Where have I been?

I have been meaning to write for a while, but it just doesn’t seem like I could find the time. This is a the busy time of year at the house, in the store and in my construction life.

At home, I need to stock up on firewood. (I haven’t) We heat our house in the winter by burning wood in our wood stove. We have an electric furnace in the house that we use occasionally. Burning wood keeps me from complaining about the high cost of electricity.

I need to secure hay for the livestock. (I haven’t) Not too many years ago, I was able to buy hay for $2.50-$3.00 per bale. (65 lbs.) Today, I will spend $10.00-$14.00 per bale. Don’t you wish you had livestock like me. Any guesses as to why food costs so much?

Ok, we know what I need to do and haven’t, so what have I been doing?

This is the busy time of year in the store. Some of the busyness is self-inflicted. Several years ago, Elaine started attending fiber related trade shows, we opened the store in hopes of not going to the shows. (Well, it was my hope. It may not have been Elaine’s.) Needless to say, it hasn’t happened. We have found that Elaine is a fixture at the shows and it actually helps the store for her to attend. We attend three shows (in 30 days) this time of year.

Imagine the delight one must have, to hook a trailer to your car in anticipation of spending the day filling the trailer with fiber related products. You know what makes the day start better than that. Driving down your driveway, trailer in tow and finding your three yaks standing in the middle of the road watching you.

Yep, at some point during the night, Mac, Cheese and even Franks ran THROUGH the fence and were standing happily in the middle of the road. Starting your morning convincing three happy yaks they might be more comfortable back in the pasture can be challenging. And then of course, I got to research possible reasons the yaks might want to run THROUGH the fence. They might have been chased by a bear or lion. They might have been bored. Or maybe even one of them decided, “Hey follow me, we are getting out of here!”

Anyway, they are back in the pasture and are fine.

I have been dyeing yarn. I consider myself to be a manly man; one whose wife requires him to dye yarn. Hey, I have to do it. If we left it to Elaine, everything would be brown, browner, brownest and terracotta. This woman can find beauty in dead trees. Fall is her favorite time of year. Not when the leaves are turning colors, but when the leaves are gone. I think she might have watched a little to much “Addams Family and The Munsters” when she was young.

Now I want to talk about something that causes concern for me. I have recently made mention of becoming “legally” a senior citizen. I recently called my brother who is six years older.

Me: Hey, what are you doing? Bro: Nothing really. Me: It sounds like you are in a restaurant. Bro: Yeah, I’m getting ready to eat. Me: It’s only 5:00 o’clock. Bro: So? Me: Are you at %^&*$ Buffet? Bro: You need to get here before it gets busy. Me: Oh my God, you have become YOUR Dad.

Is this going to happen to me?

Our crazy lives!

Monner