Surviving

It seems like just yesterday that Hurricane Mathew was in the news and Hans and I were wondering if we'd have a boat to go home to in January. After days of listening to the 'We Love and Live for Severe Weather Action News Team' happily vacillate between, 'It's gonna miss Florida', to, 'Everyone in Florida's gonna die!' and then hearing that 90MPH winds were expected to hit the boat yard at 2 AM where our Knotty Cat sits, I simply went to bed.

Thankfully, the winds were a lot closer to 40 MPH and the Knotty Cat survived although we know some stuff on deck got blown around. We'll have to wait until January to find out for ourselves the extent as no one has access to her innards.

No sooner did we get past the hurricane, than we endured the election. Again, a lot of hot wind got blown around. But it's over. Finally. Well, not really. Those crack news teams will keep us posted.

And now we get to worry about winter as we live in the heart of a snow belt. We are down to less than two months of living here and this weekend we got hit with our first snowstorm and it was a doozy. Yesterday Wilbur was happily frolicking about in 70 degree weather and today bitter cold gusts of wind were whistling up his butt. I'd forgotten what it's like to scrape a vehicle while icy snow finds its way down the collar of my coat and we fear Wilbur may not poop again until spring.

Last week

Last night. Add about 10 more inches of snow and drop the temperature to 34F.

Wilbur lying on a floor without pillows? That must be a pretty potent heater

 

But in the meantime, we have to get through that marathon known as Thanksgiving. Hans will be on the piano and once again I'll be waiting tables and we expect a thousand or so people at the inn this year. Last year I hit the floor in the morning and didn't finish until after 6PM, all without ever taking a bathroom break or eating anything. I really have no explanation for this.

We did manage to escape for a couple of days and drove across the state to see my new granddaughter. Of course she's beautiful, and such a happy, content baby. I wouldn't let go of her and held her for several sweaty hours at a time.

But, oh my, baby technology gadgets have certainly evolved over the years. Baby swings? They aren't swings anymore, they're remote controlled pod-like seats mounted on pedestals and are swooped up and down and all about with your choice of sounds: rain, heartbeats, music... The nursery? It has strategically placed cameras so the baby can be seen and heard on your iPhone while alone. Although it will be awhile before Baby sleeps there since she's still in with Mom and Dad. Baby's infant seat is so versatile it locks into not only the car, but the stroller, the jogging stroller, and the play pen. At one point I asked if Baby needed to be changed and my son opened her sleeper, took a quick peek at the front of her diaper, and said no. It seems that diapers these days have whimsical prints that change color if the diaper is soiled. Gone are the days of sniffing Baby's butt while yanking down the back of the diaper with your fingers.

It was really hard to leave but I have to say this baby is in excellent hands. We get weekly updates and plan on one last visit before heading south in January.

Hans couldn't get over the tiny fingers

More 'Life in the Country' stuff: I don't know if it was a good thing or not that Hans was oblivious to what was going on between Dear Friend and me the other day and therefor didn't have his camera at the ready. Dear Friend's doxies spend a good deal of their day yipping and yapping. Period. We've grown used to it and even Wilbur ignores them. However, the day came that the yipping escalated into hysterical screams and since I was still in my pink robe and slippers, instead of rushing to the rescue, I called Dear Friend to inform her that one of her doxies was apparently being eaten alive.

But I couldn't just stand by, so out the door I went anyway. And there in the middle of our dirt road I met Dear Friend and she was also in her pink robe and slippers. What we couldn't understand was why all three of her doxies were now galavanting and cavorting without a care in the world. And then we both spotted a very pissed off cat up a tree right in front of us. The screaming had been a result of the 'treeing' but by now the dogs were bored. The cat eventually ran away and both Dear Friend and I were relieved Hans didn't get that lovely picture of us in our robes as it was well past noon. Hey, we had to be at work later so you can't blame us for waiting until the last minute to get dressed.

 

Yum! Kittehs taste just like chicken

 

At the inn we're on a countdown til the season ends, while Hans and I are on a countdown until we leave for the boat. Life is flying by quickly.

 

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All Kindsa Busy

And boy do I mean busy!

What I thought was going to be a part time waitressing job has for the most part been full time. The inn experienced a very busy summer, so busy in fact that I nearly missed my daughter-in-law's baby shower. I'm not kidding. This was July and if the shower had been held on Saturday instead of Sunday... Well, anyway, I was able to attend and we enjoyed one of those perfect sunny, humid-free Pennsylvania summer days.

At the end of the event there was just one present remaining and it was from my son. After the wrapping paper came off I saw that it was a car seat box. Well, I guess they need one, I thought, and then all of a sudden a bunch of balloons erupted from the box and everyone around me shrieked. Now this is how stupid I am; I leaned forward to see what the hell in that box got those women all worked up. Seriously, I tried peering around the pink balloons and totally missed the one with with 'It's a Baby Girl' printed on it before I caught on.

So much for that wonderful day off, I was once again back on the job. Busy nights, lunch shifts, weddings, and dinner theaters. Just last week Dear Friend and I started our day with a wedding and ended it with a dinner theater. That's two full shifts of setting up, serving, and tearing down, and 13 hours later we limped home. The next morning we were right back at it with a dinner theater matinee. I keep thinking things will slow down but I guess I'll have to wait until January when we finally close for the winter.

I will never tire of county fairs and at the end of the summer we did manage to grab a few hours at our local one. We inhaled the wonderful scents of hot sausage, cow barns, pizza, funnel cakes, and pig stalls.

In between work shifts I continue to experiment with my soap making. I find it to be an immensely satisfying hobby and it just kills me to wait for a concoction to set up before the unmolding of it. Actually, during crazy shifts at work I placate myself with the promise of what secret design I might discover once I arrive home, get into my pajamas, pour a glass of wine, and slice into a new loaf. I have so much soap curing our little farm house smells like a cross between a Ye Olde Gift Shoppe and an antique store. Thank god we can always use soap.

Soap rounds

Soap swirls

Dear Friend and I have managed to fit in a few more Amish runs with the last one being exceptionally successful (remember, these Amish stores sell overstocked, damaged, or expired goods. And they sell anything and everything). In addition to tons of beef jerky and a huge can of $20.00 Nido (powdered whole milk) for 5 bucks, I lucked into a big box of loose cans of club soda for 5 cents each. I gleefully pounced on this find and it was only after I'd emptied most of the box that I saw a huge (and I mean HUGE) spider scuttle out from under a can I was about to grab. All I can say is, a certain little Amish girl must have been very brave or really industrious and desirous of the approximately 40 cents worth of remaining club soda in that box, because she whacked that spider so hard a can burst open and sprayed all over the condoms in the next box over. I would've taken a picture of the beast but it's entirely possible that Amish spiders may share in the belief of their human Amish counterparts and shun graven images.

I didn't feel it polite to ask.

Fall has finally arrived and if anything I find myself working even more hours. The weather has been phenomenal and Wilbur is very much enjoying his life with Hans. They go on 'boys only' walks every day on their 'no girls allowed' trails.

But most of all I've been waiting for news about my future granddaughter.

Until a couple of days ago.

Little Andi Elizabeth took her time but finally arrived weighing in at 6 pounds 13 ounces.

And just like that, we're grandparents and Wilbur's an uncle.

 

You don't think there's a chance that she's cuter than me, do you?

 

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