So into town again today, to the walk-in clinic, there to get prescriptions for antibiotics.  I seem to have a bladder infection and a sinus infection.  That took an hour, most of it sitting and waiting.  Then on to Farmers Feed to get dog biscuits and deer corn; on to supermarket to get lettuce, celery, chicken quarters, a hunk of turkey back for only 67 cents, and some liversausage.  And finally, over to Good Will to give them a bag of linens I had garnered from my shelves in the bathroom. 

The wind is strong today.  It blew the cover off my mailbox, and I had to run around after it sailed off into the woods.  The house was cold when I got home, so I've built a fire and soon it will be heating up in here.  Think I'll stew up that turkey back and make something out of it. 

We all had a great Christmas - lots of snacks, sandwiches, wine and desserts, followed by the opening of the presents all around.  I got a pink fleece nightgown and fuzzy pink slipper thongs, very cozy.  A book called "Keeping Chickens," which is very educational, with lots of pictures of chickens, but not one of my Suzy Q.  I got an optical mouse, a set of drill bits, some DVDs that I will never listen to featuring old songs from the "Midnight Special" program, a jar of raspberry salsa. 

It did indeed rain! starting yesterday as a fine mist, then continuing to patter all night.  There were thunderous slides of snow coming down off the roof, and the snow pack has gone down quite a bit.  If this now freezes again, the deer will have trouble walking or running in it, so we are going to get some deer corn and put it out for them.  What few are left, that is.  There were half as many deer harvested as usual this year, hunters saying over and over that there were no deer to speak of.  My son saw only a doe and her fawn, again and again, during the hunting season, and didn't have the heart to shoot either one of them. 

But my daughter has a whole herd of deer that come into her yard all winter long.  She brings corn out to them, and they come running, which is somewhat scary.  They have a pecking order, using their front hooves to flay at each other for the corn.  She lays the corn down in long rows to give each of them room to eat.  Still, the biggest one always picks on smaller ones, and so on down the size range.  We spent much of our time watching them out the windows on Christmas.  The bucks are losing their antlers; they drop off one by one after the rut. 

I've gotten all things put away from Christmas, all Christmas dishes washed and put away, fuzzy slippers on my feet, and I am just about ready to begin the New Year.  New Years Resolutions pop into and out of my mind.  Think I'll just take a few days off and wait for inspiration.    

I worked until 10:30 p.m. yesterday from 12:30 p.m. when I finally got going.  I fed all the critters, got the fire going, made the toffee bars, made a rum baba cake in my bundt pan, and made a pasta chicken salad for my food, which was pretty good, featuring dried, sweetened cranberries.

Then I got all the presents wrapped.  This will be a frugal Christmas, and I think that is appropriate to the times we live in.  I got my son a fleece padded workshirt in an olive grey color, my daughter-in-law 2-piece underwear in denim blue with slippers, my son-in-law a pair of sweatpants in navy blue and a pair of gloves in black, and my daughter a quilt in burnt orange and a puzzle mat in black.  My grandson received a check for $30.00 in his card, and each of the other presents came to $30.00 as well.  So 5 presents x $30 each = $150 spent on Christmas this year for presents. 

Food?  That's another $50 very likely - I'm bringing Barefoot Merlot, Asiago cheese, Wenzel's summer sausage, cut up carrot and celery sticks, rutabaga chips, home-made ranch dressing dip, chips, crackers, rum baba, toffee bars and sodas.  My daughter and son-in-law are furnishing a raft of other goodies, and we are just all going to relax and feed ourselves from a smorgasbord of food whenever we feel like it.  No fancy sit-down dinner with lots of dirty dishes on this day. 

And I've already cleared all the snow off my truck; however, that leaves a question of whether I will be able to drive away from that mess.  John did some snowblowing yesterday, so once I get a run for it, I should be able to make it out of here.  It's a clear, sunny day with the forecast for ?rain? tomorrow, which I don't believe. 

So here I sit, fooling around on this computer, and the house is cold, 62 degrees, and my response is to put on more clothes so I don't have to do anything.  The fire is out, ingredients for toffee bars are sitting on the table, and I still haven't done anything towards getting underway.  I went to town day before yesterday, that would be Monday, got my prescription refilled, bought D batteries, wrapping paper, and extra eggs and butter for baking.  But still I sit...I'm probably just too cold to do anything.  But I slept well last night, and I am rested, and I'm procrastinating just for the heck of it.  It will be the last push to get ready for Christmas.  That is, if I can get out of the driveway.  My truck looks like a lump of snow.   

I need to get the fire going, throw some paper on the presents, and throw the toffee bars in the oven.  John is seriously considering snowblowing the driveway.  It's rather warm out, 20 degrees, and I know that soon the Christmas spirit will take over.   

I just added something to my blog, but now I need to get it to compress so that all three columns are visible at once.  But it is 1:45 a.m. and my eyes are burning, must get to bed.  Tomorrow, wrapping presents and baking....

Apparently, I got my cell phone working, but the volume is so low, nobody could hear me talking.  All this hi-tech stuff....I just don't know....

How old can a chicken get?  I was watching a show about commercial egg production last night, and hens do not start laying until they are 20 weeks old.  They lay for one year, or 52 weeks, then their eggs are considered unfit for commercial production, and they are sent to the great stewpot in the sky.  Well, that means that my Suzy chicken is at least 2 years old, possibly 3.  Which explains why she does not lay many eggs anymore.  Now we will see how long a pet chicken can live. 

She gets so much food every day, that she can't eat it all.  I give her warm water every day, garden dirt about twice a week.  She has a straw bed she can sit on in the sun if she wants to, and her house is so warm (with a 30 watt bulb) that a rush of warm air comes out with her in the morning when I open her door.  It's amazing how much extra food (besides her egg mash and sunflower seeds) that is always available to her here. 

Right now she's going through a strange dish I made the other day of mac and cheese, laced with tuna and corn, plus some rock-hard prunes I found in the cupboard that I've stewed and softened for her.  She gets an odd but nutritious assortment of things to eat, and she's always interested in what I put out for her.  That macaroni and cheese dish is sorta okay for human consumption too, but not the tastiest thing I ever invented.  I've had a couple of servings of it before deciding it's a Suzy dish.

Woke up late, 9:30 a.m., having slept soundly all night for a change, and not having gotten up once to tend the fire.  It was out, and the house was 58 degrees.  Outside, it had snowed about 4 or 6 inches and the trees were all frosty, every little branch and twig looking sugar-coated.  Sky slate-grey, negative 6 degrees.  I love it.  Pepper loves it too.  When I uncover my chicken now, I feed and water her, but put her cover right back on to preserve warmth. 

Got the fire going again, and I sure do like dry pine for getting a roaring blaze that warms the house up fast.  What can I do today?  I got half the vacuuming done yesterday, laundry, etc. and want to cook some things today.  Will probably make breaded pork steaks and lay them in a shallow pan in the oven to brown and cook.  How about mashed potatoes again with rutabagas?  And frozen corn John put up last summer.  It is so sweet, it tastes like candy.   

And finally, I got underway to town, after clearing much snow and ice from my truck.  I went to the Library, got 2 books by Scott Smith, The Ruins and A Simple Plan; and two more books about the Amazon.  I had previously read one book by Joe Kane, Savages; but was unable to locate Running the Amazon.  As you can see, I've gone from the northernmost of the planet to the Equator in my reading interests.  I suppose I could ask for interlibrary assistance with that book I couldn't find. 

Then on to pay my insurance bill and do some more shopping for a few items I might need at Christmastime.  Home, just as the liquid golden sun was sitting on the horizon - back to my beautiful woods, snow and cozy house, dogs sleeping on my bed until I return.    

I WILL get the tree up today - yesterday I actually located all the parts and decorations in 3 or 4 separate boxes in the attic.  I tried to recall just what was in my mind last time I undid the tree.  It seems to me that I was not as well last year as I seem to be this year, which is surprising.  I AM getting better and better, at least in some ways. 

I am thinking about the novels I wrote last year, trying to recall what they were about.  Oh yeah, a murder mystery and a murder mystery, and a story about elves, that was rejected quickly.  When I see all the vampire crap on tv, I think I should change the elves to vampires and then it would become popular.  I want to start writing again, after the holidays.   

It was 16 deg. below zero last night, and we took turns stoking the fire all night.  It stayed warm enough.  We turned on a box fan on low to blow some warm air through to the side room, and it stayed 40 degrees out there.  I'm impressed with the success.  Nothing froze up.  And my $40.00 radiant oil-filled heater worked well to keep cold spots to a minimum elsewhere.  I only had it on for about 1/2 hour, put on a small extra blanket on the bed, wore flannel pajamas, a sweatshirt jacket, big socks and a t-shirt "hat," by putting a t-shirt over your head and pulling it up to your forehead, then flipping it over your head.  It looks like a shiek hat, but it's easy to wear in bed and keeps the head warm.

My chicken is doing very well and is much easier to care for in her greenhouse.  We doted on her yesterday, giving her warm water to drink and feeding her 3 times.  She gets an amused, happy look in her eye, that I just can't fathom... a happy chicken? 

At least, I am improving daily with my health, but I am not getting a lot done by way of housework.  I just feel like hibernating.  I'm going to make pork chops for supper, with a mashed  potato/rutabaga dish on the side.  Basically, you cook a little cut up rutabaga in with your peeled potatoes, and make mashed potatoes.  It's yummy, and I have the rutabaga on hand. 

The fire is brightly burning, and the steam on top of the stove is hissing, and some of my Christmas cards have already been delivered, I'm happy to say.  Now if that final present would just get here, so I can wrap it.   

My nose did not start running right away when I woke up, and I managed to sweep the kitchen floor, moving the refrigerator back to where it belongs.  I had moved it to the other side of the kitchen because the electrical socket doesn't seem to be working, but it still isn't.  I have rigged up another system until the wiring is fixed.  At least the frij doesn't stick out into the middle of the room anymore.  I had made lasagna using the recipe on the box of lasagna noodles, and it's a good thing I did, since I haven't been able to cook with this cold.  The recipe made a huge pan-ful and it gets better every day. 

Another thing I wouldn't do is try to make out Christmas cards while snotting and sneezing all over.  Now that the worst of this cold seems to be over, I'm going to make them out today and get them in the mail tomorrow.  Although it's freezing rain outside right now, it's supposed to return to below zero temps tonight, with wind.  There's a huge pile of wood in here now, so we'll be ready for cold spells.  I've moved furniture upstairs into the spare bedroom to accommodate all the firewood.  It's dead pine, dead birch and dead oak.  We never take living wood for fires. 

I'm just being thankful that the worst of this cold is over, or seems to be.  I'm so well today, that I will put up my 2' Christmas tree on an end table.  That will be cheery. 

We watched a scary movie last night called "The Ruins" that was truly frightful.  Loved it.  It was almost believable.  And of course, Johnny Depp and the Oompaloompas on another channel.  One of my favorite movies.  Well, on to Christmas cheer.  

I've just watched Rachel Maddow and company expose the southern Republican Senators for the Hooverites they really are - blocking the auto industry bailout, endangering the country and the world, in order to gain their political agenda of busting the UAW.  Just another backward-thinking, evil-parent Republican ploy...  blocking progress to achieve their political ends.   We need cooperation, but of course, they are going to block progress, just because their bungholes are angry over the election.  This is what we can expect from them at every turn. 

Well, I have the worst cold ever.  I have been miserable all day, medicating with OTC cold meds, drinking plenty of liquids, and staying warm.  I don't understand why this cold can keep coming back on me, every time I think I have it going away.  I just don't know...and it gets more virulent each time it comes back.  What is this? 

I spent many hours on the phone today, with a young woman from India (I think), who sounded like she was doing business on the sidewalk during a riot perhaps.  I pictured her sitting on the curb, with her fix-it manual on her knees, patiently going through each and every step it takes to try to get my TracFone to work, while angry or frightened mobs ran back and forth behind her.  At the end of this lengthy session, it was finally decided that I need to receive a new number for my phone, or a new phone.  Actually, it's probably not the phone, just the Pin Number or something that is not allowing my phone to work.  It performed every function that was asked of it many times over.  But it was exhausting, probably because of my head cold. 

I was supposed to go out to eat tonight with my kids to celebrate a birthday, but I was too sick to go.  I realized at 4:30 p.m., after getting off the phone with India, that I was still in my nightgown, sweater and boots, still stuck to my box of Kleenex; my nose very sore from constant blowing, my lips parched from breathing through my mouth, and I was supposed to be in the next town in less than two hours.  Of course, I did not make it, and called to cancel.  The only sensible thing to do.  It has been below zero a couple of nights this week, and it makes sense to keep close to the wood stove, and keep the fire going brightly.  I can only hope that tomorrow finds me much improved.    

Why don't they quickly develop plans to utilize efficient gas engines and retrofit all the gas guzzlers on the lots that are not being purchased now?  If they would increase gas mileage twice from 19 miles per gallon to 38 miles per gallon, that would double our gas savings, usage, and environmental protection by twice.  This would be a good interim move, and would utilize our existing resources to the best advantage.  Another move could be to utilize spent carbon dioxide saved from "clean" coal and make carbon fiber parts for autos and trucks.  That would lighten the load and improve gas mileage. 

Well, there you have it; my ideas for helping the auto industry get through some tough times, while they work on their plans for a better future.  The above, however, will never be used because the big boys at the top are only interested in their huge salaries, and cars that go 160 miles per hour.  They love designing cars for the futuristic looks.  Last suggestion:  get rid of these auto executives and hire engineers to work on those fuel efficient engines! 

I did manage to get back into town, spent a lot of time at the tire shop.  I don't know why, but I think they are all idiots.  They claimed, after I had already been waiting for one hour, that they couldn't get my tire off without a special tool for the lug nuts, which they claimed, I should be providing in my glove compartment, perhaps?  I asked them how they got the old tires off and on again, when I had purchased the tires here in the first place.  When? they asked.  I said about 2 years ago, and they cheerily said that was plenty of time for me to "lose" the special tool.  Since I have never even heard of this before, I can only presume they kept my special tool and never put it back in my truck when I purchased tires last time.  Somehow, they muddled through and fixed the slow leak, which, by the way, was caused by a faulty air valve they had installed last time.  I had to pay for it, and am now unsure just what kind of lug nuts they have reinstalled. 

Every time I go into town or go somewhere with people now, I am always getting sick, catching whatever evil germs are floating around.  Sure enough, I have been miserable again since my last trip to town.  The weather has been getting colder, with snow, and it is beautiful outside.  The dogs are able to be outside at night now, and have been bringing back wonderful treats - deer legs, and now a hide.  We took the hide away because Pepper will eat the fur and get bound up, big time. 

I have been in a bad, Grinchy mood since last trip to town, because of catching all those nasty germs, dealing with the tire people, and now with the cell phone I purchased, trying to get it to work.  My last hope is to bring it to my son and he will soon fix it up so that I can use it.  My truck is getting old and I ought to have a cell phone with me in case of break downs, or any kind of emergency on the road.  My sister and I are deploring the plight of old age, when we must turn to our children to help us manage cell phones, VCRs, cameras, computer functions, etc. etc. etc.  This is why I am crabby lately.  Technology has passed me by, and that isn't nice.  Everytime I have to deal with another new gadget, I feel so frustrated and angry.  Why do they have to make things this way?  Nothing seems to work as they claim, or the instructions are inadequate. 

I laid down and prepared myself mentally to do all the things in town that needed to be done.  I am amazed that I went to about 8 of those places.  Mailed out my bills, shopped for groceries in 3 different stores, bought a Tracfone and some minutes for it, returned library books, donated to the Food Pantry, sold my Ruby Glassware at an antique shop and got $30.00 for those things, went to the bank, went to Pit Stop and got an oil change with full service.  But couldn't make it to the feed store, nor did I go to tire shop to repair slow leak in tire.  Will take care of those details next trip into town.  Hope my tire holds out until then. 

It's much colder today, and I'm dragging my feet on getting more stuff done until I feel warmer.  At least I have some room in the etagere where that red glassware used to be.  I will go through my clothing soon, and see what good things I can part with for the Good Will store.  I can take things in to town on my next trip. 

I was listening to Ariana Huffington talking about blogging, and how you should blog your passions, along with your everyday things.  I have just been settling down after the election.  All I can say is that it is such a joy to me to listen to the intelligence of Barack Obama, as he faces up to the enormous challenges that the Bush administration has (almost) left in its wake.  If only there was some way to prevent the damages that Bush is hell-bent on doing in his last days in office!  We need to change so many things that are wrong about the way government operates now.  We need a total overhaul of the entire system, and I hope Obama intends to remake our government in a humane, commonsense way.  He has got a fine retinue of people to work on it.  All the people who ran for president are all extremely good men and women, and I just wish they were already in office with Barack.   

And I've just about had it with calling that woodpecker "The Red-Bellied Woodpecker."  It has red on the back of its head, and no red at all on its belly.  Now I've seen photos too of this same woodpecker, and I think I might start a protest of some kind to have its name changed to "Black-Speckled-Back Woodpecker" or maybe "Partially-Red-Headed Woodpecker."  And the Pileated Woodpecker is at the beef suet hung up on the oak tree.  Plus, all the other woodpeckers that live in these parts.  There are blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, canaries, finches, and off in the distance, the otherworldly sounds of the raven can be heard. 

Got a nasty jolt when going down to the mailboxes to pick up my mail - some not-too-respectful person has backed up into the row of mailboxes and taken out 3 of them (mine in the middle) and 2 newspaper tubes.  I tried to straighten them back up, but 2 of them and the newspaper tubes are hopeless, but mine (setting in a bucket of rocks) came up nicely.  This is not good; we'll have to see how much longer they can keep us going a half-mile to get our mail anymore.

The after-Thanksgiving turkey is almost gone, a couple more sandwiches will do it.  It sure was good while it lasted.  I've finished the books from the library; one was about the Apaches, who were defeated by lies told to them by the whites, and the other book is about Huoranis in Ecuador, also defeated by lies told to them by oil companies.  Come to think of it, we have all been defeated by lies told to us, or by lies told about us.

But the subject of this posting is that today, I am curiously listing to port.  Began as dizziness this morning while searching my cupboards for donations to give to the Food Pantry, felt really awful, and haven't been able to walk perfectly straight all day.  And I'm very tired.  I wonder if it time to have a catscan and see what this sharp pain is that plagues me on the left side of my head.

I went through my closet also, to see what I may part with to bring to Good Will and found several purses, a jacket, a dress, and another shirt.  If I went through my shoes now, I bet I would find more to give.  And I threw away things today - stuff that just sits there, can't be given to anybody, and it's stuff that annoys me just to look at it.  Good girl, good girl.  Keep on doing that.