Robin Song

Another day crossed off the calendar! Five more days and I’ll not be crossing them out!

It is lunch time. Attila just arrived home for lunch, and headed out to the bush for firewood. I can hear the chain saw out there. Soon the wood he is cutting will be burning bright in the fireplace to keep us warm, for our noon firing. It was -17C last night, so the house is a little chilly. By this evening though, it will be cozy again, what with the noon firing and the sun shining into the windows on the south side of the house.

Money has my attention right now. I’ve a stack of bills on my desk, that I think I can pay before they come due. I’ve a list of essentials on my desk that we do not have the funds for, but can’t really avoid purchasing. Oil for heat, wood for heat and that sort of thing; they are whoppers. I can ignore all of them for another week or so, but then some action must be taken. I despise all this juggling; I guess anyone who has to do it dislikes it.

We managed to visit the little house in the city on Saturday, arrived for a late supper, stayed the night and left the next day, Sunday. We had a pleasant visit. The roads were dry on our trip there and on our trip back. When we arrived, as we stepped out of the car, we were greeted by robin song. The robins love the crabapple tree in the front yard, some were perched in the tree, some hopped about on the lawn, as they greeted our arrival. There was no snow at all at the little house in the city.

Gads, we found a dead mouse in the trap in the basement! No other signs of rodents though, thank goodness. We disposed of the remains, then set the trap again. Another little surprise waited for me in the refrigerator. An open bag of milk had been left behind on our last visit a month ago, I guess we just forgot about it. The milk was not salvageable.

The basement was dry, which was a relief. However, there is odd whitish fuzz “growing” out of the basement floor in a few places and along the base of one wall. Attila thinks it may be salt from moisture coming through. It looked more like some kind of mildew to me. We don’t know what it is, but on one of our next visits I’ll be washing it all away with a bleach solution.

Attila finished putting a first coat of paint over the primer in the front bedroom. It was dark blue, now it is cream, it still needs another coat of paint and it looks a lot better than it did. We also managed to transport the last of the laminate flooring to the little house; the flooring given to us by Harriet and Hogan.

The paint on the exterior of the house is peeling off in large pieces, must have fallen to the ground over the winter. That is another project, removing the peeling paint from the exterior of the house, in preparation of a future paint job.

Lots to do!

We visited with Terra and Lares while we were there, wonderful to see them. Terra works random shifts and it really is hard on her, physically. I’m her Mom, I don’t like to see her so worn out. She needs to do it though, so that she can build some seniority and job security. Lares is working his day job and is on call as well. They have a real work ethic, our Terra and Lares!

Luna talked with Terra and I on the telephone during the visit to the little house, it was good to hear her voice. Imp talked to us for a while during the call, telling us about her doings, cheerful little soul. Luna’s household is always humming with activity; with four year old twins and a one year old.

We arrived home on Sunday to a chilly house and an anxious cat. The chill was soon addressed by burning a fire in the masonry fireplace, and Mist was appeased with lots of attention. All is well at the country house once again. It is still full blown winter here at the country house. There are no robins about the place yet, everything is still covered in snow. Unlike the little house in the city, the snow still lies thick at our country house. Soon though, the temperatures will rise and the sun will work its annual magic show, melting the white quite away.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-2 °C
Condition: Sunny
Pressure: 102.0 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -2.0°C
Dewpoint: -16.7°C
Humidity: 32 %
Wind: WNW 22 km/
Wind Chill: -8

Quote 

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
Anne Bradstreet
1612 – 1672