Brrr...

I think this won't be the first time we have mentioned that we are super happy to be heating with wood - not only the cost, which in our case is zero, but also having a super cozy warm place to get close to.  This January has been COLD!  We had -10 on our thermometer one morning recently and I was relieved when Jason returned from doing chores and assured us that all our animals had survived the night.  It's the kind of weather than eggs freeze before Jason gets around to collect them.  And where we have to replenish animal water several times; the other day by the time Jason got done the chores the ducks' swimming water was already frozen on top.  We've had some beautiful snow fall and stick around, and we did get in a few rounds of sledding, but I've been much more inclined to watch the weather from the comfort and warmth of our front room and the wood stove.  There is no doubt that snow transforms the world outside (as my dad noted upon seeing the first picture here, it can even make our turd corrals beautiful). But, while I don't really like admitting it, it is definitely true that my enjoyment of snow was much simpler and complete when I had no responsibilities other than to go out and play in it and when I got cold come in to warm hot chocolate, cookies and a mother who would take care of the wet, dirty stuff.  I'm that mother now! Our girls are in the complete enjoyment stage, though none of us have been super inclined to venture out on the really cold days. 

Our general lack of interest in spending hours of our day outside has opened up pockets of time for some winter tasks - those tasks that can sit on our to do list for years or never even get to the list but bug one or the other of us.  We have checked off two of them this week!  The first was cutting up a multitude of window blinds into garden tags that we salvaged from Martin House, a community-living house I was part of the year before Jason and I got married, before it was demolished this past year.  Anyone who needs a supply of garden tags please let us know - we have four boxes full!  Alida, especially, was very into this task and, as much as I was ready to never see another garden tag by the end, she was sad when the job was done.  The second was sorting all Jason's assorted collection of "metal bits."  There are no pictures of this job but we are equally glad that that one is done.  This job dates back to the tower demolition project and since that time Jason had amassed quite the collection of random pieces of metal, bent and straight nails, screws, etc...  We may be crazy to have spent time sorting it for keeping and recycling but Jason now has about a 5 gallon buckets worth of good nails and screws for various projects (especially perfect for kid projects, of which there is likely to be an increasing number).  And it put it into perspective when Jason reminded me that many years ago they would burn houses down before moving on to the next home site just so they could take the nails with them. 

So Jason is off for an ambitious round of errands, including several recycling spots, with Kali in tow and I'm enjoying some quiet moments while Alida rejuvenates herself with a nap!  I do love Tuesdays!  Alida and I spent my morning burst cooking up a delicious brunch.  I'm still feeling amazed at the meals we can come up with at the end of January without grocery shopping.  This morning's menu included purple potato crusted spinach ricotta quiche, garlic roasted sweet potatoes, chicken sausage, yellow grits and a fruit salad of Fruit Farm Lane peaches, strawberries and blueberries.  It was definitely the kind of meal I got full way before I wanted to.  And if any of us get hungry before dinner comes round there are pecans that I soaked and then dried in our new food dryer to snack on - yes, we have a new toy!  It is not replacing my solar food dryer but complementing it, enabling us to dry seeds more accurately and also do some food drying in the winter months when it is hard to get enough sun to finish things off.  Starting with pecans made sense since we have about 40 or so pounds of them right now due to a bulk sale that Koinonia Farms has on for the month of January and an order mix-up that landed us an extra box (that Jason and the girls opened before discovering they had sent it to us by mistake!).  No great loss - they are super pecans being grown by a community we are interested in supporting, even if that support didn't come in the form of getting amazing pecans from our investment!

Well, it's probably to revive the fire so it is nice and cozy when Kali and Jason return home.  Alida will likely rouse soon as she is at her magic 2 hour mark.  Before bundling her up for the nappy walk, she was reading one of her favorite books to herself. I was scurrying around trying to squeeze in just a few more small chores before heading out.  I was overhearing her "read" the book with almost 100% accuracy.  When she got to the end, I asked if she would read it again for me to record so she could listen to it when she was older.  She wanted to and here she is.  She was a little less accurate the second time, quite roochy because she had to pee, and a little silly towards the end because she was getting sleepy.  I also think it is funny that both Mr. and Mrs. Rogers are Mr. Rogers.  You can only imagine how many times Jason or I have read this book over the last number of weeks!