The Weather Network predicted a very cold and snowy December for 2021. In fact they wrote there would be "more winter weather leading up to the holidays than we have often seen over the past 25 years". "Yikes ! " we thought, and reminded ourselves to keep a supply of diesel for the tractor so we could plow ourselves out, and a good stock of food and supplies in case the roads were bad and we couldn't get out for groceries. Overall though, I think we were secretly looking forward to being hunkered down in the house for a while as both of us were ready for some down time after a busy summer and fall.
December arrived without the predicted storms though. In fact on our daily walks we commented often on the lack of snow in the nearby fields. The river remained open, and the south facing slopes were often bare of snow.
We did however have a number of storms with freezing rain and high winds, so that made our walks a bit more interesting on some days. We generally won't walk in the woods when it is really windy in case trees or large branches fall on us. On the days when it wasn't windy, we could usually get out for our walks as we have cleats for our boots which really helps when it's super icy.
As Christmas approached I baked up a huge batch of our favourite New Mexico Biscochito cookies and some Mincemeat tarts. Oops, I froze almost all the tarts before I took the photo ! Luckily the cookies also froze well as I forgot the recipe I had produces more than 6 dozen cookies. That's a lot!
We found a perfect Christmas tree (super tall!) under the power lines, and knowing it would have to come down as it would be touching the lines in another couple of years, we weren't quite as sad to chop it down. Well actually, Rob doesn't look sad at all does he?
It looked beautiful once we got it up and decorated. It certainly made things a bit more festive, as it was yet another Christmas in the new house where we would not be entertaining friends.
Before we knew it, 2021 was over. We began the New Year in much the same way as the Old, with a good meal prepared at home, and hopes for a healthy and happy New Year.
Little Axle our 19 year old cat had been given a rather dire prognosis before Christmas as he likely has a nasal tumour and he was quite ill, but even he rallied over the holiday season. In fact, he continued to astonish us and is still with us now in late Spring!
The New Year brought us slightly longer sunlight hours for which we
were glad. The short daylight hours in November and December are always a
concern, and we were watching our power usage really closely. We
keep an eye on our daily usage, and the health of the entire solar power system. We found
ourselves once again going around the house with our Kill-a-Watt gizmo to
monitor the electricity usage on every item we could think of, including our
electric alarm clock, kitchen scale, microwave, and even our wireless NAD that
transfers our sound from our Laptop to our Stereo System. (Needless to say our stereo system is NOT
used in the winter months it just takes too much power!) Every little bit helps, so we swapped out our
electric alarm clock for a battery operated one, got in the habit of unplugging
our microwave and turning off the kitchen scale when not in use. We unplugged
the wireless NAD as well, as even that uses a bit of power when we aren’t using
it. Our laptops are pretty low usage,
but when we have them plugged into a larger monitor, that too takes more power
so monitors needed to be – for lack of a better word – "monitored" !! Although it seems like some of these items such as an alarm clock, may not use much power, it does run 24 hours a day, most of that time pretty needlessly.
It was an interesting exercise.
The funny thing is that while we were doing all this, I was busy
disposing of our old Chilly Chiles files.
We had to keep 7 years worth of paperwork after closing and it it was now past the time to dispose of all of it. I came
across our old Hydro Bills and was completely astonished at how much power our
store and warehouse used each day. Of
course we were running a store and warehouse, complete with walk-in coolers, a
freezer, store cooler, lights, computers, servers and various equipment. I realize it was the cost of running a business, and we were as efficient as we thought we could be, but still it is mind boggling compared to how low we try to keep our current daily usage here.
Going through the old paperwork was a trip down memory lane as well. There were invoices from some of our most favourite suppliers, many of whom we had met and hung out with over the years. There were lists of products that we truly loved and still miss to this day. Rob would hear me calling out products every now and then, followed by a wistful sigh. Fortunately, one of the businesses that we used to supply is able to ship us many of our favourite sauces and dried chile peppers (hotsaucesunlimited.com) Be sure to check them out if you need products and tell George we sent you to him! His customer service is outstanding, and our orders always arrive promptly and in perfect condition!
My original intent was to shred all of the paperwork that had personal or confidential information, but 7 years worth was a daunting task, especially with our small old shredding machine. (Unfortunately we sold our commercial shredder when we closed the company!) I soon realized however that most of the paper made for an excellent fire starter in the woodstove, and so that is what we did through out most of the winter. As there is no longer much in the way of newspapers, it was an excellent solution.
Going through the paperwork also gave me a better appreciation for what Rob did all those years too. GST filing, employee deduction tallying, bank account reconciliation, debit and credit card cross checking, invoices, bill paying, custom declaration forms, shipping invoices, food inspections, pay cheques, tax filing etc. etc. etc. No wonder he has such a dislike for paperwork! I definitely feel like I had the easier job working the store.
I will admit I started singing a "money in, money out" mantra while I was going through the boxes. I had to remind myself that it did pay us a salary though, so no complaints there. And it reminded me again of what a great company we built and ran for all those years.
Chilly Chiles came through again for us when Rob decided that he simply couldn't continue trying to work in his workshop without a sink. He had found a perfect second hand sink in the fall, and together with the small under-the-counter hot water tank from our first store in the ByWard Market, got to work on installing a sink with hot and cold water, and a way of draining it with the help of a pump into our existing system. Then he began the rather hopeless task of trying to get the rest of his workshop in order.
When news arrived in early January that Rob's sister Trina had contracted Covid in the long term care home where she lived, we were relieved to hear that she was asymptomatic, but sorry to hear she would have to be moved into isolation. We certainly did not expect the next call that she had passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. And so we joined the ranks of so many other people in this world, finding little in the way of ritual during this pandemic time, mourning the loss of a dearly loved sister and sister-in-law. Trina's positive spirit, her great laugh, and sing-song "I love you too" are sorely missed. I am so grateful for all the times we spent together, whether in St. Catharines, here at the cabin, at our dome in Navan, and the various cottages during the summers when her children were young. When I looked through our photos of Trina from the past, so I could send copies to her daughter, I couldn't help but smile as in almost all of them Trina would be laughing and smiling, even when she wasn't aware of a camera pointed at her. These are just a few of many.
I did find one photo where that smile wasn't shining, but it's still a classic Trina pose. Sitting in the sun, reading, with her feet in a pool. This one makes ME smile every time I see it.
By the second week of January, the daylight hours begin to get a little bit longer. I don't think we even noticed it this year. A bright spark had gone out of our lives for ever.
But we did notice it was colder, and we were into burning more serious wood than the "swing season" wood that we were burning mostly up until then. With night time temperatures in the minus 20 and 30's we moved to burning more of our oak. Even then though, we didn't usually need to start the woodstove until late in the afternoon. The house was always quite warm enough despite the cold temperatures outside.
I began to worry about a merganser that was still hanging around in the river. Usually they fly south in the fall.
Despite the cold we still got out every day for several walks. Nothing heals more than fresh air and natural beauty, at least for me.
And if busy hands make idle minds, then the snow storms certainly kept our hands busy.
Slowly the daylight hours got longer, and more light returned to our worlds.
In an attempt to get a bit more routine into my life, I declared Sunday my mental health day, and banished "to-do" lists from that day. I pulled out my dear old (almost 50 years old!) sewing machine, and a second equally old machine that I had pulled out from a curbside give away many years ago and never used. I cleaned the second one up, found a manual online, and learned how to use it. I still favour my old machine though. It is so familiar to me even after years of not using it. My fingers know exactly what to do, and I can thread the needle still, even without my glasses. The second machine is more flimsy, and a tiny bit "fancier". But it also has a free arm, which is what I needed when I decided to patch my (second hand) jeans rather than toss them out. I pulled out my old fabric paints and stamps (sadly some have dried up after being tucked away for so long) and had some fun playing with fabric once again. Small steps, but I know I will do more.
Photos in this case are harder to come by. There is a rather large gap in time when obviously none were taken. (Cameras are generally frowned upon during prison visits) And the early photos I have are a painful reminder of a much younger brother who (I presume) was not an addict at the time.
He was a joker and he kidded around a lot. Even just before Christmas he was still sending me emails with silly poop jokes. They annoyed me at the time, but I kind of miss them now. So this photo from around 5 years ago will have to do. It's a typical Alan pose; and he is no doubt saying something silly or rude.
On the day he passed. three geese showed up on the river bank. I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere, but I don't have Alan's twisted sense of humour so I can't think of one. Hopefully he's laughing somewhere.
I think perhaps this blog posting is in need of a bit of cheering up, so here is a "cheering up story". During this difficult time we had a call from the Wildlife Rescue that had helped us capture our injured porcupine (a.k.a. "Hoover") and had transported him to Sandy Pines Wildlife Rescue in Napanee where he stayed for the winter. They had successfully removed the pellet from his eye, and treated his mange and got him back into good shape. Hoover was apparently ready to come "home" and needed a ride! So we offered to do it. The original rescue gave us a good sized crate and we set it up in the car with some protective coverings underneath for the seats, and set off. When we arrived some 2 hours later they took the crate, and then returned it to us with one sweet little porcupine inside! We strapped him in and off we went.
We had been told that on his original ride to the rescue he was a pretty unhappy and vocal little guy, but on the trip with us he was very quiet. He sniffed at us several times, and would look through the slats at us but that was all. Oh, and had a little pee in the crate but there were pee pads and straw in the bottom so no problem there. And then he curled up and went to sleep for most of the trip. I will say that I think this was the best road trip ever. Ever time I looked back to check on him I just kept thinking how cool it was to have him in the back of the car !
When we arrived home we were told to put the crate out on the ground, open the door and step WELL back so that he wouldn't stress. We chose a spot on our property near a big old tree where we have seen porcupines (and raccoons) resting in the crook of the tree before, thinking it was a nice safe spot. For a while, he wouldn't come out though, so we spun the crate around to face away from us, and he stuck his nose out.
And then he just sort of trundled out, and pretty much made a straight line through the bush and up the bank towards the tree! There was still some snow on the ground and more fell the next day so we weren't sure how thrilled he'd be. But we reminded ourselves that he was actually a wild animal and probably just fine with it.
Sure enough a few days later there was a porcupine in the tree. We will assume it is Hoover. We've seen one there now a couple of times, sleeping of course as they are pretty nocturnal.
Rob did a little video of Hoover's "Release Party" and set it to music. It was hilarious and probably just what we needed to cheer us up a bit too.
And so we eased slowly into April, and began to see signs of spring. The ducks returned to the river, and one day our neighbour took us into their barn to show us a new born colt, just born the night before. The barn was full of mules and big work horses all munching on their hay and it brought me right back to all the times in my childhood when I hung out in a horse barn. It was super sweet and just what I needed.
When friends of ours asked to use the cabin for a night at the end of April we set to getting it open for them as we had completely shut it down for the winter. We had drained the pipes and turned off all the power, wrapped the porch with tarps etc. in the late fall, and had also removed the broken kitchen taps and not replaced them. Replacing them required us to pull up the sink, and that's when a small job got a wee bit bigger as we opted to pull out the counter and give it a much needed refinish job, remove the torn wallpaper backsplash and put up fresh wallpaper, put a finish on the shelf above the sink so I could more easily clean it in the future, and well, while we were at it, get a coat of paint on one or two walls that had never been painted before. We did it all in no time, so with a few days to spare we headed up to our favourite tile store looking for a kitchen flooring option. The pine floor had taken a beating over the years, and because the main door into the cabin opens directly into the kitchen it was really hard to keep the floor clean, and the rug we had thrown down to protect it was completely done. We came home with some vinyl click flooring which wasn't at all what we had it mind, but it worked. It needed an edge for where it met the pine flooring of the dining room, and Rob sanded down and finished a strip of oak from an old church pew that he had, and voila - it was done ! We would have liked to have just continued working on the cabin, but other jobs beckoned.
Before:
After:
We had so much success with the wood that we collected from fallen trees and used for firewood during the past few years, that we decided to focus our efforts in May on collecting even more than previous years. We had several trees that had come down due to high winds, but they were mostly hung high up in other trees. So we set ourselves up with ropes and chains and a winch system and from the safety of afar, slowly hand winched them down to the ground. It was slow work but worth it. When we were able, we used the tractor, but most of them were too far away from the roadway to get access. Then we cut them up, trimmed and stacked all of the branches, and hauled out the logs in 8 and 10 or 12 foot lengths and moved them by tractor up to our concrete pad and stacked them there until we could get back and begin chain sawing them up and splitting them.
There aren't a lot of photos of our work, as it isn't the time to be focused on a camera. And yes, we are wearing safety glasses, hearing protectors, hard hat when needed, steel toe shoes, face shield etc. Oh yes, and bug spray and sun screen too!
We piled the branches at the side of our roadway and went back later to chip them all, and then spread the chips on our pathways.
We had one area near the house that had 3 dangerous trees hung and when we cleared those I heaved an enormous sigh of relief as they were all above a path that I had been using to get to the river. I had stopped using it when the trees came down. With them gone, we found ourselves able to clear more downed trees nearby and ended up with a lovely path down to the river. I spread some of our wood chips but it will need more.
We were doing pretty well, but just when we wanted to start cutting and splitting wood a heat wave arrived with temperatures in the low to mid 30's. So we had to slow down a bit, and did the best we could to split wood in the mornings before the heat arrived. Even then we took water breaks often, and sat in the shade to cool off when we could. When it was too hot we simply switched to other jobs like repairing the gas tank on the old truck, or replacing it's oxygen sensor. (Good old truck - it's still limping along thanks to Rob !) Rob also did some road grading on our common road, and helped a couple of neighbours out with rock removal from the nearby fields, and moving some oak logs. The heat wave broke, and we were able to finish doing our firewood over the course of a few days, in between thunderstorms and rainy days. Now it will be able to finish drying over the summer and hopefully be perfect for use this winter. We still have some oak left from a load we bought years ago and will use it in the depths of winter, but this "swing season" wood that we cut we now know will do well for us most of the other winter months.
With the arrival of June we begin on a "new" task, although technically I guess it is actually an old one. We will be getting back to doing the siding of the house and workshop, with just 4 1/2 sides left to go, and the two porch areas. "Just" I say because Rob says it will easily be done this summer. I hope so, as it would be nice to get it done. Fortunately we bought the siding before the price of wood sky rocketed. We hope we have enough. If we were thinking of building this house now we simply could not afford it given the high cost of building supplies. We are feeling pretty grateful that we chose to build when we did !
On these late spring evenings we find ourselves wandering over with a homemade beer to the log cabin porch at the end of the day. It's nice to have a bug free place to sit, and I hope we can get a porch built at the new house someday. But for now this one works fine. I've been thinking of calling the cabin Hiraeth Cottage. But the word Hiraeth is perhaps a tad melancholy for such a lovely place. The word Hiraeth is Welsh and does not actually translate to English. But the closest it comes is "longing" or "nostalgia" or "homesickness" or even " a pull on the heart". My mom would say she had the hiraeth when she missed her Welsh home/family etc. And that is what the cabin is for us, a longing for earlier times, for missed family, for the sound of our dog Jet moving around on the floor... Still, I am not sure that it is what we should name it. For the cabin is also about solitude, and peace. The sound of the river, the birds, the frogs. Memories of time spent with friends and family, of wicked games of Scrabble and much laughter. A refuge when it was needed. So I guess I will keep thinking about it.
In the meantime I have found a nice little local online auction company and have been having fun picking up a few second hand items for the cabin, that I hope will someday make someone's stay there a little nicer. So far there's a "new" sweet little sun/moon mirror up on one wall, some rather nice quality pots and pans replacing the old ones in the kitchen, two not pretty (but functional) bedside lamps, and a very useful bedside table. I have a list of a few other things that I am keeping an eye out for. It's certainly more than comfortable (at least according to our friends that have stayed there) but there are a few things yet on our "to-do" list like a tiled shower, vanity unit for the bathroom sink, and some kind of work on the remaining wood floors to make them easier to clean and maintain. I hope to spend more time this summer stripping wallpaper and getting some fresh paint on the walls too.
As we approach the summer solstice we are also hoping to be able to spend some time with friends outdoors while we can. Last summer we did not as we were so busy with the siding project, and we regretted it somewhat when winter came with new Covid waves and restrictions. We certainly have all learned to expect the unexpected, so will make sure we enjoy this summer while we can.
And with that, as always, wishing everyone Peace, Love, Joy and Gentle Compassion. And thanks to those who manage to hang in and read this to the very end!
