dd jan 7

If I had to guess I would say 4 inches snow  so far and it's supposed to snow all day long.... I did have a look at the radar and it does look like we will be in the light blue area of the radar for most of the day---- the rain is not very far offshore but we are definitely in the light blue snow area..  I know that more sticky buns have been discussed and that may happen---- we still have leftovers from the last time and the last time was pretty damn good.. the other discussion we have had--- Mary and I ---is to experiment with boiling a fresh egg and then trying to peel it there are so many things out there on the Internet about peeling a fresh egg...   personally last time I got into this it seemed to be two week old eggs peel ----the fresh eggs were all stuck to that membrane.

 

Speaking of eggs I would like to remind everybody ---- the number on the end of the egg carton is the day the eggs were either laid or created or something and that date represents the days since January 1-- so basically that number will tell you how old the eggs really are..

 

So between sweet rolls--- egg research--- and oxygen tampering... we should get through the snowstorm... it's wonderful living with a bunch of vegetarians you get to dream about things like chicken legs.

 

Keep in mind that our crew of Elizabeth Carly and Janine at the moment all have to maintain another 20 or so animals over there at Meredith farm

we do have--- thanks to you all---  a ton of hay in each barn so if we could just manage to give the horses a drink of water that's not frozen and all the hay they want they'll manage. ---- And then sometime next week it'll be a mess to clean it all up.  

 

I did go through a stage of not being hungry... and not even thinking about chocolate cookies or anything like that----consequently I lost 6 lbs... but now I'm beginning to think of things like chicken legs and Angel hair pasta with mushrooms &  butter so if I'm not careful that 6 lbs will get found back on my sturdy frame.

 

I would much rather be out there right now in my warm car with a full tank of gas and a snow plow on the front of it... because with four inches there is enough to push it around and what I used to do was backing it in toward the house with a snow plow and it had it outward then come down off the hill with the plow down and swing on to the driveway,....  down onto the street using the momentum of the hill go all the way to the street and turn around and then come back up the hill with one side of the car on the pavement I just plowed... and just keep the momentum going and head straight for  the barn door.. then  backup turn around and do about the same thing a couple times..  This would mean the help could get parked very close to the barn and start doing the animal chores -... before bud would show up and use the tractor to undo the mess I'd made--- because with the tractor it's nearly impossible to plow straight line to the street... But it is invaluable shoving the snow around and piling it into 6 foot high piles..

 

With six bags of pellets--and the makings of sweet rolls---and sandys super duper slipper sox...... I'm ready for the storm.

where we are  now

 jan 6

here it comes !!!!

this will be close--- so far it is doing exactly what they said it would...

now --- will it drip or pile up??? I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO WATCHING FROM THE WINDOW !!

our court case yesterday went well ... now the only hitch is ... apparently, i must --- as in must--- appear in court in person on monday---- so you can immagine all the suggestions as to how that could happen-- no... WILL HAPPEN..

 dd jan 5

I get lots of emails saying how much fun people have reading the daily doggy with their morning coffee and I do have a good time being slightly cheerful about most things but I decided to take a slightly different tack this morning with the very worst animal episode job I ever had and all the problems I had in doing it.  You may need a pencil and paper in order to envision this particular commercial we shot.... 

 

I believe the product was hood milk and the concept was to have four big  pigs pull Santa’s  sleigh ----- they called and booked the job a week ahead...and I thought well fine I'll figure it out somehow----- and I immediately went up to Mr. Scott up there in Newburyport and asked if I could borrow four of his pigs--- they're pretty good size  that didn't have any babies at the time so .... I bought home 4  of his pigs and put them in my horse stalls which were along the side of the barn which is full ---or was full--- of kennels ----- I had them two to a  stall.   they booked that jobs a week ahead OK that gave me seven days to figure out how to get these pigs in harness so  i took the usual ..how to make friends with an animal tactic.....I got a big roll of 1 inch green webbing and with my handy all awl I tacked together something that would go around their necks and their bellies and then go behind like traces on a horse but five days into the whole thing I couldn't even get these things over their heads----   I was getting absolutely nowhere..   a mommy pig is very interested in their baby pigs--- they're very protective etcetera but after baby pigs -----pigs only interest is in food and they had absolutely no concept of doing anything I asked them to do...  then I realized if you can't lick them join them ---and the only way I was going to get control of these things was food and I tried frying pans of food that didn't really work and then I thought a spray bottle with something sweet in it like honey diluted...    and I immediately had their undivided attention---- I could now cause them to follow me----  and  put the harness on.--- it once I discovered the honey problem it didn't take me 5 minutes to get the harness on so then I just had to figure out how to get them to semi walk in the same direction which of course would take two people and two bottles of honey spray.... per pair.... 

 

so for four pigs four sets of harness four spray bottles of honey deluded and 6 “handlers”.  ...  we set off for  a filming studio "high output" in Boston.. I had the pigs in my long 6 horse trailer.. I parked in the parking lot as did other cars carrying all the help that was with me and I went into the studio to see exactly what was going on

I was mortified to find out that not only did we have to get them in front of the sleigh they had ,... but the sleigh was up on an 18 inch platform.. I don't know how many of you people know anything about pigs but they don't do stairs willingly..  the director of this shot had figured we'd just ask them to get up on the platform----  not easy with a 500 LB pig----  any rate I finally got them up and in front of the sleigh but to get them to stand parallel and all I ran a rope up through the left side of the right pig to  the right side of the left pig and then back behind the sleigh which means that when the pigs pulled forward they pulled each other together... that did work very nicely and we had two of these pairs to put together with the various ropes going backwards behind the sleigh where I had a man from Essex Aggie who was--- shall I say portly---  and he was in charge of hanging on to the ropes and pulling on them to force the pigs together..

 

well for those of you who are paying attention---   if there's a sleigh on this platform and we go past it with the two pairs of pigs  that would be 4 ropes backwards which had to go behind the sleigh so that the pigs could be pulled into place when they tried to walk forward.. well that meant that the sleigh had to be tipped on one runner in order to get those ropes back there to the portly manned who was supposed to be pulling on them..

 

we finally got the pigs in place and they stood perfectly still slobbering this diluted honey which really was quite sticky...   that added the other complication the Santa sleigh with the pigs was supposed to be working in a snowstorm..  and that  snow storm was shredded plastic ----  I was working one of the spray bottles for the lead pigs and the other lead pig was being squirted on by my son-in-law Ron ---   well pigs do move around a bit so consequently both he and I missed spraying the pigs and inadvertently sprayed each other..  in this plastic snowstorm.....

 

the camera person was terrific and managed to get 14 different useable shots.  My pickup truck remained  a  snowy, stickey reminder  long after I had deposited the check....

this pig was easy !!

 dd 1 4

D 1 4

What is this massive snowstorm everybody seems to be talking about around here apparently we are to get something on Sunday but I did see a number which said 12 inches that's gonna be interesting as I sit here in my secluded guest house I don't have to worry about it I'll watch everybody get snowed in also—

 

yesterday our animal team which yesterday was Janine and Mary did that big adult care center in Woburn and they went at it for  an hour seeing about 60 people before Janine pulled the plug and said the dogs had had about enough and so they are going to go back today of course to finish off the other three rooms of people that didn't get a chance to see the dogs...  Janine once again was flabbergasted with the effect that the dogs had on not only the residents but the staff..   there is such a huge need for this and frankly there are not that many people that I know of that could pull off this kind of thing in relatively safety...  it's never 100% but both Janine and I have had an awful lot of experience with animals in public thinking back over the animal episodes--not only getting the 8 donkeys to the bar room at the top of the pru tower but there was chasing pigs down storrow drive---  or corralling 12 geese as they got loose in a studio in downtown Boston...  harnessing a retired draft horse for a tug of war with the local scout troop...  There is years of many experiences no two were quite the same.  but I am thankful that she did not pull the plug on the whole operation but did say that she would be back today to give everyone a chance to visit with them.  

 

the president of the United states apparently operates on a time schedule with 10 minute intervals I think Janine operates not about 7 1/2 minutes with a stop at Dunkin' Donuts in between.

and this Mary who has arrived is a godsend---   or should I say GoldY send--  she is delightful and competent an energetic and apparently very happy in the RV...  I am told we have another camera person who may be coming today..  heaven knows there's plenty to do..

 

 STICKEY BUNS are on schedule for today since Donna managed to bring dental floss---the unscented kind----along with her salmon dinners and banana bread---Mary managed to go to the supermarket for the rest of the goodies necessary to attempt our first run at sticky buns..   this will be a learning experience for Mary and unfortunately for me also because I've forgotten how but I ought to be able to pull it together hopefully..  in the meantime we'll have to eat the trials...---   what a pity

 

I do enjoy my new starstruck pajamas---and now have them in circulation with my other two pair--- eventually I should get back to regular clothing but loosely fitting things are at the moment recommended so that inspection can be held of the rest of me....

 

Whenever you make any changes around animals there's always adjustments to be made--and though I was desperate to get the the dog crate up off the floor ---I have a thing about dogs sleeping on the floor---  we now have a create table so that the crate matches the level of the queen size bed----  and Jimmy can jump in very easily...  not so with larkey he just is too big too heavy so in order for him to be able to take his turn in the crate I'm going to turn the crate---so that he will be able to jump up on the queen bed and get in the crate we can shut the door and then put jiminy on the queen size bed on an alternating basis..  I think for locky. to commit his 180 lbs to leaping into that crate his head might hit the roof..  so he's right to hesitate the only other way would be to put a step in..  But if you do that you then have the space between the step and the crate which yeah we would have to fill up somehow so he didn't get a leg in there I don't know at the moment I'm thinking I'd turn it sideways. which would also bind you give me 100% clearance I'm trying to watch television which I really don't do very often.

 

The overwhelming problem of the moment is if I have to leave the cabin how the hell do I get back in---   knowing enough local people willing to come and push is presenting a problem ---what do I do?   call the fire department?  that's what's being suggested... I doubt the fire department would be very pleased... but the fire department is certainly a source of big strong healthy people... who from my experience with. the fire department exhibit. they have to be able to willingly carry around 75 lbs on their back and still do things like climb ladders...  so a couple of those ought to be able to push me up the ramp --all because I ... well just because.....

 DD 1 3

In spite of. an awful lot of. “in spite of’s “ we did get the HENNY PENNY board down out of the rafters and modify the numbers to accommodate the current   756 numbers—a perfectly wonderful “henny penny board....thank you all.....

 

Winner was... Diane STERN   FROM MD,,, THE “ UPRUNNERS” were  Susan Pagliari   WI..... JANE GATES  WY.--- AND SUSAN   Coleman from zip code 3915( I have to look that up....).--- Ann Trumpeter from KY --- and Enid Waldvogel. From IL.....i will try very hard to work with Mary and get those out within a few days. .

... . The reason we get a check for slightly less than $7560----.($6655)  is because I did have to add a few donors myself which came in mail call . so those checks get directly deposited and are not in memsaic’s  accounting....

 

Who’s Mary?   She is the guest we were looking for yesterday... who is “vacationing “ in our RV—(. So far she put in a full days work yesterday) ---unless it gets too cold, in which case you will see her around the cabin) --- she is willing to do most anything---- like try our first attempts at sticky buns....  she also mentioned she has done some overnight camping....IN THE SNOW !!---

 

They—not me- will be “doing a big job today  in Woburn....very lively crowd—nice  staff, no budget... but because of the henny penny board.. we can manage to help them.  I wish they were taking a donkey.. but we are not quite ready--- the donks need a massive clean up and stair climbing lessons....

 

I hope to start the sticky bun practice today—I need to buy/locate quite a collection... including. Rubber gloves and dental floss—glovess is obvious---  but dental flosss??... that is how you slice the raw dough !!   

**

I hope judy comes today and get us settled before she takes off for a month !!

 

I may decide to start the book on the latest activities because my head got twisted around the hysterical stories about toilets  and how they have dominated our existence for nearly six months now... one of my more amusing concepts is that I consider myself a pretty good person in geometry but one of our major complaints supposedly to the ADA was the handicapped man who's 6 foot one could not cope with the toilet that was 6 inches taller than it should be...   I may have made a study of geometry ----well I have not really studied male anatomy in depth--having had two husbands and two children I have a pretty good idea but I cannot understand why a six foot tall person would be very confused and unable to use a toilet that was 6 inches taller than normal..  that would be an interesting study I'd like the answer to that.---there's a lot of very funny stories around all these farm now getting over ridden by one or two dead serious ones...  interesting

 

somebody's here the dogs say so

 dd. 1 2

I hate to believe Janine may be right---  but after my 4th ambulance ride in 30 days I do think having jiminy and lucky and me all loose in the same room is literally death threatening.

the problem yesterday was a scratch on my leg which I'd put a Band-Aid on and figured it was gone a few hours later I took off the Band-Aid to take a shower and I was still leaking---the Band-Aid was literally bulging with bright red blood and it proceeded to run down my leg so I put pressure on it and did the usual things and got nowhere it wouldn't stop ... In addition I located a marble size lump right near my collarbone and I wondered about that for a while and then all of a sudden I began to have a black and blue mark Growing down as the blood was subject to gravity...   with those two things in mind happening quickly I wondered what was going on inside me and was I once again in the same situation as the kidney bleeding that had sent me running for the hospital the first several times so we called the ambulance..  who were not particularly jovial I couldn't blame him it's January 1st but nonetheless if I hadn't had these disasters they wouldn't have a job..   we--- Elizabeth---- had checked with our home care.. who said to go to the emergency room right away have some blood tests to make sure I wasn't on a sliding something..  so we did that...  and having spent four hours being tested and poked they decided I could go home and just be extremely careful and watch for anything else to happen which is not tremendously reassuring.....  the ER was horrendously busy I never did see a doctor but I did have blood tests which hopefully a doctor waved their hand over at any rate I got sent home again and told to be extremely careful...  and a bit lazy... I like that one

 

the problem is or was. larkey and Jimmy had a fight and that has made everybody very nervous that they'll do it again and they might.. the reason they had the fight...  was the Gemini had gone to Aiken with Janine and totally enjoyed being the only dog and therefore top dog...   in the mean time lockie was home with his mother who doesn't dominate anyway so he enjoyed being top dog home....  then Janine came home with Gemini when I was in route to a hospital so she just figured they were friendly and through the two in together and we had mixed up two dominant dogs who figured they had to battle it out..   if I had been there I would have been top dog and told them all lie down and behave and I don't believe they would have fought however they did and they may again....   I am really not capable of dealing with 180 times 2 pounds of either happy or unhappy great Danes while on blood thinner. I have in the past month insisted that the two of them behave themselves all lying on the same mattress but I have to watch them----because instantaneously. they could explode into a tumbling mess of dog....  and I can no longer tolerate bruises.. so believe it or not Elizabeth had a mammoth wire crate for Danes which was now set up right behind me...  and I must pass the ruling that one or the other have to be in that crate at all times.

so it now is my chore to make that crate as desirable as I can////and I can do that the plan at the moment is to get rid of the sofa.... and get that stainless steel grooming table that's down in the G tent.  I've always liked that table---  and put this big crate on it so that I then have the equivalent of the raised.   queen size mattress slash dog bed also in the window so they can look out it just would be barricaded so that we can actually have one dog in the crate and the other loose without any problems..  you put one out the back door you put one out the front door then you let in the guy that's going in the crate and you put some nice fresh wet food in there then you get the second dog in to sleep on the queen size mattress which holds two dogs without trouble which would then be sizzle and one of her sons.  so that is the plan and it also may involve Janine taking Jimmy with her to Aiken I don't know.

 

in the meantime Mary---well I don't think I've ever met---has offered to come and stay in the RV and participate in goldies farm...  may work perfectly but let me say up front that it is not necessary to freeze over there and be uncomfortable when you can come over the driveway  to the cabin I have an extra bedroom here even if it is at the moment covered with fluffies and towels there's no point in freezing over there or being uncomfortable so by all means come over here across the driveway and make sure you're comfortable you can keep your belongings in the RV which I do suggests -----do not mix anything with our generic pile of crap... or you might never find it again..  the RV would at least serve that purpose. but don't freeze

I lost track on who Mary is I heard she's from California but living in Connecticut -----she's a camera person and now goldies warrior.. that's all that's necessary for me to know anyway I'm looking forward to her arrival probably around noon I'm told it's still taking the afternoon to get organized to the RV anyway I do know there was a great flurry of activity yesterday on making the RV level but if she's a CP she has to be well aware like crazy acres can be crazy.... and being adaptable is a prerequisite for survival...

 

The question of the day ---or next weeks ...  is if I do leave the cabin even to go ambulance thing or wherever... remember it literally takes three men and a boy to push me back up the hill and get me back in the cabin...  luckily yesterday Nick was still here so he and Janine struggled and got me in..  even though I now have lost 6 lbs since my first ambulance ride that's a good thing.....

 with regard to my general survival----  getting me back in the cabin is one of those things we talked about..i am self sufficient once in the cabin....  and why I need to have access to living quarters straight out of my car which would be the laundry building.----  and I best not go too much further,, except to wonder  when did treating old folk this way become fashionable to some?

 1.01

Happy to share with you such as we've got

leaks in the roof and the soup in the pot.

 

hopefully that's 2024— we used to have a pot to share every Sunday it was called the Sunday Stew where basically I would start some chicken and some chicken stock  over a wood fire in the “T” tent....and after that it was anybody's guess ------people would add things like potatoes and carrots and stuff and long about two or 3:00 in the afternoon we'd have Stew and it was good ----I think I often used for a flavor a full bottle of honey mustard salad dressing... it was fun... and on occasion things did get done because there were more people here and the people were having a good time helping out where they could.... this is the way it ought to be and hopefully we'll be again by later this spring.   The woman from Essex Who always came. with the big bowl of hand whipped cream is still around .. she appeared a month or so ago with that same big bowl....

 

That bit about sharing the soup in the pot.. is from a needlepoint done by my aunt Mildred...

 

let me tell you about my aunt  Mildred.. she was a retired school teacher who had been in the Manhattan school system. She was unmarried and somewhere along the line had slipped and fallen on an oiled floor in an old school building.. and walked with a decided limp from broken hip...... but she continued teaching...she  was a very bright thoughtful woman she used to come to visit once a year at my home in Newburgh.... and though I can't remember any other specific one liners like---- less is more than you realize.... --- she was constantly alert and very interesting to talk with... She was very friendly with a couple who were just getting into their 80s, when the wife became ill and passed away.. he had a lovely home in New Canaan CT ---a very nice community--- he was retired from. A big  job / career something to do with elevators..   ... since my aunt Mildred knew the family she offered to come help the husband figure out what possessions should go where with what person-- which she did --- after a week or two it became obvious that it did not make any sense for her to go back to her miniscule apartment when she and he we're enjoying each other 's company in New Canaan CT.. so he said he wanted to make an honest woman of her and offered to marry her..at 81. 

Knowing the family might have some feeling about that,  she very quickly made-up her own I don't want anything or whatever it's called. Statement.. and the two were married at the tender age of 81.

One thing she had always wanted to do--- being from Manhattan--- was to go to Times Square for New Year's Eve.. but being severely handicapped she did not dare to attempt it on her own... so he as a surprise present to her,  rented a sizeable area for them to be part of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square... and the rest of the family got a huge kick out of these two old geezers ---by then 82 ---both of them bobbling around Times Square on New Year's Eve...

 

This  story may explain to some of you why I would end up with some extremely expensive absolutely beautiful artwork because when he died and then she died I was told I could have whatever I wanted and the rest was going to go to Goodwill Industries... of course having a horse trailer I  immediately left for New Canaan and ended up with an amazing collection of very fine items that basically nobody in his family wanted... furniture--- pots and pans and that beautiful limoges China which Gwen now has... { I bet there are times when Gwen will wonder why she's got it and  why it needs its special glass front of the closet---- when actually a Sierra cup would work very nicely to  do the same thing......

 

There is one more slightly snarkey related story.... When I first moved to Ipswich I can't imagine why I had a relatively fancy party here one night and I used that lemoges China.  One extremely well dressed woman... Came up to me and said what pretty China I was using it almost looked like limoge...  so I quickly turned it over and said “by God it is” as I showed her the mark... The implications all around that conversation where earth shattering. 

 

So welcome to 24---- let’s have at it !!