Pam – Page 147 – New England's Narrow Road

Staying Warm and Happy New Year!

I’m not sure I get the point of having a wood stove in the basement. It seems like the house would be nice and warm much sooner if it was upstairs.
Not that I have any choice, but it seems goofy to have to heat the basement first for little reason. I know that the heat rises and I am sure it helps, but I don’t think it would be my choice, but the living room is way too small for any size stove so it had to go in the basement.

For now, I run (okay- walk) up and down the stairs a hundred times a day to turn the dampers on my stove, play with the coals, add wood and check the temp. At least I am getting some exercise since the days are too cold for walks lately.
The cat (Richie) follows me up and down each time so I will probably trip over him at some point….

snow covered wood pile — My Snow Covered Wood Pile

My outdoor woodpile is quite frozen and piled with snow (thanks to the snow sliding off the metal roof) but I managed to get some pieces and threw them in the back door to dry out.
I read one time that wood makes you warm twice – the handling- cutting, moving, stacking, lugging and then the burning.
At least I finally figured out to put the temperature guide facing the stairway so I could just glance at it from up in the kitchen… duh…I catch on eventually!

Happy New Year to all! I will be watching the Stooges marathon tonight with my son. I hope you will be doing something just as exciting. 🙂

Animal Tracks Preserved

Taken last year, this is one of my favorite winter photos.
My son and I were at the lake and found these tracks. They are frozen prints leading across the thick ice all the way to the other side. We’d had a warm spell where everything turned slushy and apparently an animal of some kind – can anyone “read” these tracks?- had walked across in the slush and before the prints vanished, they froze.

At first I assumed it was a deer that made this trail, but since they are in a straight line, I’m not sure. I turned the photo into a postcard and as I’ve said, it’s one of my favorites.

The New Cats – One Week Later

As I watched the Patriots game on Sunday, I realized that I had missed last weeks game because I was getting lost in Manchester trying to find the Animal Shelter. So I said to the kids, “Hey we have had the cats for a week now!”

And I realized that they have really adjusted well to their new home and Richie (with the white face) seems to appreciate it the most.
He is such an outgoing cat. He wants to be in the center of everything – in fact, just a minute ago he was on my computer keyboard – he just jumps up onto the table and has to be in my face!
He is much better about getting on the counter and table, since we are teaching him “No”! I don’t mind the cats on my furniture or beds, but not on the kitchen counters and table. He has strange curly hair on his neck and belly which always looks matted although we brush him. That and his odd face markings give him a wild look.

Fontana is quite the opposite. Quite skittish and wary, but still lovable. She is small with lots of pretty long fur and is not completely black. She has white markings and grayish hair underneath. She likes to hide, especially if someone new comes in the house.

But both of them love to sit on the wide ledge of the front window and watch the birds come to the little feeder. They will sit there (or sleep there) for hours and pounce at the glass.
The best thing is that they like each other and have started to “play” occasionally. Richie is around 1½ and Fontana is 2. But all the cats at that particular shelter are strays so I assume no one really knows their ages.

Cats at the window — The Perfect Cat Bed

Christmas Dinner

My two kids and I were invited to a friends house for dinner. They don’t understand how hard it is for me to do something like that- go to a great home and spend time with a normal family – but my son likes to play with their kids and we weren’t doing much Christmas day, so we went for a nice dinner.

We had a good time, and I remembered last year when they invited us to eat when the ice storm had come through. They had a generator and a wood stove (and a man who takes good care of his family- which always amazes me) so were comfortable, and they graciously let me and my little dog spend the night in a warm house.
When I see families in their own homes it is a reminder of all I have lost, but I am getting much better which means that God is changing my heart. After all… “the Lord is my shepherd – I shall not want”. I am learning to be grateful for kind friends, and no longer jealous and sad.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.