As the planet's ice fields continue to melt, I can't help but think about the prophecy that something big is going to happen in 2012.....

My resolutions for the coming year are about the same as last year's resolutions:  the weight loss thing, more construction on the house, garden better (and bigger) than ever, and continuing to give away possessions packed away that are never seen or appreciated.

Went for a walk with Pepper; it was raining, and we came back soaked.  I sent away for and received a Primus stove that fits in the palm of your hand and a headlamp.  Today, I organized all my camping gear, ready to go if and when I can get away.

I'll put a chicken to roast in the oven later, bake another squash, make cranberry sauce, fry up a yam in sugar and spices, and drink a toast to the coming year.  Meantime, I'll just settle down now with my seed catalogs.

Settling down now, after getting all my housework done for the week, I can begin to look at all the seed catalogs that have arrived to date:  Select Seeds, Shumway's, Gardener's Supply Co., J. W. Jung Seed Co., Farmer Seed and Nursery, Harris Seeds, Seeds of Change, Territorial Seed Co., Vermont Bean Seed Co., Totally Tomatoes, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Seymour's Selected Seeds, and Growers Supply.

I know I don't need another seed in my inventory, but some of them are irresistible, and I definitely want to try some new varieties this year.  It will be a hair-splitting effort to keep things under control. 

I had a nice talk with my grandson on the phone yesterday.  He is doing well, keeping busy, and I invited him to come over this summer to swim and camp out.

Arnie is doing very well now that I have started him on antibiotics - even he seems relieved, and the fur has begun to grow back over the wound already.  And John has responded well to my nursing efforts.  He loves the boots I got him for Christmas; they are keeping his feet warm and dry.  Well, everything is ship-shape, and I might just celebrate by jumping into the tub and giving myself a shampoo.  Aaahh, the evening beckons.

I was to have gone to my brother's today for an overnight visit, but this morning, after viewing what the weather channel had to say about it, I called him, and we agreed that I will drive over there next Tuesday.  He had to walk to his job this morning, and had trouble slipping and sliding on the ice, so he was very understanding about my not wanting to drive today.  Also, it's very foggy.

Of course, I love this weather, as long as I can view it right at home.  I definitely am going for a walk later on.  My friend, John, is sick (again) with flu-like symptoms, and I just hope and pray that I don't get it. 

Arnie's wound is not healing well, and today, I've started him on a course of amoxycillin treatment, 500 mg. every 6 hours.  I believe it's a bite wound from another dog he has to deal with (not ours) and it's probably abcessed.  John doesn't have enough money to pay a vet, so I will have to do whatever I think is best here.  The bite is on his left hind leg.

And my kitchen sink pipes underneath keep falling apart some, and draining into a bucket I have sitting under it (that's good!), but the annoyance factor is building up there for me.  I may take some wire later on, and tie the whole thing up tighter. 

But I didn't sleep a wink last night, due to worrying about driving in this weather, and now I'm so tired, I will just have to lie down and catch a nap.  The seed catalogs have been arriving in droves, and I had made that resolution that I didn't need any more seeds?  I could spend thousands.  I would need a huge field and a tractor to plant everything I would like to grow.  My 30' x 30' garden, plus whatever I can manage in side plots (not enough sunny places) will just have to do, and it will be a lot of work anyway.  So restraint is in order.

I have been spending a lot of time on the phone with my younger brother and sister lately; we all think it somewhat strange that none of us is married, and I am the only one who has a "special friend" even.  After we have talked, I end up spending several days recollecting my childhood, and it has been very enlightening.  My sister is in a self-help class through her church, and she describes her experiences to me, and the lessons then pass on to my own life experiences.  

Last night, I had such a weird dream, and I know now that dreams, too, are part of the jigsaw puzzle that is our life on earth.  We spend at least a third of our time asleep, so it's only natural that our dreams have great significance.  They are part of our reality. 

I see this morning that another dusting of snow has been added to the snow we already have.  Each bough and twig and trunk has an additional coating of snow, and the muffled silence is impressive.  I can't see even to the neighbor's house, nor to the road, and I have to bend down to get through the branches to the birdfeeder, etc.  This feels so protective and "interior" to me; the sky is pewter gray and it is supposed to snow a lot more over the coming days. 

This is a good time for introspection and to draw comfort from my surroundings.  I have been blessed with complete joy lately and have been getting a lot of housework done, taking many things to Good Will and throwing out stuff that just needs to be gone.  And I've gotten a pair of boots for my special friend for his Christmas present.  They came yesterday via UPS and fit him well.  I've also gotten a Primus stove, a little one that fits in the palm of your hand, mostly.  Now I'll have to buy a can of fuel for it and see if I can manage to get it lit and cook something outside. 

I had such a good time with my kids, playing Yahtzee and singing along to the Johnny Cash CD they had playing - I still remember the words and all.  After a nice luncheon of shrimp stirfry and other goodies, they had to leave, and I got out of there too, home to my sweet doggies. 

At home last eve, we decimated the rest of the smoked salmon, sharing the skin and fat with the dogs, who are still begging for more this morning.  John and I toasted each other with a small glass of Frangelico.  So then, I went for a walk with Pepper, and have put away and organized things that were collecting over the holiday.  Ramen noodle soup for lunch, and I am ready for a nap!

I am reading the book, "The Hidden Messages in Water" and I love it!  I rushed to the sink and got a big glass of wonderful water to drink, and have been remembering to drink more water.  Along with my breathing exercises, walking, and oh yeah, not eating so much.....The drilled well is a wonderful addition to my life, well worth the $3,500 or so to have it done.  The water is 99.9% pure, and has a good taste.

The snow is deep and sticky, I drove to my daughter's with all the presents I have, and spent the afternoon there, exchanging gifts, eating what her husband had prepared.  He's a chef, and it was quite a feast.  Smoked salmon, mussels drenched in garlic butter and parmesan cheese, and Italian beef sandwiches with au jus.   And many raw vegetables, dip and chips, cheeses and crackers.  A good time was had by all, and there was no room in my tummy for blueberry pie.  I received cameras from my son, and took pictures of everybody, plus a picture of a pileated woodpecker going at their suet outside.

But I was home by 5:00, had a nap, then spent a late evening visit with my friend, John; finally, went to sleep about midnight and up again this morning, I will be going over to my daughter's again later.  John has a lot of family up for the holiday, so don't expect to see much of him today, either. 

So for Christmas, I got 2 wedges of asiago cheese, a big slab of smoked salmon, a Hillshire Farm sausage, holistic treats for my dogs, an air purifier, "The Hidden Messages in Water" by Masaru Emoto, "An Inconvenient Truth" DVD by Al Gore, 3 throwaway cameras, a bottle of Frangelico, the complete Jerry Seinfeld shows on DVDs, a wicker basket, candy, cupcakes, even a bag of tortilla chips, a Harley Davidson cuddle wrap from my brother, $100.00 from my other brother, so I can afford to drive down and see him, and $40.00 from my sister.   

I seem to like lists of things, and often make up lists in my head as I'm falling asleep (takes the place of counting sheep).  "Things That Could Get You" is a favorite, like crocodiles and tsunamis.  "Things To Do Before You Die" is another and definitely puts me to sleep.  And "Seeds on Hand" etc.  But there are many lists; I heard there was a book published of some person's lists.  I would like to find that book.  I'm sure it would be very inspirational. 

I feel that I received more than I gave; I know that's a fact, but I didn't have much money this year, and tried to get everybody to see the wisdom of not spending too much.  I gave an electric hand mixer, many dish towels and hand towels, pot holders and mitts, energy-saving lightbulbs, a wrench, Suse Orman's FICO kit, loaves of wild rice bread, jars of strawberry jam, quarts of applesauce, Sudoku and crossword puzzles, 2 magazine subscriptions, 3 bags that compress your stuff into flat pancakes for storage, a set of southwestern-inspired bell chimes for a patio featuring Kokopelli, a set of books about gardening, and that's about it.  Maybe I'll take advantage of after-Christmas sales this year and do some more shopping.

And my son just called, so I have to leave now and get over there again.....merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! 

It began yesterday, late afternoon, changing from rain and sleet to snow, just as my son and his fiancee arrived at their destination in the far north.  This morning, everything is covered with a thick layer of snow, but not too deep, I would say about 4-6 inches is all.  It is beautiful outside, and the dogs love it.  But even they came back in the house sooner than usual.  In the far distance, I can hear the muffled sound of someone snowblowing their driveway.  The whole world is white, muffled, every branch and twig layered with about 2 inches of snow. 

We are eating a loaf of the wild rice bread I made yesterday.  It sure is thick and hearty, and I'm thinking of changing the recipe so that it is lighter and fluffier.  I cooked up two bags of beans for John, using both of my slow cookers, bagged them up in gallon freezer bags, and have frozen them.  Now he can defrost a bag, add whatever ingredients he likes, and enjoy.  We both like beans, but I like mine prepared differently than he does.  I have heard that slow cooking beans on a low heat setting is better for your health; that cooking them under high heat, as canning factories do, actually forms a chemical in the beans that is carcinogenic.  Well, I'm not an expert on that, but I have enjoyed cooking the beans up at home. 

Today, I'll work on getting my truck out of the driveway and down to the mailboxes and back; that way, I'll be ready to go tomorrow when I see the kids.  They are spending today with her folks, tomorrow with his folks (me and daughter, etc.), then on Christmas day, they have to leave and drive home already.  Last minute preparations are in order today. 

From Motherpeace by Vicki Noble, 1982:

Patriarchy has brought us no peace.  Instead, its leaders try to reassure us by arguing, as Winston Churchill did, that "safety will be the sturdy child of terror and survival the twin brother of annihilation."  What Churchill apparently meant, in his apologia for the nuclear age, was that we could assure survival not by actually annihilating people but by threatening to do so, perpetually, and hoping that no accident or folly would lead to war.

Today, leaders warn us about terrorists, while themselves commanding the terrible power to wreck, within half an hour, whole continents.  And the idealogists of Patriarchy tell us that "man" has always been a killer, his first tools a club to break an arm, a stone to smash a skull.  In this view, all that changes is the sophistication of the weapons and the "causes" over which to fight. 

I listened to President Bush's speech the other night, and as always, I strain to hear and understand exactly why we are in Iraq and why we have done such terrible things to the Iraqi people.  He mentioned, rather in passing, that we are fighting a war of ideologies that will take a very long time.  Yes, we may just have to cram democracy down all their throats, while losing our democratic rights over here.  A war that will never, can never, be won.

This recipe makes four loaves:  Peel, cube and cook one medium potato, mash and measure.  It should make 1/3 to 1/2 cup mashed potato.  Set aside.  Put 1 cup wild rice in food processor, pulse until rice is broken up a bit.  Cook rice in 2 cups water until all the water is absorbed; set aside.  Cook 1 cup rolled oats in 2 cups water according to package directions.  Set aside.  Start 2 packages dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar.

In large bowl, mix cooked rice, oats and potatoes.  Add 2 cups warm water, 6 tblspns. honey, 2 tblspns. salt, 4 tblspns. soft butter, and the yeast mixture.  Add enough bread flour to make a stiff dough (anywhere from 7 to 15 cups).  Knead dough 5 to 10 minutes. 

Let rise in greased large bowl for approximately one hour, or until it doubles in size.  Form 4 loaves and put in greased pans.  Let rise 1/2 hour or until doubled.  Bake at 375 degrees for anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the amount of flour used.  Turn bread out of pans to cool. 

When cooled and wrapped, these make excellent gifts in a Christmas basket.  The reason for such diversity in flour and baking times, I think, is that you don't want to have the bread be underdone and be gooey on the inside.  I had to take the bread out and slice it open to find out that I needed to bake it longer.

I don't think I blogged yesterday; that's because I went for the longest walk with Pepper, and my hips and back were aching before I got back home.  But as I stood resting, I reflected on how I no longer have the burning pain in my back, so I am getting better. 

When they destroyed my thyroid with their darn radioactive iodine, they gave me such a large dose, I swear they almost killed me.  I have been battling back from this ever since.  Talking to my friend, who had the same symptoms I did, she informs me that they gave her a dose of the same thing (but apparently a much smaller dose), and she has been A-OK ever since; she never had the weight gain and other health problems I've had.  Why did they have to give me such a high dose?  I wish I had not taken their word for it - that I had sought out alternative medical advice first.

I got an email from my grandson this morning!  I had a feeling the other day that he would contact me.  He is super busy and forgets to check his emails for a month at a time.  He must have quite a buildup of emails by then. 

Well, I didn't get started on those potholders yesterday...by the time I got back from the walk, I had lunch and took a nap.  When I woke up, it was getting dark, so I had scrambled eggs (organic, vegetarian eggs) and toast for supper.  Maybe today. 

Ah, the sun is shining and I went for a nice walk with Pepper, feeling pretty good here.  Got some laundry, dishes done, garbage out, dogs fed.

I am worried about Arnie's health.  That bite wound that had been swollen has gone down, but now he is licking it so much, he has the fur gone, and he licks and nibbles elsewhere at his fur, too.  I don't know if this is a food allergy or something even more serious.  Soon, I will begin to harp about getting him to the vet, if he doesn't show improvement soon. 

Apparently, calico prints are the best for quilting....I have only 3 fabrics that have calico prints, and a few others that are of doubtful value when quilting.  But I'm learning, so I think I will make do with what I have for these quilted potholders.  I'm making them for little Christmas presents.  Having selected 9 fabrics that might be used, I have only eliminated two that I won't be using.  I've been saving lint from my dryer, rolling it up and putting it in a bag.  Now I can just unroll these lints and use them as stuffing for the potholders, stacking them up 2 or 3 deep and cutting them out to 7 or 8 inches square. 

I can't think of anything even slightly worth mentioning at this time.  Walk dog, vacuum, and mainly, I spoke yesterday on the phone to all my loved ones, who called in succession.  My son, daughter and brothers; only missing is my grandson, who seems to have gone off the radar again - we don't know where he is or how to contact him.  Our emails have gone unanswered.  This has happened periodically for years, and we are beginning to think he wants it that way, and it hurts.  All we can do is play a waiting game and hope he returns. 

I sat down with my seedbox and a brand new notebook, and wrote down everything I have now on hand, and also the year it was purchased.  I am pleased to say that my seeds, for the most part, are newly purchased, and that I certainly have everything I need right now to have a fantastic garden this coming growing season.  I think I will spend some money on better fencing and greenhouse materials this year, instead of seeds and plants. 

I will be most anxious to see if the deer nibbling has destroyed the asparagus, etc.  If they  have destroyed things, I will be sure to have the fences in place BEFORE the planting this time.  I found a variety of Winter Lettuce among my seeds, and have decided to plant some now and see how it does on the windowsill. 

Should I list everything I have on hand?  Why not.  Beans, bush:  pencil pod black wax, Vermont cranberry, Jung's tricolor, Jacob's cattle, tender green;  Beans, pole:  vigna yard long, Kentucky blue, Kentucky wonder wax, scarlet runner;  Peas:  Mr. big, Oregon sugar pod II, medium green improved.  Squash:  gray winter (from Jill), sweet meat, table queen ace, delicata (sweet potato), vegetable spaghetti, Lakota, eightball zucchini;  Watermelon:  pony yellow, sugar baby;  Muskmelon:  classic hybrid, Jenny Lind;  Pumpkin:  baby bear;  Corn:  NK199 (elephant ear), miracle hybrid bicolor, golden midget, yellow hybrid, golden bantam, Inca gold. 

Brussels sprouts: jade cross hyb. - Broccoli: belstar hyb., Waltham - Cauliflower: amazing, snowball, broccoverde - Pak choi: brisk green - Cabbage, flowering: osaka mix - Cabbage: pinetree mix, ruby perfection - Eggplant: fairy tale - Cucumber: diva, Boothby's blonde, longfellow, national pickling, fancy green slicer - Peppers:  beaver dam, red cheese, big red bell, jalapeno, corno di toro, kaleidoscope, California wonder, super chili - Beets:  pinetree mix, Crosby's extra early, cylindra, early wonder - Celeriac: large prague - Turnip: golden ball. 

Carrot: healthmaster, red cored chantenay, danvers - Radish: crimson giant, early scarlet globe, German giant parat, pinetree mix, French breakfast - Tomato: large red cherry, big beef hybrid, delicious, early big red, green zebra, groundcherry husk, jolly hybrid, sugar lump, sweet cluster, tip top, wonder light, yellow pear, pineapple, roma, Rutgers select - Greens: vitamin cooking, Oriental salad - Spinach: pinetree mix, tyee hybrid, hector, Indian summer - Cutting Celery: afina - Chard: bright lights, bright yellow - Mustard: tatsoi spoon - Kale: red Russian, wild mix - Lettuce: chicken and rabbit blend, winter mix, bon vivant, pinetree mix, little gem cos, iceberg - Strawberry: hanging basket type.

Sunflowers:  giant sungold, sunny skies, ruby moon, pastiche, fantasia, bashful, tarahumara, elecampane - Nasturtium: gleam mix, tall climbing single, jewel mix - Calendula: radio extra, Pacific beauty mix, Indian prince - Marigold: tiger eyes, safari red - Sweet Annie - Pansy: strawberry sundae - Rudbeckia: rustic colors - Delphinium: Connecticut yankee - Morning Glory: heavenly blue - Nicotiana: only the lonely - Zinnia: giant cactus flowered mix - Aster: crego mix - Cosmos: sensation mix - Baby's Breath - Cut flower mix. 

Oregano, Greek - Parsley; Italian flat leaf, dark green Italian - Dill; bouquet, Long Island mammoth, fernleaf - White Sage - Thyme - Catnip - Basil; sweet, lime, large leaf - Cilantro or coriander.

I won't be able to plant all the squashes, tomatoes and corn I have - unless some kind soul offers me a place where I can grow these things. 

I went for a long walk with Pepper in the glooming.  Sometimes it rains, sometimes it snows.  There is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, but it will be too overcast to see anything. 

I want to make potholders as Christmas gifts, so I got out a lot of books and saved patterns, and in an hour or so, had found patterns I can use.  Today, I'll go to the big bin of fabrics I have saved and see what I can use there. 

I made a list of things to do this morning, and it takes up a whole page of notepaper.  Repot African violet, trim Daphne's toenails, bag up and take out garbage, clean spare bathroom, wash dog bedding and jacket, empty vacuum and vacuum rugs, shampoo icky spot on rug, get out fabrics for potholders, shampoo my hair, go for a walk, clean countertops and stove, call phone company re: their screwup, and call bank re: their screwup.  The hardest things to do on this list are the phone calls, because I have to gather all the paperwork and know what I'm talking about before I make the call.  It's hard to know what I'm talking about!     

It's so gray, foggy, rainy and dreary outside, that I don't even feel like going outside for a walk.  Instead, I contented myself to get Christmas cards signed and addressed, and put them in the mailbox, flag up.  Also paid the last of this month's bills, etc.  Finished doing my bookkeeping for the year, have reduced overall debt by $2,000 and I'm so impressed, that it tempts me to go on a shopping spree.  I am desperately trying not to do that, though.  Still....there are a few things I would like to get. 

We've had a tragic episode here in the Northwoods.  A local man who writes an "outdoorsy" column photographed a female wolf and printed the photo in the paper.  It was radiocollared and a member of a local pack.  A couple of days went by, and the rangers noticed that the collar was signalling that the wolf was probably dead, as the signal goes on if the collar doesn't move for awhile.  They tracked the collar down and found it snagged on a log in a rapids.  It had been cut through with a knife, so someone had killed the wolf and thrown the collar into the river.  I guess there are two kinds of people in this world - those who believe that all the animals have their place in the ecosystem, and those who fear and hate (wolves).  I hope someone finds out who did it and turns them in.  Wolves are protected in this state.  It reminds me that the American Bald Eagle was almost exterminated by those who see a big black target and think it might be easy to kill and brag about.

December's cover on my Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine shows a beautiful bobcat, and below his picture is a headline for "fur school" on how to skin out trapped animals.  Why do they do it?  I just don't know.  The article about the wolf suggested that people may have reason to fear wolves while walking with their dogs.  I have been here in the woods for 60 years and have never experienced fear of wolves, walking with or without dogs.  And I've spent a lot of time in the woods, fields and lakes.  The scariest things in the forest are the two-leggeds, or the top-siders (as the muskies call us). 

Menard's is having a big Christmas sale, so I went there yesterday, managing to rack up $160.00 on my card.  And just when I had everything paid off!  I mean, I have been working so hard to pay off all the little side bills that manage to spring up, and December was the month I got them all paid off, and now I've got this bill again! 

But I got a digital camera for $44 and a game camera for $34 and a lot of lightbulbs (the spiral kind that save energy) and a spotting telescope and a full-spectrum floor lamp and one little bag of candy and and....also, my $60 order came via UPS last night after dark, so all Christmas presents are here, except for one last present, which I can't find anywhere I have looked.  A padded shirt, that's all I ask.  Why there are none at any of the stores, I don't know.  They have flannel-lined and fleece-lined, but no padded.  Kohl's is coming here - maybe they will have them.  But I'll have to wait and see for that. 

It rained all night, and I'm surprised that there is still snow on the ground this morning.  The air is misty and it's gray skies for now.  I'll go for a walk later and breathe deeply.  All the heat is turned down low.  Time to get busy wrapping presents. 

This is a comment I found on my blog section called Comments and I thought I ought to post it, since this person does make a good point about emulsification: