past few days

have been brutal..... i couldn't keep the house warm, it was way too cold for a house with too little insulation in the studio (the main house is solid stone so once that gets warm it stays warm but the studio.....oye)
i moved a LOT of wood
about a cord
all by myself
this morning i shoveled a 4'' coal bed out of the woodstove (it broke my heart to do it) and dumped the live coal into our burn pit out back..... the woodstove has been behaving a lot better since then.

calpurrnia is sick today, she was throwing up and then stopped eating.
i filled socks with rice and nuked them for her ....i kept her under a few towels and shirts and some wool..... with her hot rice, and force fed her watery fancy feast
she's doing better now
so much so that she just got up out of her little nest and went to the food bowl then instead of burrowing back into the covers she's now on top
 ironically thaddeaus who is the cold one normally.... seems to be much warmer then calpurrnia!
fawn is fawn
she's right next to me and doesn't want a blanket

i covered the doorway between the front hall and the living room with plastic, it made a huge difference.
the back door is covered too
i have to say RIGHT THIS SECOND.....i have an unfamilar feeling in my toes..... they are WARM!
the first time they are warm in i don't know how long!

meanwhile it's snowing out
bernie's stuck in indianappolis indiana, the truck is in the shop. he called me while he was doing laundry.( i was trying to catch up on some sleep...i've had about three hours total over the last two days)
he then went to eat and called me back
he's home sick and he's worried
i told him .....we're ok, it takes me a long time to do everything ....but i am getting it done
i can't do it any where near as fast as he does
he can put in a weeks worth of wood in less then 1/2 hour
it takes me three days........ and that's working for a couple hours
(i have to rest in between)
i got the van loaded with wood right now....
i have enough to get through the snow in the house....... and even though it's snowing if i really have to it's just a few steps away from the front door
it is cutting into my painting time but judging by the quality of the painting i am getting done.....well it's not too bad no?

with the snow the studio is getting warmer...... so maybe i will get some sleep?
i discovered a few things for next winter that will help with the wood stove
one is a pressed sawdust block called enviblock ......
and the other one is called ecobrick
as part of my woodstove issues were that big coal bed.... and an incomplete burn
these two pressed sawdust blocks will burn hotter so the coal bed will be reduced to ash FAST
plus they will go a few hours so i can sleep
i wish i had them this winter ..... but hey....

there usually is about 4 weeks of brutal weather....last two weeks of january and the first two of feb......
unfortunately this year bernie is out in training
and while he was told he'd be home after his fourth week out.... he still isn't hearing anything about home time yet so we're sort of not counting on it now
i am fending for myself pretty well....... (ok so more or less....i can't seem to get to the post office!)
sunday or monday if it's good weather i have to go to town, i desperately need hay
and i am going to see about milk and some green veggies
my winter stash is buried in the garden under a LOT of snow and ice
so
there you go.... i am surviving....
i am covered in unexplained black and blue marks though... damned if i can figure out where they are coming from!
every times i see my legs there are literally dozens of new ones! i suppose my arms and back are too.....but it's so cold i am changing FAST
(long johns are my very bestest friend and i am sleeping in them too! as well as a wool hat and a fleece robe....there isnt' any heat in the bedroom)

ok chickies.... i have to go
i am going to put some wood in the stove and see about some sleep for a while
stay warm and be safe