Happydale looks good in white....

 

K listed us over on  http://www.hobbyfarms.com/ as Happydale Homestead, established 2013.  So we are officially Happydale!

Last night we got some real snow.

 

We're misty this morning...

Again, I was up at 4am for no good reason.
Since my intentions...

Yeah, remember?  I don't make plans.  Plans never work for me.  I think my own, personal trickster god sees plans as bowling pins.

Instead of plans I have intentions and ideas.  They work out much better than plans.

Since my intentions for the day involved the vacuum and hammers and nails,
Oh my.
I haven't been too proactive about the day yet.
So far I've gotten the animals fed and watered, outed the dogs a couple of times, dumped the ash bucket, and wondered around outside taking pictures of the mist.
And waited.

I'm getting tired of waiting for Maxwell.  I spend a lot of time waiting for Maxwell.
But I am grateful that I have Maxwell, long may he live.  Cuz I can't afford to replace him...

I have put the time of waiting to some good use.  I found my little screwdriver and replaced Icy's batteries...

I really like my little IPet.  I got him several years ago for Christmas and he sits on my desk.  When I have music playing he's on and rocking out, if he has batteries.
And here I must say, poor product design Hasbro.

Really?
A little tiny, weeny, screw?
A.  How many people have a tiny, weeny screwdriver?
B.  This is a toy, given to kids.  How long do you think that tiny, weeny screw is going to survive?
A simple, little tab was too much to ask?  Other things have simple, little tabs and everything is fine...

As I said I like Icy, I enjoy having him rocking out on the desk.  But, he's been sitting silent for over a year cuz I HATE changing the batteries.  Changing Icy's batteries is a trial.  Again, I was tempted to give him a Duck Tape butt flap.  Right now it would be rainbow colored....
But I persevered and got his butt screwed back on.

So far it's been an exciting morning.

But I do have intentions for the day.  Some are productive and some aren't.
Gonna do pork loin for dinner tonight.  At $2.99 a pound it was the best deal at Shop N' Save yesterday.  So it's what's for dinner tonight.
I'm gonna work some on the living room today, decor wise.

I've got a lot of wall space to fill and a closet to empty out.  Emptying out the closet is the ultimate goal.  Filling wall space is the carrot.
And even though it's drippy I'm gonna bring in wood today.  The weather the next couple of days is supposed to go cold and crappy.  I'm gonna want a fire.
But first, I'm gonna spend an exciting, fun filled morning cleaning litter boxes and vacuuming....

Reflections & echos....

Ah yeah, how's that greed thing working out for y'all?
We've been perfecting the greed thing for about a century now.  Greed is the foundation of the modern capitalist state.  Greed has had a free run since the 80s.
So, ya still think that greed is good?
Just wondering....

that's a reflection of the week.

And I believe The Doctor.  Time really is 'a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.'
I like the way the Kodak programs arrange the pictures, all in dated folders.  Having them there makes it easier for me to remember things.  Like, Dusty just turned 4.  I got her in Jan. 2010 so she was born in the fall of 2009.  I know that because of the pictures.
And as with so many other things it seems like just yesterday and forever all at the same time.
You put your head down and plow through the days, drowning in the little things, and suddenly another year passes, and it's a surprise, cuz you didn't see it go.
A memory can pull you sharply back to a moment long gone.
Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey...

Oh for a good pair of binoculars!
Oh for a computer where the things that happen in the background, really are in the background!
Are echos for more than a week.
We do have a small population of busy wildlife around here, but it's difficult to get close to it.  Rusty and Ruth, the squirrels, and Harvey...

Oh, BTW I was wrong the other day.  I called our barn bunny Bob, cuz the alliteration was too much to resist... 
But, in fact the bunny was already named Harvey.  I totally spaced that whole conversation till I was reminded that the bunny is Harvey.

And the hawk are all, rightly, skittish.  It's impossible to get near enough to them for a good long look.  We've got a flock of something big and white out in the fields but you can't get close to them either.  I would really, really like to have a pair of binoculars.
And while we're at it I'll wish for a camera with a good zoom and telephoto lens.
and if wishes were horses...
I'd also have a new computer.  One where the things in the background didn't slow everything to a crawl.
Ah well.
It's not perfect, it's cute.

I had a nice week off.  I got a few things done.  I had some fun.  I ate really good food.
And you can't knock that.
We had our Thanksgiving a week ago, Saturday, and we rode high on the leftovers for a few days.  Thanksgiving K, L, & I, that's I me, went to both of their families for lunch and dinner.
I'm an orphan.  At least now I am.  My family had disintegrated by the time I turned 20.  Steve's family adopted me, but since he passed I don't see much of them.  I should keep in touch, but they don't call me all that often and I try not to bother people who don't call me.
After Steve passed I got used to the lack of family.  On the Holidays I'd pack in some snacky stuff, pull up the draw bridge, watch movies, and sleep when I felt like it.  K's family kinda took me in after the fire, when I stayed with K.  I've spent quite a few good holidays at her mom and dad's house.
This year with the altered situation and the additions, L's family was gracious enough to invite me for lunch.  So we piled into the car and spent the day visiting.  It was a good day.
Friday and Saturday passed in the same muddle as the rest of the week.  Side tracks and lost pursuits.
And still things got done.

This week we road tested the fireplaces.
Yes, I know that we really should have someone out to check them.
But, it's $160.00 just to have one cleaned and inspected.  We've got 4 fireplaces.  That's not encouraging math.
Besides, if I were stumbling through a post apocalyptic scenario and found a place like this, I'd do what we did, look at the chimneys, make sure they weren't blocked or too cruddy, light a fire and then deal with it from there.  The chimneys look clean and the smoke draws really well.  So it's been a qualified success.  We need a screen for the fireplace in the pink room.  We need to get tools.  We need to cut wood.  The fireplaces will help us keep warm this winter.  It's just gonna take some work.

My fireplace:

 Is kinda small.

And getting large logs in there is tricky business.  But I think if we split some of the logs in half it'll work fairly well.
I tried building the fire from the top down and that gave me a good, hot, long burning fire.  Once we get some more gas for the chainsaw we'll get some more of the wood cut down.  Splitting the logs in half will make them burn a little faster, but I think it will be a good trade off.  

 The kitchen has curtains now.

They don't match.
We're worried about having enough money to stay warm for the next few months, so you take what you can get.  These are helping to cut the draft in the kitchen a bit, so it's all good.

 I tried something I read on FB:

It's an idea for adding heat to a room.

 

I used a glass bread pan, 2 votive candles (these are scavenged PartyLite votives, black cherry) and a clay pot.

  

Put the candles in the pan.  Light 'em and cover with the pot.
It did work, a little.  Would work better in a smaller room.  But it does take a little of the chill off in the kitchen.
It's not something I would leave unattended for any length of time.
Especially around here.
But it is an interesting way to get a little more milage out of your candles.  An added bonus to the smelly candles.  If we loose power this winter it'll come in handy.


We, officially have a 3rd resident.  L, K's significant other, has decided to take the plunge.
He's unemployed right now.  So, not helping the financial side too much.  But he's a good guy and the more the merrier.  Things will get better in time.

It's not official, but I think the general consensus is in favor of Happy Dale for the homestead!  It fits, I know I could be committed.  Just need Dr Einstein to sign the papers...

It's official.  Jethro is an undercover kitty.  The past several nights, shortly after I settle in I get a nose in the face, a plaintive meow, and Jethro wanting me to lift the covers so he can crawl in and snuggle down.  He's still there in the mornings when I wake up.
Now if I could just get him to snuggle up around my feet... 

 

Our animals have it rough...

Oz has taken to closet gandering.  I'm wondering if I have a mouse.

Dixie found a new place to perch.

Well it's late enough to make this a Monday post, and I need to get some sleep.  So for this week I give you Poi Dog Pondering to, hopefully, perk things up.

Ungodly Hour Director's Cut Part 1...

OK, this storm’s been brewing for a while.  So it’s liable to be totally incoherent.

Thoughts and ideas are elusive creatures.  It’s difficult to fit them for cement shoes.

Which, I think, is why we have so much trouble with the concept of substance.  Thoughts, ideas, emotions are things of ether.  Bringing them into the physical diminishes them a bit.

The word bird, is not the bird itself.  The word is a symbol, a reflection.  The word is Plato’s cave.

So any word, regardless of where it supposedly came from, is not the thing itself.

I think we all need to remember that from time to time….

 

Oh for the presence of my Deary Departed.  This would have been a day of sitting over coffee, with something like ‘Art Of The Western World’ or old Loony Tunes Playing and the long conversation progressing.  He would have either made me explain the wild idea better or said something that would make the pieces click….

Left out here on my own, I have trouble finding words.

And when I find them they always seem… lacking.

But well…

There are words that readily spring to mind

Ungodly Hour

Divide & Conquer

These words have been reoccurring for a while.

Watching videos of the feeding frenzy that black Friday has become sent those rippling through my thoughts again.
The PTB have mastered Divide & Conquer.

And we are living in an Ungodly Hour.

 Interesting that they disabled the embedding on this video...

Seriously people, what would Jesus say about this sort of behavior in honor of his Birthday?

(Side note to the creator of the cartoon; I love this image, it’s got everything I need to illustrate the point.  I’ll be happy to give credit where credit is do with a citation.  If you have an objection to its use, please let me know and I'll change it

I found the cartoon at:
http://arewepayingattention.tumblr.com/post/5378601097/idolatry

Rather interesting…)

Yes, Conservative Corporate Jesus would be cool with it.

But is it his birth keeping the Christ in Christmas?

Really?
If that’s the case you need to revise your calendar cuz Conservative Corporate Jesus was born in the 80s.  His father was Ronald Reagan.  His mothers in the unimmaculate conception are the whores of New York, Hollywood, and Washington.

He’s got a lot of Mothers.

Conservative Corporate Jesus is the spawn of Capitalism.  He was conceived in the 80’s with Gordon Gekko...

Conservative Corporate Jesus is the real life Buddy Christ, fully researched, branded, and market tested.  Brought to you by the makers of your gilded cage.

Conservative Corporate Jesus is a wedge in a split.

Cuz, for the last month and all the next, while we pay tribute to the Great Gods of Greed, Commerce, and the Corporate State, we will squabble among ourselves about what it is we are celebrating.

And fight like rabid dogs for the few cheap crumbs our betters throw out of the goodness of their hearts.

Where’s the charity and good will to men in black Friday?  The day that officially kicks off the celebration of Christmas.  How is it Christian to make people work on a holiday so you can buy some cheap ass TV?

If your God is truly present in this festive spirit you’ve missed the substance of the words.

And if you shopped yesterday or any time before 9am this morning you are a disciple of Conservative Corporate Jesus and I don't want to hear any hypocritical BS about how sacred and holy the season is....

Wal-Mart Black Friday fight for TV 2013 (+playlist)