Snowstorms and Chickens

Our neighbors have chickens.

They're an older couple (I'd say early 70s? I feel like I might be too closer to "older" to use that term when referring to that age range, but so be it.) who just retired down here from closer in. They seem nice, if a tad extroverted.

Anyway, they also seem to travel a good bit. And that explains why they were so outgoing and friendly when they moved in, as they ask us to watch their chickens. And sometimes their dog.

I (we) don't mind doing it, honestly. The chickens are pretty easy, all things considered -- especially since I'm not doing the heavy lifting type care (coop cleaning etc.) - I'm just letting them out in the morning and making sure they have food and water and then closing the coop after they put themselves to bed in the evening. And looking for eggs. Which I get to keep if they're there.

Score.

They'd planned to head to Florida around Christmas to see family, but everyone had covid or the flu, so they postponed until this week. And two weeks ago when they asked me to do the chickens for them, I said sure.

But then we started seeing rumblings of another massive snow dump. Which of course would also coincide with hubby being on travel for work. And suddenly, figuring out how to get over to deal with the chickens when I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to get us dug out (because as much as I'd love to say the kids would do it, they need a lot of...encouragement to make it happen. And even then, they do a pretty half butted job.)

So I asked if there was anyone else who could do it.

Thankfully, she was able to find someone to do Wednesday through Sunday (covering the storm issue) as they had a snow plow on their truck and also have their own chickens so knew what to do to keep the critters from freezing (because honestly, not wanting to have a chicken death or more on my conscience was also part of my concern.)

I said I could absolutely still do Monday and Tuesday.

And now, of course, we're not looking like we're going to get much, if any snow. Maybe an inch? Maybe two?

And I feel about two inches tall.

Regardless, it's all worked out. But I still feel like an awful neighbor.

But this morning, I got a fresh egg. So there's that.

Valentine's Day and Anniversaries

Last year, when my sister went into the hospital in January and it was clear that she'd not be coming home except on Hospice, I joked (at the time we were both joking as everyone assured us that she'd be renewing Hospice at least twice) that I'd rather she not die on youngest's birthday (early Feb) or mine (end of Feb.)

She assured me she'd do her best.

Then, when she did in fact come home on hospice, it was the day before youngest's birthday. But she was still hale and hearty (or as hale and hearty as one is with terminal cancer) and up to her usual bossy shenanigans. 

On the evening of the 13th, Daddy and I had to call the fire department in the evening to move her from the recliner (that she'd moved to of her own volition earlier that day to visit with a friend) to her bed. She was...not herself. And I drove home once she was settled sobbing in a way I thought only happened in badly acted movies as half-wail, half-screams tore from my soul involuntarily.

Because I knew it wouldn't be long. Couldn't be.

And no matter how ready I thought I was, it turns out that I was not.

The next day, Valentine's day, Daddy called around dinner time asking me to come because the Hospice nurse was there and wanted to talk to us about transferring her to a Hospice facility where she'd have stronger round the clock care than we could do even with the private nursing we were hiring.

So I went. I listened to her explanation and agreed it was best. So she got on the phone to arrange medical transport and I went in to hold my sister's hand and talk to her. No dramatic wailing this time, just tears that I only noticed because I had to keep wiping them away. I told her I loved her. I told her about the boys and reminded her that they loved her.

And I told her that if it was time for her to go, that she could go.

Less than five minutes later, she did, while Daddy and I held her hands.

Nothing prepares you for watching someone die. Nothing can erase the image of life there one moment and gone the next. It haunts me sometimes. And yet I'm glad I was there for her. I know it's what she would have wanted, though at the time she was well past knowing what was happening around her. I'm glad she didn't linger or suffer.

And yet I wish I had my sister.

I don't know why losing her was harder than losing my mom. Maybe losing Mom made losing someone else harder? I just don't know.

What I do know is that you need to tell the people you love that you love them. Family. Friends. Doesn't matter. Make sure they know.

Valentine's Day is as good a day to do it as any other. But if you can't get a hold of them today, do it tomorrow. Or next week. Do it every day. Every week.

Because even if you do, when they're gone, you're going to wish you could say it one more time.

Snowpocalypse 2025

We already had one good snow this year that dumped a solid 8 or so inches out our way. And that stuck around for several weeks, only disappearing when the rain and slightly warmer days came. Since that's more than unusual for winters here, I figured we were done.

But apparently, I was mistaken.

Yesterday it started dumping snow around one. By the time we were finished with dinner, we had easily four inches. We toddled out (all four of us, though two were under duress) and did a quick clearing of the driveway. (I say quick. It was not quick.) The plug-in electric snowblower that I bought on Woot years ago was able, mostly, to help. Youngest loves driving the thing. But the collection of extension cords doesn't quite reach all the way up to the road. (Our driveway is in the realm of 500 feet long now that we're out in the country. A far cry from the one car length driveway at the old house.) But still, with all four of us working, we got it done before dark.

This morning, the boys were all snuggled in their beds, so I thought I'd give the snowblower a go (because I also like driving it), but the additional 4-5 inches that we got overnight had a slushier bottom and that poor little machine just can't handle the wet. It clogs up faster than you can say boo. 

So, shovels it was.

I did a good bit of it. Eldest came out and helped with the last 60%. Youngest cleared the walk to the house and made a path on the deck and down the back stairs for the dogs. My right thumb and shoulder would like to state for the record that I am not as young as I seem to think I am. My back agrees.

After the first snow (which was too much for our dinky blower because we waited for it all to fall before trying to do anything about it), I sent hubs links for the new one that I thought we ought to look into. I'm thinking after this one, I'm going to send them again. They're saying maybe more on Saturday? Also possibly Wednesday next week?

In the immortal words of the guy in Jaws* - "We're gonna need a bigger boat." (But by boat I mean snow blower.) 

*I have not actually ever seen Jaws. I realize that's a GenX crime. I'll get over it.

O Canada

All right.

I don't get the Canada thing.

I could go along with the idea that this was all just to bring them to the table about tariffs or whatever, but then he says he's serious and...why???

I don't want Canada. I don't think they want us. Like any of them.

Are there natural resources? Sure. But maybe just be friends instead?

Because even my "conservative" Canadian friends (of which I have like three, so it's not that I've done an extensive study or anything, but still) are more liberal than conservatives in the US (and I don't mean the whack-a-doo conservatives. Just the normal ones.) Canada seems to me (again, I have not done an in-depth study here) very socialist. And...I don't want a bigger influx of people voting who want that here. Why would anyone?

So yeah. I don't get the Canada thing. And it's really getting embarrassing.

Superb Owls

We won't be partaking this evening. This should be no surprise to anyone who's been around here during football season in the past, as my typical cheer is, "Go sportser! Sports hard."

This applies across the activity, btw, not just to football.

I asked eldest if he wanted us to plan to put it on and his response was, "Ew. No."

My only over/under on the whole thing is whether, after the inevitable win by the Chiefs (or so I'm told - something about the refs (umps? the striped shirt people) being members of said team on the sly, and Taylor Swift runs out onto the field to kiss Travis like she did last year, if he will then fall to one knee, pull an engagement ring from beneath his shoulder pads, and ask her to marry him.

It feels like the kind of media circus causing event the two of them would engineer enjoy.

Beyond that...I might look up some of the commercials, but even they've been disappointing in the recent years, so yeah. Meh.

On Rhetoric

I made the mistake of opening up the Book of Faces (because I really did need to check on how my ads are doing - they can't just run in a vacuum) last night. I...really don't get people.

One writer friend was talking about how "he's only been a dictator for three weeks."

Dictator? Really?

I suppose that's because of the executive orders? The same ones that basically every president in history has used? And you can't even say he's used more than anyone else, because he used fewer in his first term than those in recent years and yes, he's done a lot with them at the start, but there's nothing to say that will continue without ebbing (I believe it will. Maybe I hope it will? Point being, I don't think anyone would stand for four years of governing by fiat. Maybe I'm wrong. But I really don't think so.)

The rest were all up in arms about Canada, Mexico, migrants and...basically anything that is disturbing their liberal status quo.

Am I uncomfortable with the way some of this is being approached? A little, yes. But I had a good friend explain it to me this way before the inauguration (and it made a lot of sense - and also so far is playing out to be true). He said, in essence, "He comes from business and Hollywood. He's a negotiator. So he'll come in with something outlandish that he knows he's not going to get. It's an opening move in negotiation to bring people to the table and work them back down to what you intended in the first place. The way he does it? With theater and bluster? That's because of Hollywood. And it serves to get people to underestimate his business sense and miss what he's really doing because they get caught up in the drama."

The first part is what hit home the most. Because I really do hate negotiation. Buying cars, haggling in markets where such is not only accepted but expected, that sort of thing? I hates it. I can do it, but I cringe inside. And I'm not always as willing to say, "Okay. No deal." and walk away as you have to be in those situations if it's going to work out. But my dad is amazing at this. And he will absolutely walk away -- and has been chased into the parking lot by car dealers saying, "No no no, we can do that. And here's this other amazing thing we'll throw in to get you back to the table."

So yeah. I'm kind of viewing this current political season as Dad in a car dealership trying to bring them down to a reasonable number below invoice. It makes it all a lot more palatable.

As for immigration? Well, I'm a fan of legal immigration. I'm a fan of upholding the international requirements for asylum for refugees. I'm a fan of reminding people of allllll the countries where you can't just walk in and decide to live because they'll deport you faster than you can say howdy. Why shouldn't the US be able to do the same? I really sometimes want to suggest to people who get all up in arms about it that they move somewhere they'd like to live without going through proper channels and see how that works out for them.

But I keep my mouth shut. Because the one thing that could actually help with the division in our nation is calm, nuanced conversations. And that's not something most people seem to be capable of these days.

Chugging Along

I've apparently lost the ability to ramble frequently about the inconsequential these days. Or I don't have time. Or some combination thereof (plus whatever else might be impacting things.)

And so I bring you, instead, a little Random Thursday:

• I took Faceplant off my phone (I think I mentioned that) but still pop on occasionally on my laptop to double-check my business page and see if any of the groups I'm in have something useful. Boy is that almost always a mistake. I don't know what the deal is with my friends, but everyone is losing their collective minds about something. All sides. And it's just all meanspirited and ugly and...yeah. Close that bad boy right back down.
• It's been a rough couple of days with the youngest. Not sure what's changing, although he's been eating and sleeping more - so maybe a growth spurt? Dunno. Also don't love it. But presumably this too shall pass.
• We're coming up on a year of my sister's passing. I don't love that.
• Speaking of the above, apparently when you file taxes for the deceased you also have a separate form that you need to include to prove that you get the refund. Which kind of makes sense, and I thought we did that, but according to the IRS we did not, so I did that form today and had to call to figure out where to send it, because the letter and envelope they sent were not so helpful in that regard. Honestly, I didn't remember her getting a refund, so who knows?
• We still have some spots of snow lingering. Mostly shaded areas (duh) but I'm not sad to see it melting. The boys aren't thrilled. And their enormous igloo still stands, so that's fun. But as much as I love that we got a good snow that stuck around a bit, I'm also glad to see it go.
• I've been invited to an event in South Dakota in September. I of course then spent an hour looking at fun road trips that we could take to and from said event. It'd be 80 hours of driving all told (planned a different route there from the one back) and would encompass Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Branson, the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum, Hot Springs Arkansas, and Graceland to name a few. We won't do it. But it was fun to plan. (I told hubby about it and he thought it sounded great until he hit the 80 hours in the car thing. Unless we're spreading that over 40 days, he's never going to buy in. And that's just one of many reasons it wouldn't work.)
• I also spent time this morning drooling over a 14 night cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona. And it's CHEAP, which kills me. Like less than airfare to Barcelona cheap. Plus it stops in the Azores and takes you through the Strait of Gibraltar. I feel like it would be a fantastic way to spend two weeks (and the a week in Barcelona? Then fly home? Or...so many options! If only time and money were free.)
• The big takeaway here is that I really would love to go somewhere that isn't traveling for funerals.