March 4, 2012

MAX's tracks to the top of the south peak

As of Wednesday morning it's time for the snow shoes again, and - oh, my - do they use different muscles!  It's still easier than trudging through the snow without them though.

We spent a lot of Friday outside working and just enjoying the out-of-doors.  JB drove MAX up to the peak on the south ridge a couple times to pack it down.  We cleaned as much snow off the tipi as possible and dug out around it.  It needs to be clear around the bottom to let air in that will pull the smoke up and out the top.

Friday night is usually pizza night.  JB made the best GF crust ever!  Now that he has figured that out, we won't have to buy the pricey ready-mades.  Our pizza is always a joint effort.  We empty the fridge and cupboards of all the possibilities and come up with a different creation every time.  This week it was one large pizza, half ham and pineapple, and the other half left-over extra ground turkey from the enchilada casserole with onions on top of it all.  Yummm!

It warmed up to 33 on Friday and 38 on Saturday so we had to chip out the drain in front of the house again.  Have to wear goggles for that as you always end up getting a face full of ice.  The area is supposed to cool off on Monday with more precipitation.  By Friday the snow had already started to get moist and heavy, so cleaning around the tipi was not as easy as shovelling had been the day before.  May not need the snow shoes til it snows again at the rate it is melting.

Yesterday morning Jesse caught a little critter and ate the whole thing!  We didn't get a chance to see what it was, but it was definitely a fresh catch as there was blood on the snow.  I suppose this means lovely doggy farts for a few days. . .  When Dinga catches something, she just plays with it then kills it and chews on it.  Then she buries it for future chewing.

Larry and Elsie drove up last night and brought us a dozen eggs.  They are getting 8 to 9 a day now.  We played a couple games of "marbles"  (Aggravation), and the game lived up to its name.  The dice loved the guys and Larry carried on a play-by-play the whole evening.  I was going to write that I don't believe I have ever heard someone jabber so much about so little, but that would just be spiteful. . .

I have been meaning to give the home made laundry soap recipe, but rather than type the whole thing in my daily blog, I have made a special page for it and other recipes.  And I named it accordingly - Recipes Other Than Food.  I haven't actually made the soap yet as I am still looking for an appropriate bucket in which to mix it.  The e-mail that my friend sent recommended a web site called TipNut.com.  It has other recipes for home made soap (search for Homemade Laundry Soap recipes) and lots of other great tips for homemade cleaners and household tips.

Thought for the day:  The question is not what you look at, but what you see.  Henry David Thoreau