick pampas grass disturbing two chukars that ran out squawking. Cris said this experience made her aware of the chukars in our area and she then began to enjoy watching them with their "chicken-like sounds and behaviors. Some days later, she cut back the pampas grass and discovered a chukar nest containing 16 eggs in the center of the plant. She stopped cutting immediately, hoping the mama chukar was still taking active care of the nest. She could see into the nest from her kitchen window, so she watched it for about two weeks but saw no activity. Her friend who works at Juvenile Corrections told the science teacher there about the nest, and he suggested she bring it to his classroom. After some additional lapse of time, the friend delivered the nest to the science teacher. Because it was a Friday, the teacher put the eggs into the refrigerator to hold them over the weekend. Unfortunately someone "adjusted" the refrigerator temperature that day so that on Monday it was noted that the food had frozen a bit – a little cold for the eggs as well. At that time the teacher cracked open an egg and determined it was fertilized, so he put the remaining eggs in an incubator and also involved the students in this experiment.

Cris put the whole thing out of her mind, thinking these eggs would not develop further. She has a soft heart toward all animals; I'm sure she was disappointed. But -- A few weeks later another egg was cracked open to reveal a moving chick. Though it was too early for the chick to survive, at least they knew the incubation would not be fruitless. Within a couple of weeks, the 14 remaining eggs all hatched – after all the adversity they had endured. Cris called them "cute little tiger-striped chicks" and compared them to chicken chicks except for the color. One chick died but the rest were all close to developing regular feathers at the time she wrote. I'm sharing here a few of the pictures she provided.

Cris recently updated her story for me: "We got to release four at the house here and the rest were released around juvenile corrections. I released them under the pampas grass and left chick feed and water. I think a cat got one, another was a bit skittish, but the other two would often be up by the front door and around the house. It wasn't long before they were wandering farther away and I lost track of them. I did see younger birds later and now adult birds and I wonder if any are the ones we released. When there was snow on the ground, I counted 14 chukar that would be under the camper pecking at the gravel. The dogs could see them from the back door. They would run out inside the gated area and cause quite a commotion with all the birds flying away clucking. I really enjoy watching them."

Mike said he has heard that the chukar population can come back quickly from low numbers because of their huge hatches. KW

HELPIN' SAVE WITH HOOVER

Media discussion of how to cope with the current recession put me in mind of this poem I found amongst my mother's memorabilia:

HELPIN' SAVE WITH HOOVER
by Ruth Collins Dixon

Maw's joined the Conservation league,
She's got the big idear
That she's to wallop Kaiser Bill
By cannin' things this year.
The way she screws the lid down grim,
You know she thinks she's cannin' him,
By helpin' save with Hoover.

Us kids is scared our hair'll curl,
We eaat so blamed much crust,
An' Fred's so fat from cleanin' plate
In two more months he'll bust,
Why, paw has learned to sit and scrape
Till t'other night he dug a grape
Off Maw's hand-painted salad plate,
A-helpin' save with Hoover.

Maw routed out her dahlia bed,
An's got a garden growin',
The hucksters drove on some of it
An' saved me that much hoein'.
Dad says the onions tasted queer,
An' Fred he grinned from ear to ear,
"Creamed dahlia bulbs is swell this year,"
We're helpin' save with Hoover.

But, gosh, I'd eat a pickled toad
To help out Uncle Sam;
Besides, he only wants the bread
An' leaves us kids the jam.
We'll save 'em all the sirloin steaks,
They kin have my pie and choklit cakes.
Maw says it's savin' stomach aches
A-helpin' save with Hoover.

MAKING A START

Today I treated myself to a shopping spree at Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought this fabric, "Floral Vine Embroidered Coffee Corduroy," to make my retro no-closure jacket. I hope I like the finished product. At any rate, I had a good time. I also purchased Christmas fabrics, some remnants for doll clothes and teddy bears, and some notions. And -- I remembered to take a fabric tote bag for my purchases. "You go girl!" said the associate. And -- I also cleaned all the plastic sacks out of my pantry and took them to Albertson's for recycling.

I do have to be careful about starting too many projects. In the first place, there's just so much I want to do. And then, I think it's a human failing -- wanting to start but never pushing to the finish. Maybe we just lose interest. Perhaps the project isn't as much fun as we had anticipated. Maybe we reach a "stumblingblock" -- a phase of the work that truly seems difficult or involves some sort of "real" work. Maybe it just isn't turning out as well as we had hoped or we fear failure. For whatever reason, some unfinished work falls into the life of the handicrafter. And sometimes making the start seems overwhelming. For instance, that doll dress I promised Mother I would make. That project says "heirloom" sewing, and my tendency is to put that off until I develop more skill. When do you think that will happen? KW

CELEBRATING ACCOMPLISHMENT

Yesterday (Friday, Jan. 2, 2009), "Honorary Aunt" Chris of Moscow finished a quilt and sent me the photo on the left. I think congratulations are in order. Chris says the reds, tans, and creams provide a warmer look for the room, appropriate for winter. She's "on a roll" now and moving on to finish another quilt -- a Christmas quilt, I believe -- so that she will feel better about starting some new projects. I so admire her discipline in these matters.

Inspired by Chris' example, I decided to organize some things I've started, need to finish, or want to start. I use the bed in "Hallie's" room to keep me focused. The bear I made the day before Christmas and just needs a few finishing touches. The scarf of scrap yarn will soon be finished. The afghan, made of 143 medallions (or something like that), will keep me busy for a while. (One of those things I wish I hadn't started.)

Our weather today is cold (27) but dry. Mike spent the morning in Lewiston while new tires were installed on the Dakota, a process involving some maintenance to the vehicle. And then he took the Christmas lights down. KW

PASSING WINTER EVENINGS ON THE FARM

The following was written by my dad's sister, Shirley, on January 14, 1934:

"This is such a strange winter – we had a skiff of snow Friday night, but today it is all gone and the ground quite soft though I believe not all the frost has gone out of it. It rained a bit yesterday up here and quite a little in town. People are surely sick of it, but it does help those who are too poor to have much heat, when it stays so warm. Seems colder tonight and is somewhat cloudy so it may snow.

"New Year's Eve the Harold Powells asked Henry, Myrtle [an older sister visiting for the holidays], and myself over for the evening and we had a most enjoyable time listening to their good radio and playing "Anagrams." They really are delightful people. We didn't come home till after 2 a.m. so we were somewhat sleepy at Aunt's the next day. She had the usual big dinner which everyone thoroughly enjoyed . . .

"Last Tuesday night we had a few people in for the evening: the Harold Powells, Jay Cordell and the teacher, Laura Bowdish, and Ed and Henry. Myrtle was very anxious to have "Pit" so we got a "Pit" deck and played that and "Anagrams." Had lunch about midnight and we might have tried some square dances, for we can get good music over the radio, but it was too late. We had a nice time and I think the folks did tho we did nothing so exciting."

Mike and I had hoped we could get into the farm today, but we called our neighbor who confirmed it was snowing and blowing and best not to try. It's hard for us Valley-ites to realize it's another world just a few miles away.