Okay, first of all, Max is in the dog house. Not literally, mind you, but figuratively. Yesterday, as I was ironing in my workroom, I saw him dash by the window with one of our young chickens limp in his jaws. I'm sure I let out quite a shriek, and everyone poured out the door, and when Bret caught up with poor, stupid Max, I thought he was going to kill him. I had to stand in as dog-advocate to prevent his untimely execution and remind Bret that canine adolescents are opportunists when it comes to things like this, and that it is up to us to keep the chickens safe until they can fend for themselves. I have heard that chicken-killing dogs sometimes have a hard time breaking the habit, so I am a bit nervous for both the chickens and for Max.
He's in the jail house now...
Bright and early this morning I had to skim 7 gallons of milk because Nuala has been making it faster than we can use it up. No, I don't do hard cheeses. Maybe one day when I have no more little ones and my sister-in-law comes and gives me a private course in cheesemaking. Anyway, I skimmed the milk, which we set out to clabber for the dog and chickens and, when we have one, the pig, and I took the cream for butter. As I worked there was a nice little breeze, and the two little boys caught crickets and grasshoppers nearby, and drank milk from my ladle. It was rather nice.
Bret went and picked up the beef from the butcher this morning, too. We now have really packed freezers. Now I will spend the rest of the summer praying that there are no power outages long enough to require firing up the ol' generator. I really hate having to deal with pounds and pounds of partially defrosted meat (see #3 on this post). And we have a whole steer and a whole pig's worth!
Bret's colonoscopy turned out about as good as it gets--they don't need to see him for another 10 years! Which is very good indeed, seeing as the whole thing is very yucky and unpleasant.
I finished Una's regency dress! Button holes and all! It looks pretty good for a very first dress, but it is too hot out now to take photos, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.
My kids cannot handle free time, and I am threatening to embrace a "school year 'round" philosophy. They just want to watch movies and play on the computer, and since I say no to that, they lie about like slugs. I have numerous games and puzzles, all kinds of art supplies and craft stuff, and they--Una particularly--are nearly comatose with boredom. We are three weeks away from our break, and I don't know if they will survive the break.
Then there is this:
My niece, Marianna. Is she not the cutest?
Okay...I'm done here, and I think I am going to drink a glass of iced green tea, tidy my disastrous workroom, decide what to make for dinner and try to choose my next knitting project.
You really make me want a cow, and the nerves to raise our own meat! I can't wait to see the dress :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking you need a glass of Sangria over crushed ice with sliced oranges! I am excited to see the dress, too. If we did not have a pool, we would probably school year round or close to it. Otherwise, I would be doing battle against the computer and television. They are required to read over the summer, but the pool is a blessing (especially since my computer says it is 96 degrees right now!). +JMJ+
ReplyDeleteOh dear...it sounds like your week is going about like mine. I'll say a few prayers for poor Max and your chickens and hopefully your poor comatose children will perk up soon :)
ReplyDeleteWe do school year round. I have tried taking summers off, but we like year round school. That way if I need to stop for a week or two durring Advent or Lent it's fine. Holy days, we don't do school on those days either. Saints day, no school, Mom worn out...no school, dad's off work...no school. Need to move from one side of the US to the other, no school for three weeks. It takes me a year to get it done with all that time off. LOL But it works for us.
ReplyDeleteWish I lived somewhere I could have a cow.
Jennifer