Could Have Been Worse!

I never thought I'd say this but I would have taken snow! There is an inch of ice on everything. Sparkly-yes! Luminous-yes! Pretty from the house-yes! But it's miserable out there. I guess I really don't need to tell you this if you live anywhere in the NorthEast...
This morning, at 6:00 when it was -1 degree, I was half way the barn with Maggie's bucket o'slops when it dawned on me that it was dark and incredibly cold AND very slippery. If I happened to fall down no one would know (as Bob was still in bed) and I'd no doubt freeze to death. (No one that is except Robin who was already back on the terrace, waiting to go in- unusual behavior for her!) Fortunately, I'm here to write this blog so I obviously kept my footing and all is well. (How beings like Maggie stay outside is beyond me. She seemed fine, swaddled as she is in her heavy-duty high neck waterproof horse house coat.)

(Our fence, crested with Bob's magical miniature houses, are delightful in the ice.)
So we were smart and cleared the ice off the cars yesterday, figuring that they'd probably freeze shut overnight. I was deep into ice-encrusted snow removal when Bob pointed out that the tree directly above the car was leaning precariously and endangering both me and the car. I got the keys and Bob moved the car across the driveway by the truck. A half hour later, safely back in the house, I had a urge to look out the back door. Guess what:

Bob had had a premonition! The tree fell down and would have crushed the car! (in which we had only the day before replaced the starter motor.) There is indeed something to be said for trusting one's instincts! Boy winter sucks; but we had it cleaned up within an hour- that's Bob with the chain saw to the left above. But haven't I mentioned recently that that's all we did this year??!?!?)

So it could have been worse... but it's bad enough. There's ice everywhere, it's fucking freezing outside and my curator is cancelling (again). But we do have power and food and the wind wasn't as bad as predicted (which means fewer broken trees and less chance of loosing power) but we're getting "shack-y whack-y". (That's an updated form of cabin fever, according to our mechanic friend Bob). Can we believe that Wednesday is supposed to be in the 40's and rainy?
At least the lousy weather was good for something: I finished my piece, "Your Words Have Consequences".

Yule Logging

For no other reason than I needed out door-sy exercise, I started sawing up the downed trees in Maggie's field. Bob strained his knee and I encouraged him to forgo any serious physical exertion- like chopping and chainsawing. I took a small bow saw and started at one end.

See? I made progress. It got the blood flowing; I actually warmed up- something that's not been easy as we've had so many damp, gloomy days. I have a penchant for this sort of almost hopeless enterprise. I could wait and let Bob rip through this enormous tree with his chainsaw in a couple of minutes (and yes, he will have to do the big trunk parts!) but I like beginning at one end and plodding along a bit at a time. I think about what people did before power tools. They sawed by hand.

That's weird vortex picture! Not sure how I did that!
I also remember as a kid, getting in a small plastic boat and pushing myself around on our half frozen skating pond and playing "ice breaker". It was pretty useless, me and my miniature wooden oar smashing chunks of ice up but it was fun and I was persistent.

Maggie is shy about having her picture taken but enjoyed my spending time with her. After all, the tree is down in her field and makes it necessary to navigate around it. Maggie seems to have an unusual fascination with tools. When I feed her early in the morning, my flashlight is as interesting to her as the food. And she was very curious about the saw. It's yellow so maybe she thought it was a carrot.

Planting That Big Tree Part 2

How's that for an ungainly silhouette? It's still bound up so it looks like those tall narrow things I pose next to at botanic gardens. Well, this is how I left off, with the tree awaiting planting...
So the next day- because we were all tuckered out from excavating enormous holes (like I could see the Chinese Embassy it was so deep!)- we vowed to get the tree installed in the ground, in it's new home.
I was certain that the tree- all 250 or 300 pounds of it- was going to land on Bob or me but it went swimmingly, thanks to Bob and his masterful engineering abilities. He laid planks sloping down into the hole and used a crowbar and a log and instructed me move what where as he carefully maneuvered the tree down.The next thing you know- hey presto! The tree was safely inserted. Bob even got finess-y about shifting just the right trunk to the front.

I was simply glad to see it planted with neither one of us crushed or dead. Hahaha; ever the optimist!
Next came the fun part.

(Having technical difficulties! Don't ask why the picture
is located over to one side... Just bear with me.) Anyway,
that's Bob tweaking the placement. Once the dirt goes in.
there's no undoing it; this tree is permanent!)

So we shoveled a lot of dirt, tamped it down to eliminate

air pockets, watered it in as we added more dirt and before

you knew it, the tree was happily ensconced in it's new home.

Bob spread it's branches out and then staked it so that it 

would be stable in a windy or wet situation. It was perfect

that we had rain the next day as it eased the tree's 

transition. I keep running outside to see if it's still there 

(it is) as I was so pleased with our new addition. It sure

helps to fill the empty spots left by that tornado- and it's 

a handsome tree at that! Welcome River Birch!

An Xmas Post

Xmas was celebrated today (December 28th) with my family. Things got off to a rocky start as the reports of ultra cold weather to come threatened to derail our festivities. After the inevitable testy phone calls, emails and smoke billowing from both of my ears, rapprochement was achieved and- cold weather be damned!- Christmas happened.
I think this year was more heavily laden with emotional and familial baggage because it is the first one since Mommy's death. Holidays are always fraught events; this is nothing if not the perennial cliche. My family certainly comes up with it's own exotic expressions of stress, sisterly hierarchies, issues of control etc etc. You get the picture.
I guess I'm lucky in that differences of opinion and questions of rationality versus emotionalism appear insurmountable and yet (mostly) seem to be overcome once we're in each others company. Then we have a good time. I suppose food and wine solve many squabbles...
We cleaned, we cooked, my family arrived. Indeed, they were brave and doughty souls to bundle up in parkas and boots and scarves and gloves and confront the arctic chill. I applaud their heartiness as it is Siberian out there, what with single digit temperatures and bracing wind chill. But our house was warm and the tree was lit up, well... like a Christmas tree.
The food was stellar. We ate so much that Bob and I skipped dinner altogether and I woke up after midnight full of energy and rarin' to go. (Go where you might ask, as it is 1:30 and something like 3 degrees outside? I know this last bit in reality as Lil' Robin the Good just decided that she needed to relieve herself. It really is cold!) Highlights of food included guacamole, spinach artichoke dip, roast pork, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish (I could eat the whole bowl myself!),squash, brownies, peach pie, several bottles of wine.... and slightly musty tasting green beans.
The green beans sparked a new tradition. They were passed around, tossed, balanced, fondled and generally employed as entertainment. Worthy of the Schmenge Christmas! (Google that on YouTube if the reference escapes you.)
All in all, it was a nice day. We don't exchange Xmas presents anymore- thank god!- so at least that source of stress is eliminated. (Although Bob and I did give my brother in law John his birthday gifts, distinguished this year with a black and red motif.) Lots of food, bright sunlight (despite cold), a tree harvested from the side of our driveway, politics with everyone on the same side of the aisle; it was a good time.

The Requisite X-Mas Post

Well, here's the tree:

I think it looks exactly like last year's tree- although the needles are the longer variety. And this one cost $13.00- half price at Lowe's! (We're boycotting Home Depot as they apparently supported The Orange Menace). I'm glad we scored a tree only a couple of days before Christmas; it lent a modicum of "cheer" to a relatively cheerless holiday! (I mean, the world may soon erupt in a radioactive fireball when The Orange Menace blows us all to Kingdom Come. Heaven help us!)
I know it was this lack of hope and general despair that inspired this year's card.

(Caption inside: "Let's put the X back in Xmas"... who first used that weird abbreviation, anyway?) The image was a nice way of negating this holiday season, if not the rest of the year. Somehow we wound up with 120 cards, not the 60 we had ordered, so we slaved away in our little factory decorating a lot more than we needed before we realized our mistake. I guess we can use this nihilistic greeting as thank you cards or something.
I've had the week off and Bob and I have spent it lurching from social event to social event. I feel fat, logy and generally in hibernation mode. I've been playing an inordinate amount of video games and am surprised at just how easily enthralled I am by them. (In fact, the sillier the better!)

 See? Oh boy! I got to level 35! And I "bought" a Dragon Castle! And more fish! I do find these games relaxing and it sure beats crawling back to bed to sleeping for the next four years. (I've considered that, and I'm sure I have company!)
Don't worry: I have also spent time in my studio and am having fun with that. I have a few new projects in the works- one that I have been dallying with for three years or so involving a World Atlas sort of thing... and more seditious fabric pieces. Something to live for!

The Two Things of Christmas, Maybe Three

Okay, repeat after me (I sound like a broken record), "The two things that make me feel anything remotely Xmas-y are the 1.) Christmas Cookies, and 2.) The Tree." As you can see, the first batch of Christmas Thing #1 is pictured above. I have now consumed so much dough that I feel vaguely bilious, but that's a good thing! There's a second batch on the way.
And look! What to my wondering eye should appear:

Away in a corner, surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags, no less! So now I do (kinda) feel a bit Christmas-y. And I'm finishing up our Annual Christmas Card Extravaganza. That takes time and energy as we still insist on hand-making all the cards. But they're all small creations and that's a good thing to send off into the universe. I believe that the influence exerted by making and sending something carefully hand made is priceless (like those credit card ads!). I really (mostly) enjoy making the cards; maybe once every five years or so, we grumble and "take a vacation" and purchase a box of pre-mades. This was definitely not one
of those years!
Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, and, apparently, the last day of life on earth. Or the end of the world... something big! We'll see! Our friend Joe is coming by to celebrate darkness and doom with us. At least we'll go out in style!