There was water leaking out of the hot water heater, making the pump go on a lot, which is why I noticed it....my eyesight is so poor now in dark corners, that I didn't see the leak until John came and pointed it out to me.  Everything had to be shut off and there was no hot water for a bath for little old me last night.  I gave John my credit card and he, with much knowledge about these matters, went downtown and came home with the new h. w. heater.  Today, he installed it, and sometime this evening, no doubt, the water will be heated and ready to wash dishes and myself.  I am on pins and needles, waiting. 

I started to go through seed catalogs last evening.  They start to arrive now before Thanksgiving, I see.  I actually felt pressure to start sowing seeds and planting; just realized that next spring is still far away.  And thinking about the effort required for gardening has me a bit apprehensive - ah, but next Spring!  Still far away. 

The weather has become dark grey, cold and fairly wet, though a heavy rain would be appreciated.  Still, it continues to be 68 degrees in the house, and there's no need to light a fire in the fireplace.  But I can't get over the realization that the weather isn't changing, isn't going to change - IT HAS ALREADY CHANGED!  This is global warming!  Our forest here in the northwoods is stressed out from lack of rain (or snow).

I ate a corn dog for my lunch - a frozen c.d. on a stick - and bemoaned the stick, which was made of beautiful wood.  Trees are being cut down to make corn dog sticks.  Will not buy again.

All this in addition to my troubles with the cook stove on the fritz has made the usual appearance just as the holidays are upcoming, but I am not going to worry about things now.  I'll cook that bird in a slow cooker and be happy to have it. 

I think I have recovered as much as I ever will from the stroke I had in early March of this year.  There is no difference or improvement in my eyesight, and no difference or improvement in my impaired speech/thinking.  Of course, dizziness from the medication still bothers me daily, and I don't like the taste it leaves.  I had my blood tested yesterday, and they are shrieking that it's a point lower.  So?  I can just take 1/2 pill more a week, and they don't have to get so excited.  I refused to come in more often for blood tests.  Nobody else tests me about the other pills I am taking, and I just don't get it. 

I spent a huge amount of money on food this month, more than I need, but it's a good feeling to know I am well stocked(?) for the upcoming festivities.  But there's a problem with my cookstove, and it doesn't seem like there's a lot I can do about that.  I asked my daughter to lend back to me the huge crockpot I loaned her, and the turkey will cook in that just fine. 

My son called to let us know that he and his buds are all safely stashed in their hunting shack, waiting for the deer season to begin.  That's today, of course, so I haven't let the dogs out, and I may have to tie them up for their own protection.  I normally just open the door after their breakfast, and they run out of here like arrows.  But they return very quickly; still, I don't want them to go.  Not today. 

I am almost through with Christmas shopping, and my "frugal Christmas philosophy" is beginning to take hold in my family now.  No expensive gifts will be required - if you want to spend a bunch on your partner, that's your business, but not for family or friends.  It's wonderful that food is being bought and expended to anyone who wants to eat up, and that's the Joy of this season. 

It was 42 (?) years ago today that he was born.  I had a house-ful of guests, sleeping everywhere, including my bed, but I was busy anyway, sewing the new neon-orange fabric over my husband's hunting pants by hand.  I would lie down on the couch if I felt tired and try to grab a few winks, but there were pains and perspiration.  I thought this could be labor?..?..  It's about time???

The early morning came, finding me frying hearty breakfasts for the men, and packing lunches for them to take along to eat at noon.  I think I may have mentioned that I might be having the baby??  Or not...

They left to hunt, and I began to pack my suitcase for the trip to the hospital.  Just in case this was it.  Called my mother to come and get me in awhile.  The weather, that's the thing that I remember the most.  As I got into her car, and later, when we arrived at the hospital, I really looked at the weather and at the snowdrifts all around us.  It was very cold, the snow was deep, and the wind was swirling around. 

My doctor didn't complain, but his red wool shirt was clearly visible under his hospital attire.  I wasn't the only woman who had ruined the first day of hunting season for him; there was another one in labor down the hall.   

The point is that the weather has changed since then.  On this day, in this year, there is no snow cover at all.  And this has been a concern for quite a few years now.  The ground is not frozen, and my planted spruce trees look very stressed out.  I planted over 100 of them some time ago, and water is the thing they have lacked all these years.  There are parts of the country getting so much rain, it washes everything away, but on this upland forest, rising by an inch or so a year, we need the rain.  I am gratified this morning to find a few drops of rain falling, but it is not a substantial amount. 

But HE was born later that morning or afternoon, I can't remember the exact time now, and he was such a joy to us all. 

I seem not to have much of anything to post about lately.  I am happy, but not as up to snuff as I used to be.  I have a common cold, and I need to blow my nose a lot.  This makes me punchy and easily irritated, causing me to mis-step, mis-place, and mis-everything.  I actually dragged in downed branches from the woods, and cut them up, using a light-weight electric chain saw.  That's probably when I caught cold, and also nearly ruined my back/neck again, too.  But I am pleased that I cut up some thinner oak branches all by myself.  I have been enjoying the fires I build everyday now.  Everybody around here is waiting - just waiting - for winter to begin in earnest.  I'll go out there again today as soon as I am finished ruining my eyes on this computer. 

I did go into town yesterday; there to purchase the 4 items I needed to get at the grocery store.  $76.00 later, I dragged all the bags in and made a huge, scrumptious salad, steak, and potato puffs for supper, along with my latest craze for Jello with tropical fruit and lo-cal whipped topping.   

Ugh!  Gob!   

Been feeling very good lately, except for the dizziness and eyesight problems, which seem to be here to stay.  Just have to compensate for those two features.  This coming week, I will be expected to drive to my daughter's house for T-Day.  The Packer Game starts before noon, I think, so the turkey will be cooked and eaten before it gets dark (now at 4:00).  They want me to be back home by then. 

I have been preoccupied lately with getting ready for Christmas!  Today, in the nice sunshine, I will help get more firewood in from around the house, and I might put some corn out to feed the deer.

My dogs are good, behaving well, and not leaving home much.  The guns are blasting away in the woods, hunters sighting in their weapons for the hunting season.  I knitted a blaze orange neckband for the dog to wear on his runs through the woods with John, but Pepper, who looks so like a bear, can't keep anything on her neck (things just slide off). 

I very much like my hair at this shorter length, and it is easier to comb and brush too.  I somehow feel like I am waiting for something (big) (wonderful) (important) (scary) to happen to me now.  I suppose it is the mentality of our times. 

Going to make a beef stew today, and tomorrow, I should go to town to pay bills, and pick up a short list of grocery items.  I'm almost out of coffee.  I know that the winter PROJECT will soon become apparent, but I am in no hurry to find out what it is. 

What project will be mine inside the house this winter?  There is something about this "problem" that makes my mind skip from one thing to another without getting anything done at all.

I've been keeping the everyday things done, so I'm ready to get started on something spectacular....what, oh what will it be? 

And lately, I've been thinking about the books that I wrote last year.  I've taken a peek, and all I see leads me to believe that I have done a first draft that needs to be rewritten.  I can now criticize without fear.  This book is not going anywhere in this form...

And then the big question looms as I look around - to whom shall I take all my "stuff?"  Who will want any of all this that occupies my living space?  I saw a book of Japanese lifestyles that showed a room only occupied by a mattress and covers on a raised platform of sticks, a lamp on a small table, and bamboo coverings at the window.  No pillow for your dog to lie on, no coffee cup on the stand, no plants burgeoning at the window, no slippers and shoes piled up, no chair to throw clothes on.  Oh, they probably put everything away for the picture.

Well, the firewood pile is enormous now, probably 5 cords built up already, more coming in every day.  I am beginning to feel ready for the usual winter weather.  If winter ever begins this year.

It's been delightfully warm this Fall, and I can't help but like it.  The sun is slanting through the forest, and making everything look golden and magical.  I was on the phone, talking to my sister last evening, and she was standing outside on her patio, and the wind was whistling and whining around her property - this is H. Ida, from the weather channel.  She lives in Alabama. 

I've been so sore lately, I must rest and stop doing things.  My back is creaky, my head is dizzy (medicine?), and I feel tired much of the time.  Though now would be the time to get outside and do things, well, it will have to wait until I feel able.  So I'm staying in today, nurturing the enormous spider bites on my neck and at my waistline.  From working with leaves, no doubt, and firewood.  The bites are hugely swollen, and constantly itchy.  I wash them several times a day, put anti-itch cream on them, and that brings relief for awhile.  

John has been bringing a truckload of pine firewood every day, and the pile is getting huge.  When the house gets a bit chilly, I start a small fire in the late afternoon, to warm the house up for the evening.  For a few sticks of wood, we are comfortable all night.  My underfloor heat is keeping the house at 65 degrees, and it is about half way on.  I'm doing a load of dishes today, and a load of clothes.  The clothes are in the dryer now, and that warms the side room up. 

I've made a change to my cooking of the dogs' food - I no longer add any spices to their cooked meals - it isn't natural for them, and they have noticed this change in complete silence, which I am assuming, is approval.  I've also gone to a better (more expensive) brand of chicken, and this has brought rave reviews from both of them.  They whine and cry for more, which is the ultimate compliment from a dog.  But I have to limit the amount they get, since it is more expensive.  All this in addition to their regular kibble, fake bone, cookie, and meat and rice combo.  I give them about 1/2 cup per meal, and they can have all the kibble they want (it's less than a veggie can-ful).   And I divide their rations between how many times they want to eat every day.  Pepper wants 3  small meals during the day, and Arnie will not eat until late evening, when he wants 2 larger meals.     

And my dear Suzie Q. Chicken, just goes along in the nicest way, eating two square meals a day of a cooked cereal like rice, oats or noodles, ground corn feed, sunflower seeds, dirt for her digestion, pieces of apple, grapes, etc., bread torn into little pieces, and any and all vegetables that I have, be they peelings or pieces.  Worms or bugs are a distinct treat.  I don't feed her meat, per se, but if a little piece or two gets into her food, that's okay.  Her portions are small, but altogether, one meal is about 2 cups of food. 

Life is but a dream....   I am so sore these past few days, I can hardly walk properly.  I wonder if the spider bites have any effect.  I should force myself to go for a walk with Pepper right now.  

On this Sunday, I can truly say I have completed all my outdoor chores/activities for this year, and the inside of the house is fairly well cleaned and neat.  Even the leaf blowing has been re-done, the garden fence posts have been placed upright, all miscellaneous items have been tucked in somewhere, and things look pretty well cleaned up outside.  I bought a bale of straw last time I was in town (probably mentioned that already) and it has been distributed in the dogs' favorite places to lie down outside.  Arnie especially enjoys the straw, even lying down in the chicken's lean-to, where I store the extra straw. 

Today was the day I finally got around to bagging up a large amount of garden soil in an empty corn sack, to be saved indoors for the chicken.  There is nothing that keeps a chicken's heart happy like a shovel full of garden soil to scratch through and look for goodies that only she can see...  And I think that the soil helps her digest the variety of kitchen scraps she gets on a daily basis. 

Well, I am very happy that the work I set for myself has been done, and I now can finally concentrate on doing something spectacular inside the house.  Wonder what it will be?   

This was originally the English Muffin bread recipe from the Rutherford Inn of Napa Valley, CA.  I've been making it for years, but yesterday, John asked me to include the "special" ingredients he favors.

                          English Muffin Bread

2 pkgs. yeast (or 4-1/2 tblspns.), 1-1/4 tblspns. white sugar, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. salt, 5-1/2 cups unbleached flour, 1/3 cup oat or wheat bran, 1/3 cup flax seed meal, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup water, and about 1/3 cup semolina, and 2 tblspns. butter. 

I melt the butter in the microwave for several seconds, and use a brush to butter up the insides of 2 loaf pans.  Then throw the semolina into the pans.  Tilting and turning, the semolina spreads around the bottom and sides of the pans and they are ready.  Put the yeast into a larger bowl, add the sugar, baking soda, salt, and 3 cups of flour.  Heat the milk and water in a pan and don't let it get too hot.  Just warm is fine.  Stir in.  Add the flax seed and bran to the remaining 2-1/2 cups flour and add this to the dough.  Stir it in with a big spoon.  The dough will be thick and pasty.  Drop it by big spoonfuls into the loaf pans and sprinkle more semolina around on top.  Cover the pans with a clean towel to let them rise, 1 hour or more, until they double and show over the tops of the pans.  Preheat the oven to 400 deg. and bake for 25 minutes.  Turn out onto cooling rack.

After the trying time I had listening to the current weight loss program at the Y, I got a grip on self and remembered my Granny Jahoda, who was climbing mountains into her 70's, and who never had trouble with weight loss.  Whenever she wanted to lose some weight (usually before going to visit other relatives), she would cut down her portions until the desired weight was lost.  Period....end of story.  You don't need to give up carbs, red meat, sweet treats, or anything else you would normally eat, including your hard-won "good-for-you" foods.  Your body needs a full and balanced diet.  Just smaller, teenier-tinier portions, and I have found that using small dishes and bowls works good for me.  And just getting serious about my intentions.

My only treat now is using packaged chocolate mixes to add to my coffee.  One packet of the Swiss Miss is 120 calories, but I add only 1 tblspn. to a cup of hot coffee, and the packet lasts for several days, so I'm not getting too many calories, but still enjoying a sweet treat. 

I cut my hair the other day.  It was so long that I had trouble getting to the end of it with a brush.  I pulled the sides away and cut the back off to what I thought was short.  Then each side was cut to join with the back.  After a few snips to straighten out any "underhair" stragglers, I ended up with a very decent looking pageboy cut that I am pleased with.  The sides are now chin length, but the back still is a bit longer.  It feels and looks good.

Today's the Viking (Brett Favre) game with the Packers in Green Bay.  My son is on his way to watch the game with his friends, and I'm just about ready to settle down and watch.