Category Archives: home

2025, Farming Update, home, Nature, pets, Uncategorized

Bathroom BRRR??

66 Comments

The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Not much happening on the farm this week, it’s been pretty cold.

The chickens are appreciating the fact there is / was no snow- or very little snow, so they’re still able to go out and move around. They get up against the south side of a building and stay in the sunshine and I try to spread their corn out in those areas. I did get nine eggs the other day, so production is slowly coming up.

Luna is still trying to find another rooster to play with her, but they are not interested in this activity.

Our bathroom and laundry room remodeling is progressing. Rough in plumbing has been completed, the fans, ductwork, and dryer vent have been installed. A little more demolition happened with the downstairs bathroom ceiling and the closet of an adjoining room being removed to allow access for pipes, which of course means the bathroom downstairs is gonna end up with a fresh paint job as well. “It all started with a new bathroom fan.” And that’s probably OK since it hasn’t been touched since the house was built in 1968.

At least the sink and toilet are not pink.

Striped wallpaper on the hot pink walls. Pretty much it’s just been me and daughter using that bathroom and I always kinda liked it. We’ve always joked about my mom painting it that way and she says it wasn’t her idea. I would expect she got a couple gallons of pink paint from somebody. We laugh that upstairs it’s 2020 but when you open the basement door it’s 1968 again. Our little time portal. That bathroom even has a wooden toilet paper roller! Speaking of which, we’ve started using bamboo TP. It’s OK!

It’s also unfortunate the cold weather coincided with tearing out the ceiling sheet rock and removing all the insulation in this area. They have plastic up on the ceiling, and zipper plastic walls, so it’s only cold in this area.

It also strikes me as a bit of a paradox that when it’s the coldest is when the electric company turns off the heat. Part of the dual fuel program, and I know it’s for the greater good, I know it’s all part of conserving energy and keeping the rates low, but that’s a big picture thing and it’s hard to keep in mind. For a lot of people.  

Luna is getting frustrated because it’s been too cold for her to stay out and get the exercise that she would like. Daughter has decided it’s too cold for her long walks, too. I do play fetch with Luna and whatever stick I find while doing chores, and Luna loves running with that, but then she gets distracted by something else and leaves it lay somewhere until we find it again the next day. Course there’s always another stick in our yard.

I have been talking the dogs for walks. Through the woods or down the creek or across the pastures.

And that’s been nice. It reminds me of how often I had to walk out and get the cows for milking and I wonder if that chore made me so grumpy about walking? As a kid, it was one of my chores to go get the cows. As I got older, it was just part of the job. Often, they’d come home by themselves, they knew it was milking time. Cows love routine. We share that.

DID YOU SQUEEZE THE CHARMIN?   GOT ANY GROCERY STORE MIS-ADVENTURES?

2024, animals, home, pets, Uncategorized

A Great Day for Westies

40 Comments

Earlier this week, my son texted me to say that he was home with our grandson, who had a sore throat, and had just cleaned up after his West Highland Terrier, who had brought a very large, very dead, cottontail rabbit into the house. The dog caught it in the backyard. Our son put it in a garbage bag and threw it in the trash can outside.

This is the second kill Baxter, the terrier, has under his belt. Last year he caught and shook to death a squirrel at my son’s in-law’s house. Baxter is a senior dog, about 10 years old. He is in good physical condition, but I am surprised he was fast enough to catch a rabbit. He was pretty dirty when he came in with the bunny, so Son had to give him a bath. Son is very grateful Baxter didn’t try to eat the rabbit. In true terrier fashion, shaking something until it is dead is reward enough. Had he chewed on it, Baxter would have needed medicine for tapeworms.

Our Cesky Terrier has great hopes of catching and shaking one of the rabbits that infest our neighborhood. His favorite pastime when we sit in the living room is to play tug of war with some of his floppy dog toys and then shake them violently when he gets them from us. No rabbit would have a chance. I am happy he hasn’t brought anything dead into the house. Many years ago one of our cats caught a bird and brought it, still living, into the house. it looked as though someone had been plucking chickens in the dining room before we were able to get the bird away from the cat and release it out of doors.

When was the last time nature invaded your home?

2024, Family, holidays, home, Uncategorized

I Wouldn’t Have Bet Any Money

22 Comments

Sometimes I surprise even myself.  I would have thought that I would go to my grave as a “real” tree person.  There have been real Christmas trees every year of my life, even the two years living in a teeny apartment (we had a very small table top tree that we placed on the piano).  For many years, including up until YA was in high school, the tree was chopped down at one of the many tree farms around the Twin Cities then dragged back to the house atop the car.  One year I borrowed a friends pick-up truck; that made it easy – just tossed the tree into the bed of the truck and off we went.  Once YA didn’t want to make a day-long ordeal of getting a tree, we moved to the two-minute-drive-to-Bachmans selection process.

YA has been talking about an artificial tree for a couple of years now.  She doesn’t like getting sap on her hands and she really doesn’t like the needles on the floor.  Since we usually have the tree up from the day after Thanksgiving until New Years, there are always needles.  Every time she mentioned these problems, I completely blew her off.  Until last year.

For many years Bachmans offered a nice discount to fresh trees on Black Friday.  This ended during pandemic, so my wallet had felt that pinch already.  Then last year, when we trundled down to see the trees, the sticker shock just about knocked me off my feet.  And the selection was pretty sparse as well.  It was do bad in fact, that we were actually about to leave to go look for a Boy Scout or Church lot.  We found the white pines outside on the lot – sitting on their own.  I love white pine but YA does not; they are harder to decorate as they are so thick and the branches are not strong.  But the pricing was much better, so we chose one and headed home.

I spent months thinking about YAs arguments in favor of an artificial tree and was finally swayed to “think about it” when she offered to cover at least half of the cost.  I had seen the space allotted to artificial trees at Gertens.  It was huge, so in October, when we saw the first holiday sale, we headed on over.  Honestly I didn’t think this was going to end well.  I figured we wander around for about 20 minutes, have a fight and then go home. 

I’ve always had lights that fade on and off; I was expecting to be sad that I was losing this option with a fake tree.  YA wanted a tree that looked real.  I was worried about the whole “fluffing” thing that I’ve heard people talk about.  YA was worried about plugging everything in.

Then we met Bonnie.  She works the artificial tree lot at Gertens and boy, is she good at her job.  She knew EVERYTHING about all the trees but was very good at parsing out her knowledge as you asked and didn’t overwhelm us.  We learned quite a bit.  First off, many of the trees have rubber tips, so they look quite authentic (just the tips though, the inside branches are paper needles, otherwise the tree would weigh a ton).  Many trees now have power poles; you don’t have to mess with plugs.  You attach each section and the tree figures it out.  AND… although when you look at the trees sitting on display, they all have either white lights or multi-colored lights, it turns out that most trees these days have multiple options.  The tree that we liked has six setting.  None of them are fade on/fade off, but there are three twinkle settings. 

YA wanted one particular tree a lot – enough that she decided she could cover even more than half of the cost.  So despite my expectations that we wouldn’t find anything we both liked, we ended up coming home with my first artificial tree.  It takes about 8 minutes to put up, from start to finish.  I don’t have to put on the lights, we don’t have to water it.  Six settings of lights, as I mentioned.  And I think it’s lovely. 

We had friends over last night to trim the tree and it was easy to decorate and the branches are all strong enough to even the heaviest of our ornaments (a little torito from Peru).  I’m really happy with the new tree.  Guess you can teach old dogs new tricks every now and then.

Have you ever surprised yourself by changing your mind?

2024, books, Health, home, Music, Uncategorized

Big Breakdown

48 Comments

During the last two months we have had an unusual number of mechanical failures. The CV joint on my van was leaking, requiring a new front axle. Husband needed new tires on his truck. The kitchen faucet broke, and was replaced. Our big kitchen mixer broke down and was replaced just before Christmas baking started. Last week my blow dryer gave up. I had to go to work on the coldest day of the year with wet hair. It was an expensive couple of months.

Yesterday I felt quite broken down. Monday was my annual checkup. The good news is that I am the picture of health. The bad news was getting both a Covid shot and a flu shot at the appointment. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling as though I had been hit by a truck. I stayed home from work. I felt better as the day progressed. At least that is over for another year.

What are your favorite disaster songs, poems, stories, and movies? Have you had your shots?

2024, Family, home, Uncategorized

Storage Wars

22 Comments

Husband really came through on Saturday and got all the garden hoses rolled up and into the garage before the snow came on Tuesday. There were quite a few hoses.

Sunday he carried them downstairs and piled them in large plastic bins in the room where the freezers and canned goods are. They take up a lot of space. I suppose we could rig up a more space efficient method, but just getting them rolled up and out of the yard was a work enough.

I am the packer in the family. I am efficient, and I can get lots more things into boxes, freezers, and suitcases than Husband can. This also extends to the dishwasher. I am glad Husband isn’t offended when I tweak the placement of things in the dishwasher after he has gone to the trouble to load it in the first place. Packing is not the same thing as organization for daily use, and I must admit I am not the best at putting things away after I use them. I am grateful that Husband spent an entire day a couple of weeks ago vacuuming and reorganizing things in the garage for winter. We have too many tools, garden implements, fencing, stakes, and miscellaneous things. When my father lived with us he took great care in organizing all the tools and things that we brought with him from Luverne. I am afraid neither I nor Husband have kept Dad’s things as organized as he would have. Now we will be hauling most of it back to Luverne when we move.

I leave storage of Husband’s grilling/smoking equipment and supplies entirely to him. His usual solution to storage issues it to just buy another plastic storage bin for all his wood, smoking chips, and briquets whether or not the ones he has are full. The bins annoy me, but at least they are stackable. I hope that we can have a better organization and storage strategy for all our things after we move. Maybe it will be easier starting from scratch rather than obtaining things and storing them as they are acquired. People keep asking me what I am going to do with my free time after I retire. I tell them I am going to spend my time cleaning the house. It will be nice to have time to organize and not have things stored haphazardly as we do now.

What storage/organization strategies do you use? What sort of dishwasher loader are you? Ever rented a storage unit?

2024, home, Uncategorized, work

The Good Plumber

14 Comments

Monday night we noticed that the kitchen faucet was listing drunkenly to one side. It was an all in one, pull down faucet we had installed about 20 years ago. Something that stabilized the faucet rotted away under the granite counter. The faucet still worked, and there were no leaks, but it needed replacement, so on Tuesday I phoned Daryl.

Daryl is a plumber who has helped us out for 30 years. He really loves being a plumber. He is retired now and has handed his very successful business to his son. Daryl works for his son part time. We have Daryl’s personal cell phone number. I phoned him. Daryl met me at home Tuesday afternoon and told me the kind of new faucet to get. We bought one at Ace Hardware Tuesday night, and Daryl came over on Wednesday afternoon to install it. It is beautiful and works like a charm. You can see it in the header photo.

There are some other minor plumbing things we need done, such as replacing the mixer in the main bathroom shower. That was installed by Daryl about 15 years ago. While he was at the house Tuesday I showed Daryl the shower problem and he asked if we had kept the manual and UPC from the box the mixer came in. I had it, and, sure enough, there was the UPC, cut out and stapled to the manual by Daryl when he installed it. He gave me detailed instructions as to what internal mechanisms to order, and to let him know when I got the parts so he could install them. He has lots of tips to get these companies to honor their warranties, too, as he wants to save us money.

It is so refreshing and hope-instilling to run across people like Daryl who do their best and love what they do. After this I think our plumbing needs will be met until we move., but it is reassuring to know I can phone Daryl in an emergency.

Who would you phone in an emergency? Who are the Daryl’s in your life?

100 Words, 2024, books, home

Getting Through

35 Comments

There was absolutely nothing useful I could think of to say today – my stomach has been roiling for days.  Despite Linda’s exhortations, I did not get around to voting early so I’m expecting I will be in line for a while this morning.   My plan is to go early and have a good book.  And if the forecast is correct, an umbrella.

My to-do list for the rest of the day is to take it easy.  Some time in my studio.  Some tv, but not coverage.  Make some waffles.  Read, but something very light.  Go to bed early as possible.  

What are you doing today?  Any good way to keep our minds from blowing up? 

2024, Health, home, Media, TV, Uncategorized

Scary Bears!

40 Comments

Husband and I have rarely watched much TV the 40 years we have been married. Our TV has always been in the basement. We rarely hang out in the basement. The TV is currently completely disconnected from the cable because we had a basement remodel in the spring. The only news we hear is NPR and the local papers we get. I avoid any news that comes up on my phone regarding the election.

I am in Dallas right now at a conference. Husband is back at home. I have turned on the TV in the hotel room, and I am so glad we don’t watch much at home. I was struck by Jacque’s comment about a self imposed news desert during the election weeks right now. I am stressed enough by the election news, and if I was regularly watching TV I would be a complete mess. Self care is important. When our children were little, we would often say “Scary Bears! ” when something frightening happened. Self care actions like Jacque’s can reduce the Scary Bears in our lives.

How are you coping with the current election stresses? What do you do for self care? What will you and won’t you watch on TV?

2024, Family, gardening, home, Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized

Leaving The Leaves

18 Comments

Monday afternoon I saw our neighbor across the street mowing his perfectly manicured lawn and removing every single leaf that had landed on the grass. When he was finished, there wasn’t a single leaf on the lawn. He loaded the leaves into the back of his pickup and hauled them to the city bins. He can’t tolerate anything that takes away from the green.

Most of our front yard is a vegetable garden, so we don’t rake there or in the back yard. I swept the leaves that landed on the front stoep and sidewalk into the garden so we could go out in our socks and not get them full of dried leaves. During the night we had a very strong wind, and in the morning there were as many if not more leaves on the stoep and sidewalk. Neighbor’s lawn looked like it did on Monday afternoon before he had mowed. It was covered with leaves! He was out there again on Tuesday repeating what he did on Monday. There are still lots of leaves on the trees around his property and the neighborhood. He’s going to have a busy time until the leaves are all fallen.

I suppose our neighbor thinks our yard is a mess because we leave the leaves in the flower beds and garden, we leave the perennials uncut to promote pollinator hatching, and only cut back the peonies, daylilies, and irises. Sometimes our next door neighbor comes over and rakes in the flower beds on the north side of our property because she feels guilty that our flower beds are full of the leaves from her ash trees. We tell her that the leaves will decompose and insulate the garden, but she can’t let leaves lie, either.

Rakers in your neighborhood? Did you jump in leaf piles as a kid? How do you prepare your lawn or garden for winter?

2024, animals, Family, home, pets, Uncategorized

Who’s In Charge

27 Comments

As psychologists, Husband and I are familiar with behavior modification. We are both pretty adept at changing the behaviors of others. It dawned on me yesterday, however, that we have met our match in our Cesky Terrier and the finesse with which he has modified our behaviors and what a creature of habit he is.

Every morning, Kyrill wakes up when Husband’s alarm goes off. He then jumps on me to make sure I know that the alarm went off, and then he waits on the bed in great anticipation for Husband to get dressed and take him for his morning stroll. I stay in bed. When they return, he jumps back into bed with me and won’t get out of bed until I get up. He barks at me if I stay in bed too long and he wants his breakfast. After our breakfast, Husband and I sit in the livingroom and read aloud some short devotionals and drink our coffee. That is the cue for Kyrill to have vicious and vigorous tugs with his Wubbas. He accompanies me anytime I go into the bathroom, and brings the same pink ball with him every time. He tosses it at my feet and expects me to try to grab it no matter what I am doing. I am never fast enough to grab it. Certain whines mean different things. One means he wants a share of the ice in Husband’s glass. Another means he has lost his pink ball, and to please help him find it. Whenever I step out of the bathroom in the morning, ready for the day, I get a glance from him, while he waits in anticipation for me to say “Go outside”, after which he runs to the back door to be let outside.

We go along with all of these and countless other expectations that our dog seems to have for us. Whenever I sit on the sofa he insists he has to sit in my lap. He expects to do the pre-rinse on our ice cream bowls and sits at our feet while we eat. He whines if he thinks we take too long to finish. We don’t cater to his expectation that all socks are his to steal and chew up, however.

Who modifies your behavior? How have animals changed the way you do things and live your life?