Jan 15, 2014 A Venture Down There

The snow ends here.

Dinga playing in the snow.

Monday 1/13.  I wrote letters, ran copies of genealogy charts for Nene and got the mail all ready to send tomorrow.  Also worked some more on the computer with my genealogy files, but my old one is so very slow.  JB is still taking programs off but that is very time consuming.  

I enjoyed Shadow of Night so much that I am now re-reading the book that comes before it, A Discovery of Witches, both by Deborah Harkness.  These are not books that I simply read, but rather immerse myself.

I brought in firewood and we all went for our afternoon walk.  Our high for the day was 38 so I hardly even needed a coat.  I actually took it off towards the end of the walk, even though a breeze rustled through the trees all day.  It will take more than one warm, sunny day to melt all this snow and ice.

I set the alarm when I went to bed.  Something I haven't had to do for more than a month.

Tuesday 1/14.  Some horrible sound intruded into my dreams early this morning and while I was trying to figure out what it was, I heard a disembodied voice say, "Are you going to turn the alarm off?"  The alarm?  Aha!  So it wasn't a cougar screaming outside our window.

Getting up at 7:00 am is not my idea of a good time, but we wanted to leave no later than 9:00 am for Down There.  We actually left a few minutes before and JB drove very slowly.  The ice had started turning soft so our journey was quite safe.  That was only one place where the road was covered in a solid sheet of ice, but it was flat there so no problem.

We accomplished everything we wanted to and my doctor's appointment was a success.  My arm on which she had removed a small skin cancer three months ago was doing just fine, and, as I suspected, I do have a low grade sinus infection for which she gave me a prescription for an antibiotic.  Should be feeling much better pretty soon.

It felt more like Spring Down There.  Their high was 54 which is 20 degrees above average.  Our high was 38.

This is our sixth winter Up Here and the first time we have been able to drive down the road in mid January in the Jeep.  Since we did, I bought more than I normally would have had we taken MAX.  We got all the groceries put away, with JB noting them on our inventory list as I put them in the pantry.  Now there is three weeks of mail to go through.

We received the short wave (CB) radio and JB will get it all hooked up soon.  Our "lightening rod" is well grounded, which is more than I can say for some people I know.

Wednesday 1/15.  It is still 38 outside this morning with mostly cloudy skies.  I had hoped to take the day off, but JB seems to have it all planned out for us: dishes, snake the pipe again, then do a load of wash.  Today I will be under the house - with knee pads on - while JB snakes so I can tell just how far the snake actually gets.  Fine.  In return, I am taking the next two days off.

Thought for the day:  We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend to much.  Ronald Reagan

Jan 13, 2014 Finally - Snow!

Our porch Sunday morning.

Deep, sculpted snow by the woodshed.

Friday 1/10.  It was 28 and mostly cloudy this morning.  The wind took all day to calm into a light breeze, then completely disappeared by sunset.  Our high for the day was 35.

After getting up at 8:00 am with only 3-4 hours of sleep, I posted my blog; fed the dogs; talked to Sandy; and was snuggled back in bed by 9:30 am for a couple of hours.  Then I was finally ready to face the day. . . or what was left of it.

JB worked on my old computer, taking a lot of programs off of it, as I want to use it strictly for genealogy.  I worked on getting my genealogy files organized and little bits of information where they belonged.

We watched Django Unchained this evening, which was a bloody, Tarantino hoot!  When it was over, we realized snow had been falling for a while.  Big, beautiful flakes.

Saturday 1/11.  Sometime during the night the snow flakes had turned into rain drops.  The ground was mostly brown.  The wind had picked up again and it was 29 degrees.  All the ice (which I had hoped had melted with the rain) was still out there, and the sky was mostly clear and sunny.  I have to remember that the first few weeks of January are usually like this, only there is often much more snow on the ground to begin with.

I worked on my genealogy, both on the computer and organizing my papers.  I tend to get immersed in memories when I do this and nothing else gets done.

Dark clouds moved in and by 1:00 pm tiny hail began falling just after JB and the dogs left for a hike down our driveway to check the status of the road.  Within 15 minutes the tiny balls of ice turned to tiny snow flakes being blown about by the wind.  By sunset the flakes had grown and were really stacking up on the ground and trees.  The wind had picked up later in the afternoon and by bedtime we had 3" of snow on the porch.  JB had to really push to get the door open.  Our high for the day was 29.

Sunday 1/12.  We awoke to 6" of snow, 22 degrees and a mostly clear sky.  The wind was still howling and the southwest side of all the tree trunks were white.  Our porch and everything on it are white.  Lots of work to do today.

JB was out of bed at 7:30 am, having to get dressed right away and go clean off the panels.  The wind had taken care of most of that, but then he shoveled a path to the outhouse.  It is a wet snow, so it sticks much better to the ice, but we still had to be careful.  He could hear the avalanche control canon booming on Mission Ridge.  Jesse must have heard it too, as he did not want to go out of the house with them.  In looking around, we obviously were on the north side of the storm.  I don't think Larry and Elsie got any snow!

After washing the dishes, we started up MAX and JB drove us down to our rope gate that we put across the road during hunting season.  It's about 1/2 mile from the house.  The dogs had a great time.

After lunch JB drove all the way down to the main canyon road by himself to check it out and flatten the snow.  Someone had already plowed that road, but we can still take MAX down, hopefully all the way to Larry and Elsie's on Tuesday.  It will all depend on whether or not we can get from their house to the pavement without chains and what the weather is like between now and then.

The wind blew most of the day, still sculpting the snow.  In some places it comes almost up to our knees, especially around the woodshed.

Larry and Elsie drove up for a visit this evening and had a very nice visit.  Hadn't seen them since New Year's Eve.  They only received a dusting of snow and it had been in the low 40's at their place today.  They have been able to drive to the pavement without chains for a couple days now.  Our high was 32 which came at 9:30 pm.  Between that and the wind, don't know if we'll have any snow left in the morning. . .

Monday 1/13.  It is still 32 this morning and much of the deep snow is gone but the ground is still mostly white.  Looks like we'll be taking JB's Jeep down the mountain tomorrow instead of MAX.

Thought for the day: If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.  Milton Friedman

Jan 10, 2014 January Chinook Has Arrived!

Rose Camp is, barely, white again.

Wednesday 1/8.  Valley fog crept up to engulf us about 10:00 am.  We saw the errant snowflake or two off and on during the morning but remained socked in with fog.  

We snaked the sewer pipe again, trying to do a better job.  Then we did the dishes.  Had a lot of them to do and there was no gurgling or backing up of the water.  We'll find out for sure tomorrow when we do laundry if it worked or not.

Dinga has been favoring her bad back leg the past few days.  It is very stiff when she has been immobile for a while, and she walks on three legs when she gets up.  Once she is up and walking for a few minutes, she only limps occasionally.  She may have slipped on the ice and strained it.

I mentioned how living life Up Here can change a person.  My attitude towards friends and family changed so that those who count became more dear and those who didn't really were easier to let go.  I am no longer floundering in a world where I do not belong.  By realizing my natural self, I have found a new sense of self-confidence and self-worth.

As we left for our afternoon walk, tiny snowflakes began lightly falling.  By the time we arrived back at the house, they were coming at a steady rate.  The high for the day was 18.

Thursday 1/9.  Our January Chinook arrived and howled most of the night, and blew all the snow and rime off the trees.  We received another 1/4" of snow (we think - hard to tell with all the wind) and the temperature had warmed to 22.

When JB hiked up to see if the solar panels needed to be cleaned (which they didn't), he found two sets of cat prints - one large, one small.  He tracked them down to the garden where they went over the ridge.  Okay, I really need to be more diligent about remembering to carry my gun. . .
We did a load of laundry and nothing backed up into the bathtub.  Thank goodness!  Now I just have to scrub it out.

JB worked most of the day on trying to find my genealogy files that have been missing on my old computer since August.  He finally figured out how to access them, so I don't have to begin all over again.  Hooray!!  I spent most of the afternoon on my sister-in-law's Ancestry.com account looking for details and dates.  I really am going to have to join this site.

I also read a lot more of another book JB gave me for Christmas that I started yesterday, Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness which is the second book in the All Souls Trilogy.  So very, very well done.

Snow began trying to fall around 2:00 pm and finally got serious about it when we went on our afternoon walk.  Much larger flakes than yesterday.  We probably received another 1/4" by the time it stopped around 4:00 pm.  Our high for the day was 25.

Friday 1/10.  None of us slept much during the night with the wind howling even stronger than it did the night before.  Dinga spent most of the night on our bed.  Even now as I write, it hasn't blown itself out.  Very strong.  Very nasty.  Much of the snow has been disappeared, although the ground is still white, and we can see the ice again.  Not planning to go outside much today. . .

Thought for the day: To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.  e.e. cummings
  

Jan 8, 2014 Choosing This Life

Short wave antenna affixed to our deck.

Dinga upon her look-out rock on the north ridge.

Monday 1/6.  We snaked out the vent pipe today, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference.  We'll try re-snaking the sewer pipe on Wednesday.  Don't think we got far enough last time, and we have to do a load of laundry tomorrow.

I finished Cold Days by Jim Butcher.  What a ride!

I received a very interesting email from a reader who has been following my blog for about 1-1/2 years.  He is in southern California and has purchased property in northern Idaho, to which he will be moving this year.  My brain went on overload last night with all the things I wanted to tell him.  My whole blog reduced down to one list of things to be sure to do and not do.  I couldn't sleep all night.  The fact is that when you trade your frustration of urban life for life in the country, the remote country with all it's freedom and independence, you also take on the responsibility of all the amenities that community life affords you.  It will change you, your priorities, and your attitude toward life, government, Mother Nature, yourself, friends and family.  However, if you choose this life, then your attitude was probably ripe for such change.  This is a way of life that you really have to want.  To yearn for.  And that is great in general, the devil is in the details.

After almost six years, I still have not perfected my list of necessary food and supplies.  I still forget to put things on my list.  I have too much of this and not enough of that.  On the other hand, I have learned to stack wood so that (most of the time) it will not fall down.  I am learning the basics of mechanics, construction, gardening, and just plain necessity of doing-it-yourself and improvising.  I have learned to can.  I am comfortable carrying a gun.  I have learned to enjoy the forest while being vigilant for danger.  I am learning to be patient.  The more I learn to rely on myself, the more I am learning to rely on the Universe, and am being rewarded for it.

We thought we were prepared for living Up Here.  Ha!  What helped us through it all was wanting it so badly, and having great neighbors and a brother to rely on and teach us some of the details.  I guess that is all I can tell anyone considering such a change.

Tuesday 1/7.  It was 17 and overcast this morning with snow in the forecast for the next five days.  That being said, we had an awful lot of blue sky today.  However, as I write this in the late afternoon, the mountains have disappeared under a mantle of heavy overcast.  It looks like it is snowing on Mission Ridge, and we can only hope that it will begin soon at Rose Camp.

Did laundry today and ended up with a bathtub half full of nasty looking and smelling water.  Although discouragement is threatening to set in, it looks like we must have roiled things up with our snaking of the pipe the other day.  We'll give the water a chance to drain and snake it again tomorrow.

JB ordered our short-wave, single-sideband radio today.  We should have it by the end of the month.

Forced myself to get out again today and hike a bit.  Our high temperature was 20, which wasn't so bad when the sun was out, but our afternoon walk was quite chilly.

We had received 1/4" of snow by the 9:00 pm.  It had quite falling, but all was white again.

Wednesday 1/8.  No more snow this morning, but it looks like more is on the way.  It is 15 and overcast.  At least we will be inside the shop while snaking the pipe.

Thought for the day: Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul.  Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.  Pamela Vaull Starr

Jan 6, 2014 Ice Camp!

Our yard with the retreating ice.

Friday 1/3.  JB has renamed our home Ice Camp!  Just wish we had skates.  There is so much ice, I wouldn't even try to walk down our road let alone drive.  On their way to work this morning, it took Larry and Elsie about three hours just to drive the one mile from their house to the pavement by throwing dirt on the road.

I finished Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker today, another book from JB for Christmas.  No one does it better than Parker!

It was a bright and sunny but brisk day.  Our early morning temperature of 23 had warmed up to 25 by 1:00 pm when we went out to the shop.  JB had to dig down about a foot, but was able to find the drain right away and snaked it.  Too late to do a wash, so we'll see how it works tomorrow.

Friday is pizza night.  Somehow mozzarella didn't get on the shopping list last time JB went Down There, so we are out.  Used the Kirkland Mexican mix from Costco and it works okay but I think we'll skip pizza til we go down on the 14th.  At least we haven't run out of chocolate!  It's also movie night but we decided to binge on season three of the Vampire Diaries.

Saturday 1/4.  16 and clear this morning.  Did dishes and a load of wash.  Found out it was NOT a clog in the pipe that was the problem, so it must by the vent stack that is blocked.

Had to get out and about, so I went for a short hike with the dogs.  Such a magnificent day!  Before we left I had helped JB get the 16' radio antenna up on the deck.  He had been trying to decide the best place to put it and then realized that we had a small tripod for a satellite dish that his nephew had given us.  So he was going to attach the tripod to the deck and then attached the antenna to the tripod.  The perfect solution.  When I returned from the hike, I helped him finish up.

I started the Jim Butcher book that JB had found for me last Fall, Cold Days.  I don't actually read his books so much as devour them.  I had been saving it and it is so worth the wait.

Sunday 1/5.  This morning was 18 and mostly clear.  A very thin overcast crept in and our high was 25.  Obviously the temperature isn't even getting up to near freezing and yet the ice is slowing disappearing.  It must evaporate like water does.  

We always have even a slower morning on Sundays than the rest of the week and after lunch JB decided to bake bread, so we'll attempt to snake the vent stack on Monday.  Thank goodness it is in the wall and near the edge of the roof by the deck.  Not really looking forward to that.

Monday 1/6.  This morning is 13 with a light overcast and a 40% chance of snow for tomorrow.  I certainly hope NOAA is right this time because we sure need it.

Thought for the day:  When you figure it out, you're ready to know.  Jim Butcher in Cold Days.

Jan 3, 2014 New Year's Musings

Valley fog to the south of us today. . .

. . . and to the west.

Monday 12/30.  JB and I obviously got our wires crossed as to what we were going to do today.  While I brought in the wood, I thought he was going to open the shop and start cleaning up.  Instead he uncovered MAX.  JB thought it was more important to finish up on MAX, so that's what we did.  The job went surprisingly smoothly, especially compared to last week.  So now we think we have correctly finished fixing MAX, but there is no snow on which to drive him, so we really can't be certain!

We are still getting the occasional sleepy wasp flying around the house, but nothing like the hoards of the previous years.

Reading the book about Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) has reminded me of my Grandmother and how not a day passed that she didn't write at least one letter.  A much more gracious way of communicating than today's email and texting, although not nearly as quickly received.  But then those were much more gracious, slower-paced, and classy times.

Elsie called to invite us down for dinner and games on New Year's Eve, and we are really looking forward to it.

Tuesday 12/31.  26 and mostly clear this morning.  Our high for the day was 33, although just down the canyon at Larry and Elsie's it was 41.  Even so, they still have more snow than we do in their yard as they don't get much sun in the winter.

We enjoyed a lazy morning, then I took down the Christmas decorations while JB worked at cleaning up the shop.  Also read the new issues of Capper's and Backwoods Home.  Very interesting articles, as always.

And speaking of interesting, the January issue of the Smithsonian magazine is really fascinating.  From fossils to an article on the real "Monuments Men" who George Clooney's new movie is about.

After our walk and feeding the dogs, we left for Larry and Elsie's about 4:30 pm and had such an enjoyable evening!

Wednesday 1/1.  It is 25 and clear with valley fog this morning.  Our high was 28, so nothing melted today.

Just a relaxing day, doing our own things.  I worked on more cards, now that I finally have my craft corner cleaned up.  Also started a detailed accounting of our 2014 budget that I have been working on for a few weeks.  Everything looks great on paper. . .

One of the movies that our son had given us for Christmas was World War Z, which we finally watched this evening.  Very good movie!  Hard not to be, with both Brad Pitt and zombies.

Thursday 1/2.  Mostly cloudy and 25 with a breeze and valley fog this morning.  It stayed breezy all day and our high was 36.  Right now Rose Camp is mostly mud and melting ice, with freezing rain in the forecast for tonight.

Our afternoon walk is at the right time (3:30 pm) to observe the return of the light.  By the time of the winter solstice, the sun had just dropped below the tree line when we reached the south ridge.  Now it is sitting just on top of the trees.  Such a welcome sight!  However, I am still being tempted into hibernation, sleeping ten and eleven hours each night.

But while I am awake, I really want to be more organized.  I have succeeded in organizing my craft corner, so now I need to work on papers.  I tend to cut interesting articles out of newspapers and magazines, and also ads for products that look useful.  But then they just sit in a pile or a box, and it's too time consuming to find anything specific.  I really need to set up a file for all of them.

While sitting in the loft at the computer and then making cards today, I could see the valley fog creeping up into the canyons near and far.  As the temperature rose, so did the fog.  Almost all the way up to us.  Then as darkness moved in and the temperature started falling, so did the fog.

I always get that inner urge to clean and get rid of things around New Year's.  I guess to make room for new blessings and projects, both physical and mental.  And I have been thinking about how much our lives have changed since we moved Up Here.  When I was growing up, I was a shy little mouse.  But like everyone else I wanted nothing more than to be accepted and belong.  I overcame most of my shyness while in college, but more often than not I tried too hard, and failed to fit in.  I'm not sure just where I wanted to fit in.  I was never really a party person, and didn't have the same objectives as most of those people in the main-stream.  I tended to voice my opinion in places where I was in the minority, having to defend my views.  I also tended to rush to first impressions that, most of the time, were wrong.  

At some point, I stopped trying so hard to be like everyone else, and just accepted that I would never be part of a large group.  I would just be me.  Doing my own thing.  So now I am living up on a mountain, away from the masses, and am not only in the best place for me, but am at my personal best physically (well, for my age), mentally and spiritually.  I finally fit it where I am, and I love it!  As for JB, he seems to feel the same way.

Friday 1/3.  Yesterday's breeze grew into a gusty wind about 6:00 pm yesterday and blew all night.  I thought for sure that our annual Chinook had arrived but this morning it is only 23 outside, which is rather cold for a Chinook.  I was sure all the ice and patches of snow would be gone, but they aren't.  We could go ice skating in our front yard!

Thought for the day: Conscience keeps more people awake than coffee.

Jan 1, 2014 Welcome 2014!

Wednesday 1/1.  Happy New Year!

Thought for the day:  Forests, lakes, and rivers, clouds and winds, stars and flowers, stupendous glaciers and crystal snowflakes - every form of animate or inanimate existence, leaves its impress upon the soul of man. Orison Swett Marden