A full day at home at last. It has been a very windy day on the prairie today. The wind woke me up last night several times. We have had gusts of over 40 MPH today. Hang on to your hats folks.
Tony, Jim’s other cat has lead me to where Katy’s crate used to be today. How do you explain to another cat that Katy is gone and won’t be back? We have tried to give Tony some extra scratches and attention today. He is mourning too.
Jim went to town this afternoon for his physical. He liked the doctor and felt he did a good job with his physical. No changes to his medications so that is good.
A friend stopped by and picked up four dozen eggs. I am down to two dozen in the refrigerator this afternoon. Yay! I like to get them cleaned out at least once a week so they stay fresh. I sent two fairy eggs home with my friend to show her girls. They are fun to look at and open. Rarely do they have a yolk in them and if they do it is very tiny.
I cleaned the office today – kinda. Jim brought a bunch of stuff back from Stillwater Tuesday and hasn’t gotten it put away yet. It was hard to find the floor to clean but I got under our desks cleaned and what I could find of the bookcases dusted. Found lots of dust, cat hair and dirt. Tony, Jim’s big orange cat, sheds badly and I keep forgetting I need to clean more often as a result.
Thanks for all the messages and heart felt responses sent to us yesterday and today. Losing a pet is never easy and it seems most can relate. They do wind their way into our hearts and leave a hole when they leave us.
I have one of the newly butchered chickens in the crock pot cooking for dinner tonight. It was a small chicken and didn’t take long to cook. We taste tested it early and it is yummy. I turned the crock pot down to low so the rest of it will stay warm until dinner time. What a difference in taste from the store bought chickens. I am a believer in farm raised local meat! I purchased 10 chickens and am wishing I had ordered 20. I’ll watch their website and get more next time they have some. They are a lot more expensive than grocery store chicken but so worth it.
Nothing on either of our calendar’s for the next three days. Three blissful, quiet days ahead of us on the prairie. We are both emotionally exhausted from this busy week we have had and will use the next three days to recharge and rest. It is to be cold and possibly snow so it will be a good weekend to stay tucked inside and not do much.
I took a nap while Jim went to town for his physical. I have a shift on the hot line tonight and needed to be ready for it. I worked two hours on the hot line last night and took 8 calls. One of them was frustrating as they were not wanting to problem solve and I never did figure out what they had hoped to achieve by texting in. I even asked the supervisor to review the call to see if I missed something. I was tired last night and couldn’t stay on any longer even though they were busy. Maybe tonight I can stay on for more than two hours – we will see how hard the calls are.
In two weeks from tomorrow we go back and get our second vaccine. Four weeks after that we should be fully protected. I see the light at the end of the tunnel for us. I truly hope the availability of the vaccine continues to increase and more people can get their shots and get protected.
It is 5:00 and still very light outside. I appreciate the bit longer days each day. Spring is getting closer and closer. Last night the stars were incredible. I love a winter’s night sky. The sunset tonight will be a plain Jane one which is one of my favorites. There will be a soft pink rim around the entire horizon as there is not a cloud in sight. Sometimes I need to remember to just sit and take time to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature.
Jim and I were talking yesterday at how simple our lifestyle has become. Most days we stay home and don’t go anywhere. That feels comfortable for us now and neither one of us are wanting to change it. It will be interesting to see how much travel we start to do again – if any. Travel has lost its appeal to me right now. We would like to go visit our kids but other than that I really don’t want to get out. I like the quiet routine we have now.
Grateful for a quiet day at home, grateful for the high quality chicken cooking in the crock pot, and grateful for the beautiful sunset tonight.