i got the SHELVES moved!!

well temporarily for one of them
one is in it's now home, and the other will be when we get the porcelain bench out
i did it myself
so there.......pfffffft to bernie who thought i couldn't do it myself

now i am trying to sort some of the other stuff out so that we can heat if we have to
i can't find a spot for the doll cabinet and i need a bunch of casters for stuff

the caster list:
small bookcase
drafting table
desk
porcelain workbench
7' workbench
both file cabinets

then we are ok in the studio as i can just move stuff around easily
of course the CRP (ethan allen stuff) can't be but maybe that needs to come out of the studio?
i need to do something NOW about the windows, since the mini blinds broke
oye

but the big shelves are MOVED

woodstove done CHECK

wood stacked.....half a check

pens done .... half a check

studio..... we won't go there

i got some furniture moved but not all....... and a mini blind fell on my head not ONCE mind......... but TWICE.......
cause see i learned SO well the first time
tomorrow is the endo
i am thinking of baking a chicken with stuffing and mashed tators and such
since bernie will be home, as he is taking me...... just in case she makes good on her threat of a biopsy

he has to redo some of the duck pen..... THE ROOF, it won't hold a snow load
but it's not really any biggie

ok i have to get the ducks out and the furniture moved

moving furniture

all by myself
i feel like i got run over by a moving TRUCK

bernie worked on the duck pens

i moved studio furniture, the good news is i got my old doll cabinet out
the bad is that i got whacked on the head by a mini blind that broke when i moved the doll cabinet out

today i get to move SHELVES
aren't i lucky???
i am thinking a career change should be in the works..... give up being an artist..
become a migrant farm worker


anyway, i can tell you
my rotator cuffs feel exactly like they did when the doctor said i had torn them
my neck is so stiff and hurting so bad....but then that's been for a few months now again
my arms are tingly numb
my leg muscles feel like overstretch rubber bands.....
and even my hands hurt

so what am i doing today, did someone ask? (pretend someone asked and is vitally interested, cause frankly i really am very boring)

more of the same
i have to be nuts

and now i need casters as well.................
(nuts on wheels?)

today we are doing the studio

due to the recent cold snap, and resulting panic
we figured that the studio has now become top prority
although bernie just informed me 'it's 60 degrees out right now'
(it didn't even get to 60 yesterday)

so
here is the plan
we move the small bookcase, the doll cabinet and the stacking draws along with the cat tree over,......... we slide the one big new shelf down
and move the other shelf flat
then pull the cutting table out
move the drafting table over
and spend 6 hours burning excess paper i was trying to shred but couldn't get it done

the paper thing will actually free up the most space!

meanwhile i continue to be a bit overwhelmed by it all

ok last nights supper..... cider glazed pork chops cooked with red cabbage was a HUGE hit
over rice
like i predicted
bernie ate three of the 4 chops i cooked
hahahaha
not too bad huh?

ok my coffee is waiting so i will go and drink it and then start with this room

again i'm down at 5am

just sort of reading around the net
drinking coffee

trying to sort the weekend
we have these next two days, part of tuesday after my doctors appointment
next weekend and that is pretty much it
then there is rhinebeck

and last night bernie told me, that the other person who takes calls on the weekend won't BE there for two weeks starting thursday
i told him
did you NOT tell them a year in advance about rhinebeck weekend?

you have to tell them you had these plans since LAST YEAR

meanwhile it is getting colder here
i need to bring the plants in this weekend

i need to make more headway in the studio
i got out of the daily thing, and while it was slow i was making progress
and i need that burn barrel NOW
i have tons of paper to burn that i can't burn in the woodstove

and i bet i need the lyme meds again as i am getting very lethergic
and a bit withdrawn again
not to mention ( was it last week?) that i couldn't walk for a few days

oh the joys of aging huh?

ok i have to try and get something done here today

ttyl

pellet food, and the last days of summer

this time of year always reminds me of harvested fields, tucked down in valleys... in the eastern woodlands of 300 years ago.
of close living with the rhythm of the seasons
i swear the mists that rise are ghosts from those times, and briefly relive their lives, and that is what touches us now


i broke down and got pellets for the poultry, and scratch cause it's that time of year
i need to add oats
i also let phoebe out to graze, hoping for her temper to have improved and that she'd score some worms
nope
all she wanted to do was fight with momma, and lilli
ok phoebe, back in the top pen

her flights are growing in now and she's got pink wings from all the blood feathers

she doesn't argue with me anymore about going in with the chickens......seems THEY are safe from her homicidal mood

poor phoebe, she doesn't want any comfort, she's just totally off her rocker at the moment

meanwhile i am bleaching the ducks food/water pails so that they are nice and disinfected for the winter

i made chili yesterday for supper, beans i'd canned last summer ( i need to can more)
frozen chopmeat and a jar of purreed tomatoes, dried onioins and sweet peppers plus some odds and ends spices
bernie took some for lunch today and i have some for lunch as well
leftover stew for supper and then tomorrow most likely porkchops
although i DID find liver in the freezer

we have two weekends left to rhinebeck
the duck pens must all be finished including the coops
the woodstove must be cleaned and the new gasket installed
wood brought in and the kindling barrel stocked
the rest stacked
the studio rearranged
the air conditioners winterized and/or removed

i should also get the furnace cleaned and if i could afford it top off the oil tank........which we haven't filled since summer 2005
yup still on the same tank of oil, due to the woodstove
i could also use a few more cords of wood, like three i think

in baby budgie news, the little ones are eatting that beak appetite stuff, which is great as it's veggies and i am going to slowly start moving them over to a mash diet
they have been really starting to play with their toys now and i am enjoying their chirps and warblings
they also get bernie to stand there for a bit and just watch them
he's always so amazed.........
i don't get it, we've always had finches and canaries and the last time i got parakeets he hated them......this pair he adores
maybe it's the time in his life?
he is looking forward to a very large aviary/flight for them

i am debating if i should really actively try and tame them
i always did have tame budgies, but i am so enjoying them just as they are, that maybe i won't

ok
coffee is ready
my day is ready

5am and we meet again

and i am up
i waited three hours to come down cause i am a good wife and didn't want to wake my hardworking long suffering husband

i could NOT sleep again

yup worry
will the wood get stacked in time
will the pens be put up in time
will the studio get ready to heat
will the new babies get too warm in here
will i have enough $ in the checking account to get layer pellets for the chickens and ducks today
will bernie figure out the dryer issue
will bernie outlive me ( i sure hope so)
will bernie continue being healthy as he does work with diesel and smokes
will we have enough wood for winter
will it be a hard winter
will my ducks be ok

i got the wills alrighty

it's too close to heating now....which is apparently about a week away
last weekend was raining so nothing winter related got done

now it's a good thing i put up the food i did put up as last night some of that saved our necks, being i was too tired to get supper..... but since i'd put up food already it was a simple throw together and heat dinner
nothing like making your own convience foods huh?
i even had cooked already for the chickens

good thing cause i crashed.....HARD at 5pm
and here i am 5 AM and i am up
and the coffee is ready

i've been having spells where my legs hurt......... like as if i've run a marathon, only i haven't
and i am tired.............so tired that moving my painful legs exhausts me
my arms hurt like that too
last week i had a few days like that, i could NOT move if my life depended on it
i don't know how i got the ducks in and out
i also don't know what it was
i am like that a bit right now and last night.....not quite as bad but still lethergic and tired

i do know i don't like being that way
as i miss spending a lot of time with my ducks
and outside in the fresh air
and i also miss being very busy
plus i have way too much to do to sit around cause my legs won't move

maybe i need hypnosis to get past this?

video of the babies

fasting blood work sucks

and other tales of woe
today was lab day
cause tuesday next is the vampire doctor

it wasn't as bad as usual, only four tubes
and i did try and hydrate as much as i could

it was cold out, and i had a teeshirt on ( so they could get the blood easy)
and a coat with a muffler and gloves but still it was cold
especially without coffee

the new baby budgies are starting to play
they crack me up
bernie stands there mesmerized watching them
i don't like the green color on mrs fezziwig, as i hate green and dark olive green is my worst but SHE is funny and spunky and full of life so i will forgive her the green....... and that it's an opaline does help some

i would like to breed parakeets if i can, as i am fascinated by the colors and their cheerful personalities

i gave them a new toy this morning and they are acting like it's going to eat them
hahahaha

in duckies.... phoebe is still growing primaries, they look PINK cause of the blood feathers
she is still in a horrible mood, poor little thing

lilli and momma are getting on ok, but they can't be in the same pen together as lilli tugs on momma's wings but they CAN graze together
so we have an improvement there

i cooked for the chickens yesterday and most likely will again today
6 hard boiled duck eggs pureed with shells, and chard, rice, corn, marigolds, garlic, and pasta
they seemed to love it
so today it will be pasta, oats, corn, hamburgers, garlic, parsley and mixed vegs
i have to get pellets for the ducks

we need a large seperate storage barn/workshop/canning kitchen..... if we have to stay here
and we need it NOW
oye
(just thinking of what i have to do and how i have no room to do it with)

ok
later
i need coffee

this week

i have to go for fasting lab work
most likely tomorrow
i really hate going cause of
a) having to go to town
b) having to go to town really early
c) having to get dressed in town cloths
d) having to drive in town


see the picture?

at home, i am trying to get the babies to eat more veggies
they have stripped off the bark from the apple perch
it's ok i have more where that came from
and bernie is sort of looking at large aviary type cages

speaking of bernie
he's getting really stressed again
this weekend we had no time saturday and sunday it rained
so the pen stands
the wood sits
the chimney went uncleaned
he did take one thing down in the studio while i browned off beef cubes for the stew
oh and btw
i made a HUGE 2 gallons worth of beef stew
we have a gallon left

in baby news, they are getting along now
apparently captain cuttle doesn't think mrs fezziwig has cooties anymore
and they started to play with their toys

in my knitting news.....nothing big, the countdown to rhinebeck

i had to rewind the silk i'm knitting so that i am knitting off the outside of the ball as the center pull was collapsing and the yarn tangling
so i did that yesterday
this is an enjoyable knit
i did check my mittens hats etc supplies and it looks like mittens are in order
lopi mittens
so i better pick up a few balls at rhinebeck
and color knit hats (can't have to many of those)
i need a plum and charcoal one
and a magenta etc one

so we'll be doing that soon

ok i smell the coffee

life with babies

and the rain..........
it's raining like crazy
we got laundry hung out, it started to rain about 10 minutes after we finished hanging the clothes out

now the babies...... they are settled in, they are talking to us right now
i love hearing them
even captain cuttle is now talking and chirping

thank you diane for the facebook information

yesterday was an insane day, we had to wait to go to the woodstove store, so i treated bernie to a quick breakfast out.......remind me never to do that ok?

we got the gasket for the door of the woodstove, and then 100 pounds of potatoes, i wanted 150-200 pounds, but bernie was all upset so we got the 100

then we came back and were about to go to the local produce place and the grocery (1.47 a # butter...yes i am stocking that up)
when he got a road call......... so we started to head out
we got down to jersey and the crew let us know that they got the unit running, so we came back and finished errands
but it took all day
so nothing got done around here of a winterizing nature
bernie's stressed because of that


phoebe is looking a lot better, i think she is feeling slightly better as well
but she still is nuts
i miss my sweet phoebe weebie........however lillianna and momma are grazing together without lilli killing momma, and they are even BATHING without lilli killing momma
so we are making progress
i don't think the winter pens will be done at this rate.......
between the weather, bernie's schedule and our cash flow.........we'll let's just say....... we are behind a bit ( yeah and the titanic had a 'slight' accident with that iceberg)

the furnace is been coming on
that is not a good thing

oye

vi

apparently it's important to go to get the mail

more often then once every two weeks.........

hmm

the box was PACKED

seriously packed

and i got so many goodies

catalogs for cat, bird, duck, chicken and fish stuffs

catalogs for yarn, fiber and knitting........

4 tunic shirts ( one at 29.99 the other three .99 each..... i couldn't resist)

bernie's inspection license.......

and a few other things

i want to order the new clear knitpicks interchangable needles........

i got two sets of denise......... and i love them

i really want the knitpicks too

do i need it?

no

do i really really want it.........oh yeah

and rhinebeck being ( what did jane say?) 21 days away.............hmmmmmm

ok now anyone with facebook?

do you know if you 'friend' someone do they always get it?

not by email but at facebook itself?

and the saturday's childs are doing well

mrs fezziwig ( the green girl)which is from christmas carol and captain cuttle (the blue boy) which is from dombey and sons

(dickens this time, we'll give shakespear a rest)

there are so many cool dickens charactors that i think a bunch of budgies named after them is interesting ( and then i will have to reread dickens no?)

they are eating, chirping and pretty active now but not playing with their toys yet

ok we are off down the valley to get a gasket for the woodstove

later

knitting silk

is a very nice thing to do
(knitting a very large triangle out of silk for me...... i am doing the increases in the center not on the edges as i usually do)


i am a bit better today, could it have been that maybe i forgot my thryoid meds?
(i'm not sure if i did or didn't......i'm never really sure)
or could it be a passing thing?

could it be another bout of lyme?

anyway today i have to run to town
i have the post office, bank and pharmacy to do

tomorrow is the woodstove store, followed by the produce place, shoprite
and cleaning the woodstove, along with coop work

i hope i have the energy
as the past few days have been extremely bad
i haven't had the energy to haul a pail of water out there let alone do anything
actually i doubt it's from forgetting meds cause when i do that it takes a few days to get back on track after i start remembering to take them again

so it's something else
but it laid me low, bernie would even comment on how pale i was just sitting here
and i am NEVER pale unless seriously ill

oye

btw, puerto rican coffee is very good, vicki brought me back some from there, as well as a shawl from peru.

so where was i?
oh roaman's online had tunics for .99 if you bought one at full price, i think it was a glitch as i bought 4 and only paid full price for one.....the other three .99
so i saved like 75.00
they should be at the post office tomorrow
i got a new long goosedown winter coat, in magenta that is very lightweight
also on sale
and some odds and ends.....(pants for outside, rain boots)

i wish i could get wind pants

now in more knitting..... the alice starmore book of fair isle has been re-released.....
knitpicks has the best price btw
i been lusting after that books for AGES........
and a few other books as well....... like i need another knitting book
hmmm?

oye

ok i gotta get the ducks out

is it possible to actually wake UP in reverse?

if so
i did


and i am having a rough time getting back to forward
even bernie's been commenting on it
today although i slept most of the night,
i was stiff and unable to move this morning
i didn't DO enough yesterday to be like this today

i am trying to get going enough to get the ducks out (except maybe phoebe who may need to stay in until this terrible molt is over)

i am not even awake enough to get a second cup of coffee

i would like to know what's happening to me
i am taking my thryoid meds
it can't be that
(although octover 6 i have an endo appointment, at which time she said she'll decide if i have to go for a biopsy on the new nodes and growths in my thryoid)

anyway........... the babies are apparently settling in
i took them outside for a while yesterday
about 20 minutes

the cats as usual are ignoring them
as there isn't anything they have that is good to eat

i am afraid i am making crawling progress now in the studio
due to this ongoing lethargy that i am getting now periodically

i miss my old doctor, she'd figure something natural out to get me through this
the new one just is a pill pusher and i won't deal with that crap

ok i have to get a second cup of coffee in me
and try to walk upright
it's really bad this morning
my legs don't want to hold me

thea

i dreamt of my best friend thea

some things were the same and some different.

in life thea had green eyes, in this dream her eyes were blue, as i looked into them.
in life she had two boys when she died, in the dream only her oldest was with her.

she died of metastized inflamitory breast cancer, and in the dream she had on large reconstructed breast and one smaller natural breast ( although the sides were switched from real life)

she was cognative but 'out of place and time' in the dream
however i woke up missing her all over again

then i dreamt of my friend vicki, who lives out in tannersville
i dreamt she was leaving to buy a new car, and just prior to leaving had somehow been adopted by a very dark brown almost black cat..... i even asked her how her cat charlie would take that?

so i woke up in swirls of dreams shimmering through my head

and i woke up a bit late as well.
i still haven't had my coffee
i hope today will be more productive then yesterday was
i hope that fall holds off long enough to get the chores done ( who am i kidding....it's almost winter ....forget fall holding off)

and mostly i hope that i get the studio finished very soon
or at least managable to heat with

oye


vi

burning the garbage

what would you expect from the bad neighbors?
illegally
in a chimeria
it was so bad i got sick and had to close all the doors
my poor ducks were out in it
i hope that it didn't bother them too much

and that they were low enough to the ground

what's worse is that the 10 (more or less) year old kid was doing it
the uphill neighbors called the police
the police naturally didn't come

meanwhile i worked in the house

now i am sort of thinking of breading and freezing zucchini slices ( i soooooo wish it was eggplant but i got zucchini from a neighbor)
what do you guys think

and i am very tired again, btw, exhausted even right now after a more or less nights sleep
i could go up again
and i would if it wasn't for the fact that i am behind on the studio and winter is breathing down my neck

now today's work:

the boxes in front of the porcelain workbench
the sets of drawers moved over
repot the rosemarys, pathos, spider plant, last scented geranium, and the lemon grass
those zucchinis
the ducks (i don't think night crates really need cleaning right now)
something good for supper.......?
order mouse bait, and vacuum sealer bags

i do unfortunately have to go to town this week on errands, but i think i will be going with the cousins and have icecream.
town errands include :

health food store for the stuff to make cat food
bank
pharmacy for my meds
woodstove dealer for gaskets and paint

and i am sure i will find other things to maybe get done so we just work on the pens and the woodstove over the weekend

i am also trying to wash all the hand washables i needed to get done, plus i need a new iron
oye

i am still hoping for ideas for our rhinebeck picnic
i am leaning towards chicken and dumpllins
(put 'order stewing chickens' on the list)

it's still dark out

and it's after 6am
days sure are getting shorter.................

ok the rhinebeck tailgate picnic basket.............

we normally take two hot things such as soup and cocoa or stew and hot tea or coffee
and two cold things, such as fruit juice and salads
or even sandwitch fixings

i am not sure what to take this year

i am thinking part of the cold should include deviled eggs........
but i am at a complete loss for the rest
i'm drawing a blank!
i was thinking chicken and dumplins then realized i had to make sure it was all nice and hot going into the thermos
AND i am thinking i need a new widemouth ( i am always looking for picnic stuff in october....... have you all noticed that?)

maybe stew would be easier?
i would consider chili if the,........ahem........ after effects weren't so aromatic

then i was wondering how about meat balls in sauce ...... just bring hero rolls?
but i like mine with melted mozzerella cheese

anyway....... i am open to some suggestions thrown out

meanwhile we got a decent start on the new wood (although it doesn't look like we made any dent in the piles at all)
we got wire on the pens, not completely though yet.
we're deciding on the roofing, which looks like it will be a combination of galvenised and clear
and phoebe is still in the molt from hell
she is growing primaries in right now
and looks horrific
she feels about as good as she looks so at least she matches

she attacked her sister lilli so bad yesterday that bernie had to pull her off and he got scratched
poor bernie
poor phoebe
poor lilli

i am going to see if she'll eat some hard boiled egg and crushed shell
as that will help her a lot
growing feathers takes a lot of protein and she isn't foraging for worms as she doesn't feel well

wiring is happening

on the duck pens
that's the good news
the bad news is winter is apparently here
light frost last night, one month early

wood is not finished stacked

i have bought two pie pumpkins
i think i would like about 10 more
and i want maybe 20 spaghetti squash
as well as butternut and acorn

the little guys haven't settled in yet
nor are they eating
which naturally concerns me

today while i work on the kitchen i'll run the dishwasher again for them


ok now onto something else, the BATHROOM
i can't get that toilet or that seat clean
i can blast it all with muriatic acid and still the iron stains are dark brown
i guess it is time for new
i hate to buy new when something still works........ although this really does look pretty gross
but it STILL WORKS
except the toilet is impossible to clean
but it still works
oh man
at least if i replace the shower fixtures (they are a repro antique fixture) i don't feel as bad since they are a bit broken and such
but the toilet still works

oye

anyway
i think it's time to start my day in the kitchen

oh and everyone......... suggestions are needed for the traditional rhinebeck tailgate picnic basket

two hot and two cold

i was thinking beef stew and hot cocoa for the hot
and homemade fruit punch and salads for the cold

what thinketh you all
suggestions are more then welcome

vi

saturday's child

birdie goodies

lookie what arrived here for the future new birdies