Sunday, January 2, 2022

Ray is back here, and he’s still sick and grumpy. Matt and I remain healthy somehow. A light dusting of snow greeted us this morning. It’s the first snow of 2022, and our first snow in Missouri.

2021 passed and I’m still not organized or slim. Maybe this year. I read 64 books (some children’s) and watched 85 movies last year. My goal is to write every day in 22. We’ll see how long I last. The chair I ordered for my desk is due by January 12. And I still don’t have my files all located and organized, but I’m slowly making progress. Most of the boxes labeled office supplies have been unpacked. I hope to find a local writer’s group and possibly get involved with the local Christian Community Theater. The Stained Glass Theatre’s productions are written by area writers. A new show opens there later this week. 

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

One million new COVID-19 cases were reported yesterday. Test kits are sold out and many school districts requiring proof of negative results postponed opening. Other districts waived the test requirements. The flu has resurfaced and rumors of a twindemic abound in the press.

Matt has a temperature above 100. And we have five cows on the neighbor’s pasture.

Saturday, January 8, 2022

We woke up to surprise snow on Thursday. The roads along the ridge were icy and I had to get Ray to the airport to fly back to Ft. Worth. With deer, ice, and a big Suburban tailgating me, God brought me home safely. Today was the first day since the snow that we’ve been above freezing and rain is predicted tonight.

My office chair arrived and Matt assembled it today. I have all my notes filed and my work area is tidy, so I’m off to a good start in 2022. Being trapped at home due to winter weather greatly increased my productivity.

Matt is fever-free but still not quite himself yet. Ray thinks it was COVID although his rapid test was negative. That might explain why I wasn’t sick since I was vaccinated and boosted.

Saturday, January 15, 2022

It’s snowing again and this time a few inches fell. We put a bowl outside this morning to catch snow for ice cream.

The guys are both over their illnesses and I never got sick.

Friday, January 21, 2022

It was 5 degrees this morning.

I enjoy birdwatching here. I purchased a used birdfeeder made from a cedar post with holes that hold suet plugs. It’s designed to attract woodpeckers, but we’ve seen many birds dining on it. Since the cold weather’s got the birds eating us out of house and home, I tried making my own suet plugs. There’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day buffet going on here. Anyway, the last time we had some hogs butchered, Ray had the processor give us the fat and he attempted to make lard. For days he cooked that stuff and it smelled horrible. He told me it smelled like bacon, but it didn’t.

I found a recipe online and used some of Ray’s homemade lard hoping this would be a good way to get rid of the stuff. When Matt noticed the smell and learned what I was doing, he predicted my concoction would likely attract buzzards. But an hour ago my first woodpecker was chowing down, so I guess it’s a winner. Maybe birds can’t smell.

In other kitchen adventures, my favorite niece gave me her old air fryer since she never used it. I love it. Matt looked up a YouTube video and we fried up a mess of vittles. The best thing about the new appliance is that Matt usually cooks when we use it.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Big scare this morning when our internet and cell phone service both went down. Matt and I thought the Russians had invaded. Russia has surrounded Ukraine and it’s a tense situation. But our service was restored within twenty minutes.

We have a dozen livestock guardian puppies that were born on Saturday. They are all sold, but twelve is a lot for a first-time mama dog, and the barn is cold even with a heater and two heat lamps.

The birds prefer my suet over the commercial brand. I did a taste test by placing both kinds in the feeder and they ate mine first, so I whipped up another stinky batch tonight.

The cold and the winter gray—except for a few evergreens—remain. But no moisture is predicted until next week.

Monday, January 31, 2022

Yesterday and today were sunny and today’s high was 61. I am sick. I somehow missed it when Ray and Matt were sick, and I don’t know where I contracted it, but I’ve got it now. Today is day three.

Rain and snow are headed this way for the next three days. Matt’s phone already gave a winter weather advisory warning. I suspect I’ll appreciate the winter weather from the recliner with a box of tissues nearby the same way I’ve enjoyed the sunshine.

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