A Case Of The Grouchies

It's interesting how not getting enough sleep can make you over sensitive and grouuuouchy!  We finally had Daughter #1's birthday celebration on Friday night.. She had wanted a sleepover where she would have her friends over and they could talk and yak until the wee small hours of the morning. 6 teenagers kept yaking until 3:37 a.m. and that was when the light went off. I know because I was awake when it did. 

Teapot and I had our supper in the kitchen letting the girls have their fun in the dining room. After dinner had been served and cake too Teapot and I made our way up stairs to avoid the gab about boys... sometimes there are things that you just don't want to know and having your head firmly ensconced in terra firma is good with me in those circumstances. We had our tea a la bedroom while reading and generally passing the time. At 10 p.m. we decided that we were ready for bed and so Teapot made his way down into the sea of giggling girls to tell Daughter #1 not to forget to put the cat out and to turn the heat back.

Obviously the cat took priority because somewhere around 2 a.m. I woke feeling like a Raygo roller had just gone over me and left me looking like Flat Stanley only with a dead rat in my mouth. I managed to get to the sink where I poured myself a glass of water and downed like a camel who hasn't seen an oasis in 6 months. Once that was done I seemed to have my wits around me a little better. I covered the vent where the warm air from the furnace circulates from and crawled back into bed. I had already been having disturbing dreams about giving Daughter #1 a birthday party and not having enough food and other likely dreams where her birthday turned out to be a disaster. At this point I mumbled something to Teapot about being really hot and maybe we should open a window.... meanwhile Daughter #1 and her giggling band of friends were still to be heard downstairs with no end in sight. I rolled over and put it out of my head as Teapot mumbled something about baking to me.

3 a.m. I couldn't stand it any longer! I had just woken once again from a disturbing dream about my father and mother requiring home care..... and they came to live with us (a horrible dream for sure... probably as much for them as for us)!!! I had to go figure out why Teapot and I were baking in our oven like bedroom. I sneaked downstairs in my nighty... and peaked into the kitchen.... they weren't even in their jammies yet!!! I whispered to Daughter #1 to please turn back the heat... and she informed me that it was reading 24 degrees in the kitchen... no wonder the dear boy and I were dreaming bad dreams. About a half an hour later they settled down as one after the other got into the pjs and crashed on the foamies on the floor of the living room. I was upstairs trying desperately to regulate the heat in our room with open windows where -32 degrees temperature poured through the window... however, the temperature Gods were not having anything to do with it... the room was warm and would remain so for quite a while by which time I was wide awake. And that was it.. no more sleep for me for the whole night.

As a result of our night of no sleep... we have all been super grouchy yesterday and even this morning I still feel like stomping on the head of anyone who looks at me...

Reasons to be grouchy:

1. It has been snowing here for days...
2. I have a three day head ache happening...
3. I feel fat and ugly after a Christmas of eating, eating, and more eating....
4. Teapot complained about nothing being done in the kitchen and I was feeling sensitive about being lazy yesterday.... so I snapped at him and he snapped at me. (this is a rare occurrence).
5. I snapped at Daughter #2 for complaining about a head ache that she wouldn't do anything about. (Like take a Tylenol)
6. There were piles of dishes that needed to be done.
7. Teapot was late getting home from the JCR shoot and so we were late for a dinner at our friend's house... I hate being late.
8. I felt like a pork barrel after eating pizza and ice cream cake at Daughter #1's birthday and then eating sushi, and shrimp jambalaya at our friend's house.
9. Because I was really tired and didn't want to go out at all
10. The dog chewed up a catalogue all over our bed while we were at our friend's house for dinner.
11. The cat kept running away every time I went to put him out...
12. The other cat slept on the couch all night long when he knows he's not allowed up on the furniture and he has a lovely bed of his own in the form of a footstool under the steps...

And the most important reason for feeling grouchy....
13. I was really really tired!
It didn't help that we are coming up to the full moon here in just 4 more days... that means that the werewolf is almost upon me... I bet I'm sprouting hairs on my back!!!

Maybe today will be better.... I've had a good sleep, there's soup in the pot, there's bread in the oven, there's peas soaking for another pot of pea soup,  the dishes from yesterday are done and the nicest thing of all is that everyone is avoiding me because I was so grouchy yesterday which means I have peace and quiet to read the news and blog here... I just had a cup of coffee which was really good and now I'm going to go make some more bread.

See ya tomorrow and I hope you are having a nice Sunday.

Youth (Conversations Between My Teenage Daughters And Me)

Daughter #2: Mom your nose looks like there's sugar on it.... Ooops! Is that skin flaking off?

Me: Sigh

Daughter #2: Oh Mom! Your poor nose!

Later...

Me: (to Daughter #1) Will you brush out my hair for me?

Daughter #1: Sure Mom...

A little while later while hair is being brushed.

Daughter #1: Mom your hair is so shin.... Oh! That's grey hair!

Me: Sigh

Daughter #1: Well grey hair is shiny...

I should have known that Murphy was watching from under the china cabinet when I wrote my blog yesterday morning....

Among My Gadgets You Will Find...

I've been having a good look through all the old posts... I love blogging... what a hoot and then you remember things that you had totally forgotten...
In the process of looking through all the old posts I discovered that over the years I have posted quite a few recipes... so I thought I'd gather them up and put them in a gadget of their own... so now if you want to find any of my favorite recipes you can find them here or at least on the right hand side of my blog.

Good Morning (I Say In A Sing Song Voice While Gritting My Teeth)

I cut my hair before Christmas. I used to have nice long hair... What the hell was I thinking... I took the scissors to it and it looked quite nice for about two weeks... Now it looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket... or you know those rats I was using as cuss words yesterday.... yes well, they got into my hair and made quite a nest there....

I like long hair. Long hair is easy to deal with... you braid it at night and brush it in the morning and put a buckle or band in it and it's done. No styling. No fussing. Simple.  It suits me well. I've never been one of those people who likes to spend time making myself look nice (I gave up on that years ago)... I'm the kind of gal that shaves her pits once a year when the hair starts to look like it needs to be combed. I shave my legs in the summer when I wear skirts... and I don't wear them very often any more. Teapot says that the fur there is quite cuddly. But God help me if the nose hairs starts to get long.

I just heard on the radio that those nail dryers that people use to bake a nail polish onto their finger nails causes cancer. Well... Duh! I'm not one for nail polish either other than a little on my toe nails in summer. I don't dye my hair, though sometimes I think Lucy Neatby's hairstyle would be cool. I don't perm my hair either. I kind of have this thing about making myself over. I look in the mirror and other than the 70 extra pounds I'm carrying around I'm pretty happy with myself. Nice eyes... check. Decent skin.... check. Shiny hair.... check. Interesting hands.... check. Somewhat straight teeth.... check. (I would get rid of the mole that has developed on my chin... but that's an aging thing....) My best parts are my cute wee ears (not good for listening with)  and my handsome feet.... (generally I don't like feet but mine look ok)! If I could wish something for everyone on the planet it would be that they are satisfied with themselves when they look in the mirror.

Still that rats nest on the back of my head is really p-----g me off!!!

Rats! (It's a cuss word and not the real thing!)

I just spent half the day spinning camel hair.... yup, camel hair and I can't get the sucker to balance. Argh! First it came off under plied .... no problem just put a little more ply in it then it came out over plied... no problem... just take a little ply out... rats! Then it was under plied again... I hate coarse fibre. I am terrible at spinning coarse fibre... I can never get the wretched stuff to balance.  So once again I plied it to put a little more twist in and now it is over plied again... so my reaction.... soak the sucker in extremely hot water for a while and then go back and bang the sh-t out of it.... maybe it will stop bugging me (because we all know that the fibre gods that live inside fibre just do it to bug you..... right?!) : {

My washer died... it's been making nasty noises for a while now so I knew it was only a matter of time. But I have four day old wash water stinking in the d-mn thing.... (yes I've tried emptying it but it just won't empty) so Teapot and I got buckets last night and took all the water out that we could ...

Problem! No matter how much water you try to get out with buckets and small containers... there's always some left. Tonight I will try to sop (soak up for you non-Newfies) the rest of the water with old towels, sponges.... whatever... meanwhile it stinks.

Obviously the pump is defunkt (sp?) on the washer... can it be fixed.... yes... maybe.... not sure.... Teapot will have a look when he gets time.... Right! I might as well go buy a new one!

Next problem! My washer and dryer are an upright set so that means that if it has to be replaced then I have to get rid of a perfectly good dryer. Sh-t!

I hope 2011 is not lining up to be like this.

Mondays

It's 7 a.m. and I should be in the kitchen... I'm the breakfast getter in this house. Teapot and the girls are sleeping peacefully and I haven't got the heart to wake them yet. I've decided to give them an extra 15 minutes. So that gives me a little time to post here. Why is it that on Mondays it is so difficult to get going?  I know I am not alone in this sentiment. Half the planet is of the same mind as me. All over the world (well in some places they've been there and done that and are thinking about different times of the day) there is coffee perking and tea brewing and toast popping and cereal slurping and eggs frying, while in other parts of the house there are showers spraying, and lights flicking, and transit catching, and school a learning, and jobs a starting.... It's kind of nice to know that I'm just a small part of this engine of humanity.

Breakfast is usually some sort of combination of toast and eggs with juice on the side. This morning's menu is home made whole wheat toast with butter (not margarine) and corn and cheese omelet with orange juice and tea to follow.  I  always like to send off the Daughters with a little protein drifting through their blood. I think it helps them think straight and gives them energy.

One thing I have noticed, living in the north, is that I am much more aware of how exhausting it is to get up when you know that there is still two and a half hours of dark to get through. The sun barely rises above the horizon, only about one and a half fingers... (I realize that most people don't measure the distance of the sun from the horizon by using their fingers sideways... but it works quite well here.) Actually I'm not even sure of the half it might just be one finger. It is that lingering dark that makes you want to crawl back into your bed and sleep for another hour.  Mind you, summer time, we are quite the opposite especially at the summer solstice when the sun barely dips below the horizon.

The only thing I can see in the window right now is my very scary reflection. (I haven't brushed my hair yet and it is every which way.) I'll be glad when the light returns and you can look out and see something other than your own face peering back at you.

What's next, I find myself asking. There's Valentine's Day, but Teapot and I are not really all that hung up on celebrating romance that our society has.... well... romanticized. I mean, I'm all for romance but sometimes I think we blow it out of proportion and give romance such a high standard that its hard for anyone to find that kind of romance. To me romance is feeling your husband's hand grasp yours in the middle of  the night after 19 years of marriage. It is the quiet moments that remind you of love. You see I'm not hard to please on Valentine's Day. I think the most romantic thing I've ever heard is what a friend of my mother told us after her husband passed away. She told us the her husband in the last lucid moments before he died looked her straight in the eye and said, "For all these years, my dear, I've have been very fond of you." They had been married for 60 something years. "Very fond" may seem lame to you but it is those soft moments in life when something special passes between two people that brings romance to life.

So what is next?  Well, I'm off to get those eggs a cooking and once everyone has left for the day I'm back to my level 4 homework... One question down and a whole lot left to go.

I guess Monday' are best when you have a focus.

4F Goes Down The Tube... and some Other Stuff

4-F is not going to happen... my intention was to work on that blog every Sunday but the thing is... I sit here and think about age and quite frankly I can't think.... I'm sure its a sign of aging!!! : ) So as a result of my lack of clarity of thought, I have deleted that blog and decided that for now I will continue to just concentrate on this one and Feathermist. I don't write on Feathermist much either these days, but really that is the place where I want all my creative diversions to go... like poetry and paintings.  I haven't really had a lot of time for poetry lately or painting (though I'm still working on the Nude for Teapot's and my bedroom...) so I haven't been posting there either. But I will eventually. Right now all that's consuming me is level 4 and level 3 homework and of course the day to day grind of life in this little home of ours and when I write about that, I write here.

Teapot opened the last bale of hay... I have a line on more though so I'm not too worried. Evidently the price of beef has just bottomed out and so people are selling off cattle at astounding rates since it is more expensive to feed them than the farmers can get for the meat. So now there seems to be an abundance of hay on the market since the farmers won't be needing it to feed all the cattle they had.... at least in this area. Go figure.... so even though I'm down to my last bale of hay I'm looking at buying some and I've got a likely source for more... yeah... this is good news.

It has been snow on again off again for the last few days... after the chinook stopped blowing the colder temperatures returned and we are back to snow and blowing snow. I'm not sorry because every Chinook that blows means that there is less moisture in the spring.  I really want the wet to stay around a while this year so that we don't have to worry about hay in the fall and maybe I can go back to buying hay from the guy that I always bought from.

Teapot has just finished building Dreamer (the horse) a nice shelter to go into when the snow is falling or the temperatures dip. It is good to see her using it and know that it was not a waste of time. It is not a barn just a little lean to type shelter where she can go if the North wind is blowing or there is sleet or rain. The business of farming keeps us going as we try to figure out the best way to care for our animals. I am contemplating getting rid of my sheep altogether and just keeping my alpacas though it is hard to consider. There has been a severe reduction in my sheep this last year that's for sure.I am down to two ewes and four lambs and two rams. One of the rams will be butchered, all of the lambs will be slaughtered and then I will just have two ewes and one ram until the lambs start coming again. But Teapot and I think that it is just too much work to keep the sheep.  So alpacas and a couple of ewes that we can breed for meat lambs. That's it!  Really this is quite a big decision for 2011.

So that's it for this very non-descript day.