A dangerous day on the roads, part II

It's after sunset and almost 68 degrees inside. Outside, the temperature is in the teens above zero, until you factor in the wind. And out here, you always have to factor in the wind. The wind out here blows unimpeded across the roadways, converting the scant snow that fell overnight into tiny pellets that literally sandblast icy roads until they shimmer under frozen sunshine.

Today, we passed quite a few drivers who, we presume, sped their way into a tough spot: the ditch. When you're driving on glare ice, however, it's difficult to know how fast is too fast until it's too late. After our close call on the S-curve, I would have preferred we not take to the roads again. But, we had an appointment at the auto shop in town to get a new battery, so, after the furnace repairman left, we dropped the trailer and rolled the dice again. We took the S-curve at a crawl.

On open stretches, every time I spied Jim's speedometer climbing above 40 MPH, I reminded him that I didn't want to die today.

"Not today?" he asked.

"Not today," I replied. "Not in the cold. Not in the truck. Not in the ditch or by the force of an oncoming vehicle."

"Okay," he assured me.

And now, here I sit. Typing. And the furnace works. So, from the safety of an old farmhouse I send these gentle reminders, dear hearts: Drive slower. Brake when you approach ice, not when you reach it. If you skid, ease off the accelerator, and gently turn into the skid. Stay calm. Pray. I don't want you to die today either. Not in the cold.

Cold, cold everywhere

There but by the grace of God, go [chilly] I.

The words resonate after Jim, I and the dog narrowly missed ditching his 3/4 ton pickup pulling the Handy trailer filled with equipment, on a very icy curve two miles north of the farm. We spun left, spun right, and spun left again while I prayed aloud and he kept himself calm and kept us upright.

We pulled out of the spin, and got home only to discover the furnace was out. Air temp inside: 51 degrees. Brrr.

I don't type [much] under these conditions. We'll catch up later.

The Greatest Gift

It is the winter solstice, the day we in the northern hemisphere receive the fewest hours of sunlight. As the days have shortened through autumn, I’ve curtailed most of my outside activities, with the exception of nightly walks through the dark with farm dog.

Longer nights open the door to more rest, more hours to cuddle with kids, books, hubby, and, sadly, more opportunity to wallow in the vast wasteland that is television. I noticed that TV commercials started pushing consumer goods as Christmas gifts early this year. I suppose I should be grateful I don’t live in Iowa, where for weeks residents have had their favorite shows interrupted by Hillary, Barack, John, Mitt, Rudi and the other political gnomes.

North of the Iowa border, ads for cars, jewelry, computers, iPods, and computer games started running regularly right after Halloween, and after weeks of seeing couples kissing over diamonds or smiling at their shiny new vehicles, I’ve begun to wonder how many people understand that a person’s Christmas doesn’t need to involve spending and debt. I recall the words of Dr. Seuss’s Grinch when he suddenly came to a clear understanding of the spirit Christmas: “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.”

An elderly gentleman took my hand a few weeks back and reminded me that the greatest gift we can give or receive at Christmas is forgiveness. Deep in my heart, I know this is true; still, it’s hard to hold onto this truth when, even as I type this, ads bombard me via email enticing me to spend, spend, spend.

Fortunately, it’s the winter solstice and the darkness combined with the distance between Four Cedars Farms and city lights is great. That means all I have to do is turn off the television or the computer, grab farm dog and step outside to see diamonds sparkling overhead. It’s a nightly reminder that whatever I’ve said or done to hurt others or myself along my life journey, God loves me and will forgive me. God showers us all with diamonds, and not just at Christmas. It’s just that at Christmas, in the dark, they’re that much easier to see.

Rodentia update

We got it! ...and word is, it was indeed a slow demise.

PETA members, move along

We've tried spring traps, snap traps and sticky traps.

We've doled out globs of peanut butter, drops of chocolate and chuncks of spendy bleu cheese.

And still, the rodent eludes us! We've seen evidence of him in the kitchen, under the sofa, and in the mud room — inside the box of dog biscuits!

We have this tricky little set-up, where we've placed peanut butter inside an empty toilet paper tube which is set up at the edge of the counter. (Apparantly, the buggers like tunnels.) Anyway, if we can get it into the tube, gravity will take him off the edge of the counter right into a basket that it shouldn't be able to escape.

I kind of hope we catch it alive...because after the lengths we've had to go to catch it, I really want it to die a slow, painful death!

Birthday Greetings!

This is Jim, aka, Handy, also known as the hubby. It's his birthday today and so, at his request, I'll be baking banana bread (with chocolate chips), fetching his beverages, and generally making him believe he's king for this one day.

Really, though, he's king everyday. He has to be, because I, his wife, am already regarded around these parts as queen.

The only farm chore Jim is not excused from today is our assault on the sneaky mouse who keeps clearing the traps of bait without springing them! Get the little bastard, Jimbo!