Digging Out

The storm is finally over. It began for us around 3:00 AM Tues morning and ended roughly 24 later. While we didn't reach blizzard status,the wind was sure whipping none the less. The heavy snow bands (at rates ranging from 2-3 inches per hour) plus the wind made for pretty poor visibility. Governor Hassan declared a state of emergency,and urged people to stay home. She did not issue a driving ban. Thankfully,most people listened and stayed off the roads. Very few people lost power. We were not among them,thankfully.

Zach of course had no school. Rick felt it was counterproductive to try and and do any snow clearing until the storm passed. He has been fighting and intestinal bug that has been going around,so his energy levels haven't been the best. I have have bouts of it off and on. Zach did go out and shovel off the steps and the deck at one point. A couple hours later,it looked like he didn't do anything at all. It was a good day to kick back.

Some areas got over 30" of snow,not including the snow drifts. The surrounding towns said the got around 15",but it sure seems like we got closer to 2 ft here,judging by the height of the snow in some areas ( not drifts). We do have drifts at least 4 feet high in some spots.

See the the big white lump on Rick's truck hood? That is actually Zach's behind the truck-it's buried in snow.

We have  good sized drifts in front of the side door to the barn.

Today is Dig Out day. School has been cancelled again because of clean up. We have paths to the sheep,turkey,the barn,the woodpile,the driveway,the mailbox,the deck,the porch,the walkway to the porch,and the roofs to shovel. We do have a snow blower to help. It's going to be a tiring day.

I'm glad that Rick filled the bird feeders before the storm-it was great seeing my feathered friends coming out in the storm-blue jays,chickadees,sparrows,juncos and huthatches.

Here's a brief video of Rick seeing how far the goats would to into the snow. For some reason,my camera clicks and the lens moves back and forth. I have no idea why. You can hear Zach telling Richie to get back in the house-he loves to sneak onto the mud room and get in the cat food!

It's lovely to see the sun shining !

Here She Comes!!!

This winter has been fairly uneventful snow wise here in NH. 

Until now...er,tonight,that is.

Apparently Mother Nature is pulling out all the stops for this good old fashioned Nor'Easter. It's actually overdue. News stations have been proclaiming the arrival of the SNOWPOCALYSE (cue the dramatic music). I think it's funny that they give these storms such dramatic names. It's a Nor'easter with blizzard conditions. You would think saying that would be sufficient enough--apparently using dramatic titles is necessary to emphasis the point that there is a big ass storm coming,so get situated in case.

We live in Northern Strafford county. If you look at the map,that is the county in pink on the border of Maine that has three prongs on top.We are the middle prong (or,as I jokingly refer to it as,the middle finger of Strafford County). We are in the area that is also under a blizzard watch-wind gusts from 35-65 mph. Being as far in land as we are,I suspect we will be on the lower end of those gusts,but it's still enough to lose power. More than enough,actually,especially with heavy snowfall that can range anywhere from 1"-3" an hour.

I think it's safe to say that Zach will not have school tomorrow.

We are ready for it. Our preparations are typical:

 -water set aside for the animals,drinking,and cooking,as well as for             flushing the toilet when needed

  -gas cans filled

  -generator ready to go and filled with gas. 

 -plenty of wood for the woodstove...no need to have to worry about              using the generator for the furnace or for a pellet stove
             
 -oil lamps filled,candles and flashlights

 -all electronics,such as cell phones charged. We still have a land line,so if our power goes,we need our cell phones. We are on an emergency CODE RED system here in NH,and Rick's cell phone has been added to it case we lose power and therefore lose use of the land line.

-paper plates,plastic utensils,etc so we don't have to worry about washing dishes and therefore save on water

-the outside animals all have extra hay,and the goats have good protection. 

-camp stove at the ready in case

-snowblower ready...shovels too!

If you are in the path of the SNOWPOCALYSE,stay safe!

Still Can't Respond To Posts!

I cleared my cookies (that sounds rather weird!) and still I cannot respond to messages. Considering that my knowledge of computers is middling at best,it may be a while before I can figure it out. Please bear with me :)

(Update---I tried allowing third party cookies and now I can respond to posts! YAY!)

Yesterday we finally took down our tree,since we put up our tree late. Right now it's sitting on our deck,but today it will probably make it's way to the goats!

I am going to go through our bookcase and donate books that I no longer want. I am one of those people who will read and re-read a book I love many,many times,but there are books that I have read only once and that was enough. We do have a set of encyclopedias that are useless now-many countries don't even exist any longer!

We have been having bitter cold weather,with wind chills down in the teens. In fact,we brought our goats inside the other night because our heat bulb was broken:

They may have been OK,but I was too worried about them.

The next day we bought extra hay to bank around their cage and picked up a heat bulb. Our barn is still a work in progress:

The blue tarp in the photo covers the goat cage. Even though the barn is not complete,we figured it would give them some shelter from the wind. We put a piece of plywood across the top of the cage and and blue tarp over it. They have a large dog igloo to sleep in,and we make sure that they have fresh shavings for bedding. We also make sure we bank it with bedding hay to help keep them warm.( Plus the heat lamp,of course).

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

Houston We have A Problem

For some reason,I cannot reply to comments. I am not sure why,I have never had an issue before. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm Ready To Fill In My Blank Page-Are You?

Welcome to 2015! 

What I love about New Year's is that a whole year is stretched ahead of me,just like a blank sheet of paper. There is something about blank pages I have always loved-when I would get notebooks for school,I couldn't wait to start writing in them. Now I am anxious to write on 2015.

I gave up New Year resolutions a few years ago,because I never followed through on them,so what was the point? I decided to take one day at a time. With Rick's PTSD and TBI,all we can do is take one day at a time. Since he began his intensive cognitive therapy for his PTSD,he has had to deal with "pseudo seizures". When he goes through one,it takes a day or two for him to regroup because drains him mentally.  Basically,the emotion and memory areas of the brain overload and shuts down.Thankfully he has not had one for a few weeks.Admittedly,this past year has not been good for me,either. My motivation has not been up there. I admit it. I have felt like a slug.

However,things have been better and I am ready to go at it---one day at time.

This time of year is perfect for organizing and decluttering the house,as well as putting the finishing touches on things left unfinished. Now,that is not saying that all will get done,because I know it won't. However, what does get done will be an accomplishment,and that will make me happy.

My first step will be to go from room to room and look.It's easy to gloss over things when you see them every day,because,well,you really don't see them anymore. So I am really going to look. What do I need? Why do I have what I have? Does it enhance my life? Does it serve a purpose? How can I make an area function better? Is this looking nice,and if not,what do I want to do make it better?  What needs fixing or replacing?

That is my first step.

What are you writing on your blank page? How do you organize or declutter?