pain

Here’s hoping!

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It feels like it’s been such a long day!

But first, the…

… cute sneak thieves!

The cheeky buggers! Both raccoons and skunks are now regularly seen in the sun room. While the camera didn’t catch them last night, I know they go into the isolation shelter, too.

*sigh*

The storm system that hit yesterday hasn’t been too bad, over us. Our weird climate bubble has rescued us again. We got a bit more snow, and it was still snowing this morning, but that’s it. The town my mother is in got pouring rain during the night! So did the city. The highways group I’m on had many reports of poor driving conditions on the highways.

My younger daughter came along for our errands of the day, with our first stop being the post office to pick up a parcel. The paved roads near our little hamlet were already starting to melt, even as more snow was falling. As we got closer to town, however, the road conditions slowly got worse. I found myself doing about 80-85kph/50-53mph all the way, instead of the 100kph/62mph speed limit. It was very messy and hard to see where the lanes were, the closer we got to the lake, which is pretty typical. I’d heard of one road, just before town, being washed out and we could actually see the damage as we drove by! Still, I’ve driven through much worse.

Our first stop in town was to drop off the truck at the garage. We’d left early, knowing it would be slow going, and ended up only about 15 minutes early instead of the half hour early it normally would have been, in good driving conditions. I just had to drop off the keys, and then my daughter and I – remembering to grab canes – started walking.

First thing we did was get a breakfast, since neither of us had eaten before we left. We took our time about it. My appointment was a drop off time, not a scheduled work time, and it looked like it was just the owner in today, so I knew it would likely be quite a while. We did have other errands to do, but not until after we got the truck back.

We decided to walk over to the second hand store, just to see what we could find.

Treasures. We found treasures.

Specifically, there were a couple of hand crank meat grinders. One looking very much like the one I found in the old kitchen that I remember using when I was a kid, which has missing parts now. The second hand one we were looking at even had a spare mincing plate, though both were coarse grind plates. There was a second one, much smaller, that had two spare mincing plates, and was the same price.

After hemming and hawing, I finally decided to go ahead and get the bigger one.

Then we started looking around and I got a few more things, the most expensive costing $2. My daughter admired a couple of items that I ended up getting for her, including a matcha bowl and saucer set, and a fabulously retro pitcher. For myself, I got a serving bowl, an old Mennonite cookbook, and a couple of books with plans for making things like furniture and garden structures. My daughter got herself a DVD and a couple of novels.

One thing we both spend quite a bit of time looking over was an old China cabinet, selling at only $80. The set up we have for our dishes, serving bowls, etc. was great when we first moved out here, but we now have a lot more cats. The shelves are open in the front, and that’s become a problem. That cabinet would actually solve a lot of storage space problems we have right now. What we couldn’t figure out, however, is how we would get it home. Yes, it would fit in the box of the truck, but none of us are able bodied enough to load and unload it.

We didn’t get it.

Once we paid for our stuff, we were then stuck with carrying them around! The meat grinder alone is cast iron, and weighs about 15 pounds. It got its own bag. The rest all together weighed more. Not normally a big deal, but we were both caning it and, with my right elbow still messed up, I could only carry the grinder with my left arm.

We’d already done a fair bit of walking by then and needed to sit down, so we headed over to a donut shop for drinks and a donut each. It was a place we could hang out for a while and not be taking up needed table space.

By the time we were done there, enough time had passed – about 4 hours altogether – that I figured we could head back to the garage, even though we hadn’t been texted yet. The walk was slow going. My poor daughter was in so much pain, I could see she was fighting not to cry. 😢

When we got to the garage, the truck was still up on a hoist and almost done, so we went into the office to sit down. I made sure my daughter sat in the normal sized chair by their desk. They have other chairs, but they are much lower. Hard to get in and out of when your knees or back are shot, but I was having an easier time of it than my daughter was.

It was past 2pm by the time we got to the garage, though. The original plan once the truck was done was to do a quick stop at the grocery store, then a gas station, then drive to the town north of us to the tax preparer. I had my form to sign, but we’d then have to take my husband’s form home for him to sign, then I would drive it back. Then we were going to go back to town again, as my older daughter wanted to treat us to take out and sent funds for it. Altogether, it would have been an extra 3 1/2 hours of driving, at least, and the tax preparer’s office closed at 5.

We were both already in too much pain, so I called them up instead and said we weren’t going to make it today. I was assured that was all right. We’ve got until April 30 to sign the forms!

I’ll do it on Monday.

It wasn’t too much longer before the truck was done and it was backed out of the garage. My daughter took our stuff to the truck while I settled the bill – just pennies over $388, in the end. Hopefully, that will solve the problem and we won’t be back again for some time!

I know where my tax return is going.

*sigh*

As we were talking about it, he told me that, if I don’t come back for anything until after June, they won’t be there anymore. They are moving locations! They are going from about 2,400 sq ft to about 35,000 sq ft, in an industrial park – and he bought the building, so no more renting! That is so awesome! They opened a second location last year, and are doing well enough to expand locally, too. I congratulated him, of course. I’m so happy that they are doing so well. There are a surprising number of garages in this town, so for him to have enough business that he can expand like this tells a lot.

That done, I went to the truck – then had to get my daughter to go behind me to guide me as I backed out, as there were a couple of vehicles making for a tight space. While we were doing that, the owner came out to get one of them, to drive it into one of the bays. He was chuckling a bit when he saw what we were doing, but it did give me a chance to quickly talk to him. The check engine light was still on. I figured it should turn off on its own in short order, now that the new sensor is installed, which he confirmed for me.

Once parked at the grocery store, my daughter stayed in the truck, as she was in too much pain for more walking. We only needed a few things, but I went through the whole store to see if there was anything I was forgetting. Of course, there was, so I’m glad I did.

From there, it was to the gas station. I put $50 in the tank, which gave me a quarter tank at $1.799 *sigh*

Next, we headed to the Dairy Queen for take out – and the check engine light was of by then. My daughter came in with me, so she could choose for her sister and herself. For treats like this, we order a combo meal each, plus an extra burger each, so it took a little while longer for it to be done! I even remembered to bring in a hard sided grocery bag to make it easier to carry the hot food. My daughter ended up with the tray of drinks on her lap for the drive home.

Unfortunately, while the road was in better condition by then, and almost completely clear of ice and snow, it’s a rough ride. The road needs resurfacing. She didn’t get splashed too badly, though! It got smoother once we were on the gravel road again.

Once at home and unloaded, it was late enough that I went straight to feeding the outside cats, making it safer for my daughter to drive out of the yard and park the truck in the garage.

During the drive home, I’m happy to say that oil pressure gauge was right were is was supposed to be, the whole way. Here’s hoping that new sensor will keep working properly! It’ll take a bit more driving before we know for sure.

Tomorrow, I should go visit my mother, at the very least.

Now that we’ve got this last bit of work done on the truck, we have quite a few things to catch up on, little by little. Plus, I’ve got my eye appointment next week, which my daughter will have to drive me home from, and FINALLY, my third attempt at a doctor’s appointment in the beginning of May. If all goes well, I won’t have to cancel any of that!

Here’s hoping!!!

The Re-Farmer

Digging out – and I love technology!

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Well, Old Man Winter just doesn’t want to let go!

Not the blizzard – at least not where we live – that we sometimes get this time of year, but we got a solid dump of snow, overnight. All the school buses were canceled for today, and the highway conditions group I’m on had lots of people warning about how bad the driving conditions where. Some highways in the south of our province were closed, and we are still under a “moderate” ongoing snowfall warning.

It was still snowing when I did the morning cat feeding outside.

I wasn’t going to try to do any shoveling at the time, though, and waited until late morning to start. By then, the snow had stopped falling in our area.

I started off at the concrete steps at the main entry, using our new snow shovel.

The first thing I discovered is that this was no light and fluffy snow, like last time. It was dense, heavy and sticky, coming together in even heavier clumps.

As for the new snow shovel, what a horrible design! Not the ergonomic handle part. That was good. The blade is more of a scoop shape that is too heavy, unbalancing the whole thing.

I thought that the metal on the blade edge would make it easier to clear the concrete, but not at all. The design caused the shovel to basically float up to the top of the snow, instead of digging down. I tried using it as a push shovel, but the snow was so sticky, that didn’t work very well. Then, it was very awkward to toss the snow up and over the hills we’ve accumulated over the winter.

I switched back to the old shovel with the crack in the blade. It did a much better job! I got more cleared in a single pass than I was able to do in three passes with the new one, and they are of equal width.

With the snow so dense and heavy, I ended up working in stages. I got the sidewalk clear from the house to the fence, as well as cat shelter access paths, then headed back inside for a break and an energy drink. I was going to need that!

When I headed back out, I made a path to the garage, then started clearing away the drift that had formed in front of the door, that was too deep for the truck to get through.

I was working on that when the garage suddenly started to talk to me!

Or, more accurately, my brother’s security camera. He had been logged into the app and got motion detection alerts. When he saw me shoveling, he started talking to me through the camera.

From overseas!

I love technology!!

There’s a 6 hour time zone difference, so they were at their hotel for the night. He was wondering about little Spewie, since I was manually clearing the snow. I told him, the auger won’t turn and I have to take it apart to find out why, but with how sticky this snow was, I couldn’t use it anyway. It would just get all jammed up!

We talked for a little while longer, then I got back to work.

The biggest issue with the driveway was snow drifted on the south side. I was able to work a path to the gate on the north side, where the drifting wasn’t as deep, then cleared enough drifted snow on the north side of the gate, so I could at least swing open one side. Once I could get through, I made my way to the road. The plow had not gone by (hopefully, it will go through tonight), so I wanted to clear the end a bit extra, so when it did go by, it wouldn’t leave much of a plow ridge.

I got the end of the driveway completely clear, on either side of the gate. It took quite a while to clear the south side inside the gate before I could finally open the second half. The two sides of the gate can swing in both directions, but with the snow piled up on the outside, they can only be opened inwards right now.

I cleared enough to dig out a path to the trail cam, and then stopped for a sustenance break. When I headed out later, it was past 3pm, so I fed the outside cats, first.

I also remembered to dig out a camp chair and set it up at the garage door.

When we set up the flower garden and a small people gate in the barb wire fence, I want to make sure we set up a bench, too. We really need somewhere to sit down out there!

For now, a camp chair would do. I made sure to take frequent rest breaks, even if for only half a minute. It was during one of those breaks when it started to drizzle!

For the rest of the driveway, I focused on getting that south side cleared. I was less concerned about the middle, between the tire tracks, as it was not that deep. We’re supposed to warm up quite a bit over the next few days, so it’ll be melting soon, anyhow.

Along with the drifts on the south of the driveway, I needed to clear our turn around area. The middle was shallow enough that I could just focus on the drifts. We now have room for me to back the truck out of the garage to leave, as well as taking a wide turn to drive back into the garage when coming home.

By the time I was done, it was past 6pm, and I’d started at about 11:30-12.

Yes, I did make sure to take painkillers!

I am still going to pay for this, tomorrow, but at least we can now get out and deliver cats to someone from the rescue in the city, tomorrow! In spite of the pain, I actually feel really good. The fact that I enjoy shoveling snow so much makes a big difference!

I was finally inside and resting before going for a shower (while my daughters set up the bath chair and made sure I was fed and hydrated!) when the phone rang.

It was my mother.

After saying hello, I asked how she was doing. Her answer?

I’m lonely.

Which, in my mother’s way of speaking, meant, she wants me to drop everything and go visit her.

I told her that we had been snowed in, and I just finished digging us out.

Why was I doing that?

You know we had a storm, right?

Oh, yes, I saw some snow…

Well, we were snowed in. I had to get the driveway clear.

She then began to lecture me, telling me I shouldn’t be doing that. I have two daughters. They can do it.

I didn’t even try to tell her that both of them were quite unwell today, though for very different reasons. I told her, it doesn’t matter who does the job; it just needs to be done.

Then she complained that my sister hadn’t phoned her, and no one visits…

I said, my sister is probably snowed in, too, though at least they have a tractor.

Then she suddenly told me, I need to get in contact with my cousin. She is also my godmother, after all, and I should remind her of that. We need to communicate more.

I asked my mother, what was it she wanted.

My cousin is somehow involved with the nursing home my mother wants to be in. A volunteer or something like that. She told me, I should talk to my cousin and see if I can get her to get my mother into the nursing home, because she knows things…

I didn’t even try to bring up that my cousin is very close to our vandal, and that he has basically poisoned her against me, even to the point of her saying I shouldn’t come to her mother’s funeral, because our vandal was a pallbearer. Our restraining order was still active at the time, so if I were there, he would have had to leave.

Not something to get into just then. Instead, I told my mother that my cousin can’t do anything. There is a system. A government run system. As individuals, we can’t do anything more than we’ve already done. It’s up to the government.

She accused me of passing the responsibility on to others. I told her, that’s exactly what she does.

She then started lecturing me on how she depends on us, it’s our responsibility to get her where she wants to be, etc. She is utterly convinced that we can somehow by pass the entire system and get her into where she wants to be, just because… she wants it.

Her ranting got so bad, had to cut her off. I told her, I was too tired to handle any of this just then, told her I would talk to her another time, and wished her a good night.

Then I hung up.

My older daughter came over right after, asking if I was okay. Because my mother can’t hear me on the phone very well, I had to basically shout while talking to her, so everyone in the house could hear my side of the conversation.

I was just tired.

I’m doing somewhat better now. Pain killered up again, showered and fed, and my daughter slathered my back and arms with Tei Fu lotion. I did my legs as well, and made sure to take my magnesium complex with my evening meds/supplements, because a day like today typically results in my getting massive Charlie Horses during the night.

As a side note, it does seem that my side effect theory might be right, after all. It’s been a while since I stopped taking the anti-inflammatories and, at one point, things seemed to get worse again with my reversal of menopause. Particularly if I did any extensive physical labour. Yet I’ve had two days of higher than normal activity, from all the walking we did yesterday, and now all the shoveling today, and I’ve had no increase in symptoms. In fact, the symptoms have almost completely gone away. My doctor’s appointment is next month, so I’ve got a few more weeks to see if anything changes, in either direction.

For now, I’m hoping to get to bed early and actually fall asleep. I’m going to have a long day tomorrow.

The Re-Farmer

A gorgeous day

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It’s coming up on evening as I write this, and we still haven’t reached our high of the day – anywhere from 5-7C/41-45F depending on which app I look at.

When I headed out to do the morning cat feeding, I didn’t even bother wearing a coat.

One of things we find in the winter is tunnels dug into the piled up snow. Today, I found two new ones – and evidence to show what has been making them!

The first photo is of the biggest tunnel. It’s hard to see, but to the left of the opening there is the distinctive paw print of a raccoon. Both raccoons and skunks are out now, and I’m seeing them in the sun room, stealing kibble!

The next three photos are of one tunnel with two openings.

I wonder if they nap in them or something?

After doing my morning routine, I was basically knackered. I am feeling both better and worse today. Better in some ways, but worse in a new pain way. I can’t stand for very long. It’s better while I’m moving, for a little while, at least.

So the girls have been taking over for me for the most part. I did go out again to do the evening cat feeding, and even tried to clear more snow away from around the well cap, were the bigger of those snow tunnels was.

The cats are really enjoying the warmer weather!

This gorgeous tuxedo is a very feral male. He’ll go into the sun room sometimes to eat, or to assert dominance over other males, but will not allow a human to come anywhere near him. Which is the only reason he didn’t run away as soon as I walked back into the sun room. He and Hypotenose where having words.

It was so nice out, I found excuses to stay outside longer. Did a bit more clearing of snow from around the well cap, though I probably shouldn’t have. I hate not being able to do work while the conditions are good.

The cats are just loving the warm.

The fluffy tabby glaring at me on the right is Furriosa. She has been making strange a lot more often of late. Which is unfortunate, as we want her to get used to being handled as much as possible before we take her in to the city for vetting and fostering and eventual adoption. When the time comes, I think we’ll have to close up the isolation shelter with the littles inside for the night, to make it easier to get them into carriers the next day. Sir Robin and Grommet will be easy to get, as will Domino and Blot. Bug has even been more ansty lately, and when I try to pet Furriosa in the isolation shelter, she runs out now. I think the warmer weather has something to do with it. They have more energy to run around!

Tomorrow is Easter, and it’s going to be a quiet one at home. I’m not up to driving to my mother’s to visit her and deliver a basket, as I’d planned, but I will be phoning her instead. All the remaining Easter preparations will be on the girls. Monday is our 38th anniversary, but we won’t be doing anything special this year. Tuesday, I bring the truck in to get checked out to find out why I’m losing oil again. Hopefully, the truck will not have anything major going on, and I will be feeling well enough to make the trip to my mothers – and the city trip to deliver cats! – later in the week.

Right now, I’m torn between wanting to go back outside and enjoying the day, or crawling into bed and curling up into a ball until tomorrow.

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer

Not happening

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My day started out all right.

It was a pleasant morning so, after the outside routine was done, I took the time to clear the path and set to the electric meter, so I can do a reading later in the week. I knew it would be a warmer day – as I write this, we’ve reached 3C/37F, with a “real feel” of 6C/43F – and I was planning to head out this afternoon to see if I could get more snow hauled away from around the well cap.

Not going to happen.

What I’d really like to do it this.

Curl up in a ball of warm fuzziness and sleep.

It seems my “side effect” theory is not correct. I have not been feeling well today, and have had to ask the girls to take care of things for me, simply because I can’t stand for any useful length of time.

*sigh*

Doctor’s appointment is a month from now. I expect to be sent for tests and referrals, and who knows how long it will take for those to happen.

Hopefully, I’ll be feeling good enough tomorrow to visit my mother. Forecast for Easter is a mix of rain and snow, so there’s another reason to go on Saturday, instead.

I’d rather not go anywhere at all until Tuesday, when the truck is booked to find out why I’m losing oil again.

What I’d really like to be doing is heading outside and getting some work done.

Very irritating.

The Re-Farmer

Not quite the day I planned

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The plan for the day was to give the truck a test by heading into town this morning, then if all went well, to visit my mother in the afternoon.

Well, one out of three got done.

This morning, after taking care of the outside cats, I did a bit of shoveling around the house and the truck, which is parked in the yard until my brother can move his truck out of the garage into a spot I’m not even going to try and get it into, with all the snow. The snow in the yard wasn’t too bad, though.

Then I decided to check the end of the driveway.

It was drifted over.

The road didn’t need to be plowed, but there was enough snow drifted across between the gate and the road that it had to be cleared before I could go anywhere.

So did the rest of the driveway.

I could have gotten through, I’m sure, but 1) I didn’t want to push the truck when I’m not even convinced the replaced differential was the cause of all the problems I was having, 2) I would have been slip sliding the whole way and 3) our forecasts are no longer showing temperatures above freezing coming up in the 10 day forecast, but they are showing more snow before then.

I did the end of the driveway, first. The snow was still light and fluffy, so it was an easy job. It still took almost an hour. I stopped after that to head in, have breakfast, hydrate and take some painkillers.

Before coming in, though, I checked on little Spewie.

The auger still won’t turn. Which means it wasn’t just something frozen in the works somewhere. It’s actually broken. Nothing is visibly broken, though. I’d have to dismantle it to find the problem.

Not going to happen any time soon.

It did mean the driveway had to be done the old fashioned way.

That took about two more hours.

I didn’t even do all of it. I did part of the turning radius to get into the garage when coming in from the road, but not where I would be turning in from the inner yard. I did clear around my brother’s truck, though.

Then I had to head in and take a rest brake. I really, really didn’t want to go anywhere, but I wanted to test the truck again before my dental appointment, tomorrow, and refill a couple of our water bottles in the process. I am also not counting on being able to get into the city on Saturday, and had some stuff I wanted to get, just in case, while at the grocery store. Things just keep happening and changing my plans!

I had just finished with the shoveling, gotten inside and was starting to take my coat off when the phone rang. I didn’t even try go get to it before the answering machine picked up.

It was the pharmacy delivery driver, letting us know he was almost at our place.

So I put my coat back on and headed out to meet him at the gate.

Oh, gosh. I just realized, as I write this. It’s still open.

*sigh*

After taking a break – and more painkillers – I grabbed the water jugs and headed out.

Happily, I did not get stuck getting out of the yard.

As for the drive in, the truck seemed to be working fine, but the road is in such bad shape, plus it now has the remains of drifts and ice along the way, that it was really hard to judge what I was feeling. Was that the truck shuddering, or was it the road making it shudder?

Along the way, I saw three back hoes, busily clearing the ditches of snow – two of them in our own municipality, including one right in our little hamlet. They’ve gotten a lot of progress in the past couple of days. It’s going to make a big difference, once the snow finally starts to melt.

I got a few things “extra” to take advantage of some sales, along with refilling the water jugs. Blocks of cheese were on sale, so I ended up getting four different kinds. I was able to get a decent amount of meat this time, including stewing beef. Rye bread, as always, plus some Naan that was on sale. Stuff like that.

I saw some 7.5kg kibble on sale and got a bag for the outside cats, just in case. In the end, even with the sale prices, it came out to $200, but I used some of my points and got $30 off.

By the time I was done, I knew there was no way I was going to visit my mother. I was in just too much pain. Instead, I headed straight home, without even stopping for more gas ($1.729/L still) or the post office. I can do that tomorrow, when I go in for my dental appointment.

I’ll call my mother later on, instead.

Once I got home, I drove up to the house and my daughter helped me unload everything but the kibble. I took that through the sun room and added it to the bin right away, then did the evening cat feeding, so no one would have to go out again, later.

I was supposed to close the gate again before going back in. I’m thinking it should be safe to leave open for the night. Our vandal doesn’t seem to do as much stupid stuff in the winter.

*sigh*

I think today is a good day to go to bed early – after I call my mother.

And take more pain killers.

*sigh*

It’s a good thing I actually enjoy shoveling so much.

The Re-Farmer

Our 2026 Garden: Noooo!!!!!

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Well, crud.

I checked on the seedlings in the basement today, and discovered carnage.

In the first picture, there were three seedlings – two that I’d planted after the first pre-germinated one. All three, gone.

In the second picture, you can see that one of the cells was dug into – and the stem of a seedling. There were actually two cells that had been dug into.

The third is what’s left in the tray. The row on the bottom is the Sweet Chocolate peppers. They were doing the best. All the cells had seedlings, with the “just in case” seeds sown later also emerging. The row of seven cells had at least ten seedlings, with hints of more emerging. Now, it’s down to two.

The California Wonder row, in the middle, didn’t do as well, but I did have four seedlings. Now there is just one.

The top row is the Caspar eggplant. There were three surviving seedlings, which seem to be untouched. Whatever ate the others doesn’t seem to like eggplant, I guess.

With the evidence of digging, it must be a mouse. There are a couple of ultrasonic mouse repellents plugged in, in both basements. They’ve been there longer than we have, so I’m guessing they aren’t working anymore.

*sigh*

The celery, herbs and luffa in the other tray are untouched.

About the only thing I can be glad of is that these are all short season varieties. In theory, I could even direct sow them. Not that I would expect that to work with our growing season, so I do want to try again, but how do I keep this from happening again?

We could set traps, of course. There are several live traps that are currently stored in the sun room. They’re not really accessible right now, though.

My daughter suggested the three of us find a way to get the big aquarium into the basement to use as a greenhouse again. A mouse can’t climb the glass, and it has wire mesh covers. The original problem remains, though: how to get it down the stairs. There is so little room at the bottom turn something of its dimensions. Not that we can access it, anyhow. We’ve got so many of my mother’s things shoved into the living room, safe from the cats, that we can’t access where the aquariums are, never mind carry the big aquarium, and the shelf that supports it, out. I was planning on getting some of my mother’s stuff out and into the storage house (which is already so full of my parents’ things) so that we could use the big aquarium to house the chicks, but that won’t be until the end of May.

So frustrating.

Meanwhile, our day changed completely. My doctor’s appointment was this afternoon. If the truck behaved and the road conditions were good, I would have gone on to do the Walmart shopping, after. My younger daughter’s appointment was on Monday, but she wanted to come with me as there was something she needed to get at Walmart.

Note, I said “was”.

We were expecting snow today, but when it started coming down, it was harder than expected. If we can see the snow and wind around the house like that, we know it’s a lot worse on the roads. It was early enough in the day that I called the clinic to cancel my appointment. We’re expecting a combination of rain and snow over the weekend, so I cancelled my daughter’s appointment on Monday, too. When I explained about road conditions, the receptionist I was talking to concurred. The clinic is about a 45 minute drive away, and it sounds like conditions were worse there, than here. I’ve certainly driven in worse conditions, but we’ve had so many issues in such a short time, I just didn’t want take the chance.

They are booking new appointments at four weeks right now, so I could have rebooked for the end of March. I told her, we’ll call to rebook closer to the end of March instead, to make the appointments in April. March being the sort of month that it is, I didn’t want to book appointments only to have to cancel them again due to weather.

So, we stayed home today. I ended up going back to bed. I got up again before noon, in enough pain that I could barely walk. I can’t say the nap helped that much, because I still feel ridiculously tired.

Ah, well. It is what it is.

I’ve got to figure something out to protect my seed starts.

The Re-Farmer

Rough night, rough day, so I’m testing out a flatbread recipe

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Ooff.

You know those nights where to get into bed and suddenly, you’re just awake? Absolutely zero chance of falling asleep?

Well, I had one of those last night. Finally, at around 4am, I got up to find a food. I sat at my computer table to eat and, since I was there and the computer was off, I decided to clean out the crevices on my mouse. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, so I decided to do the same to my keyboard.

I cannot believe how much cat hair I pulled out from between the keys! How does it even get in there??? Today, however, it feels like I’m typing on a brand new keyboard. 😄

I finally tried going back to sleep at about 5am and managed to get a bit of highly interrupted (by cats) sleep before it was time to get up and do the morning routine and feed the outside cats. Then I tried to go back to bed, but found I wasn’t feeling well for some reason. I finally did doze off, only for the phone to ring and wake me up.

I gave up after that.

I still wasn’t feeling well in general. Part of it had me wondering what I might have eaten to trigger problems (nothing out of the ordinary), and part of it was my joints wanting to give out on me. That whole “shoulder wants to dislocate while reaching to flush the toilet” thing is decidedly inconvenient!

I ended up getting one of my daughters to do the evening outside cat feeding.

I was feeling particularly useless today, so I started looking up recipes. At some point, Pinterest started showing me some Pins for liquid dough flat bread, which caught my attention. We aren’t baking bread anywhere near as much as we should be. Our bread machine stopped working properly a while ago, though we could still have it mix up a batch of dough in the evening, ready to bake in the oven in the morning, but we weren’t always in a position to do baking in the morning. Plus, a single loaf doesn’t go very far with four adults in the household.

Meanwhile, with all of us breaking down, one way or another, we were focusing more on no-knead bread recipes, anyhow. Most of these still require rising time, but sometimes I want something faster. Baking powder pan bread works okay, but variety is always nice.

Today, I found a couple of “liquid dough” recipes that looked good and decided to try one of them out. The dough’s texture is thinner than a batter bread, but thicker than a pancake batter, though there seems to be quite a bit of variability between recipes.

This is the basic recipe I settled on to try today.

Liquid Dough Flatbread

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (AP or whole wheat)
2 cups water
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2-3 tsp dried parsley (or slightly less, if using chopped fresh parsley)
Oil or butter (melted) for cooking

Instructions:
1. Add all ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk together until smooth.
2. Heat non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Brush lightly with oil or butter.
3. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the hot skillet and spread evenly.
4. Cook until the bottom starts to change colour and is solid enough to flip.
5. Flip, then apply a light coating of oil or butter.
6. Press the edges with a spatula (they tend to curl up). Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip again.
7. Apply another light layer of oil or butter. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until both sides are golden brown. Note: a bubble of steam may form in the middle.

For this, I used olive oil in a handy little dispenser and a pastry brush to spread it, which made things easier. I also used a half cup measuring cup as my ladle, with a rubber spatula to scrape the outside to keep it from dripping all over and making a mess. With the half cup measuring cup, I was able to do 7 flatbreads that were about 8″ across this way, then for the last one, I just poured in what was left, which made for a flatbread about 10″ across.

This is what it looked like.

The original recipe said to put all the ingredients (the egg did not need to be beaten first), except the parsley, into a blender, blend it smooth, then transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the parsley. We don’t have a blender, but why would I want to dirty extra things when a wire whisk and one bowl will do the job? I didn’t even bother to beat the egg in a separate bowl, but just made sure to beat it before incorporating everything else in the bowl.

The finished flatbreads had a lightly crispy edge, and a softer, chewier middle.

We taste tested them plain.

My conclusion:

Very easy and quick to mix up, and not too bad when it came to how long they took to cook, for something that could be cooked only one at a time.

Adding the extra oil when flipping them did result in them being slightly oiler than I prefer – and I didn’t oil them as much as the original recipe called for!

For flavour, I think it would have been better if I’d used butter, ghee or even a flavoured olive oil, rather than a plain olive oil. I think butter would be best, as they rather needed the extra salt. Something to experiment with, if I make this recipe again, as it was a bit on the bland side.

I think I would also like to experiment with trying different additions instead of the parsley. Finely chopped garlic, for example, or a dry grated cheese, like Parmesan, or even some powdered, dehydrated tomato or spinach, for savoury options. I think it would also work well with a bit more sugar – maybe substituting brown sugar instead – and the addition of things like ground cinnamon or cloves, for a sweeter option.

While we were taste testing these plain as a snack, I think they would be a nice addition to go along with a hearty soup or stew, though for that, I really prefer our fluffy dumplings. More likely, we would use this as a wrap, like we use tortillas, with some sort of savoury filling. My daughter thought they would be nice dipped in some hummus or sour cream. Interestingly, she found the flavour quite “eggy”, which I didn’t get at all. Her taste buds can pick up a lot more than mine can, though.

I do think this is something that might work well for campfire or firepit cooking, too. Our well seasoned Dutch oven lid has legs and can double as a griddle that would be perfect for something like this.

In the end, I think this is something that would do well to quickly work up when feeling peckish but, as I mentioned before, it’s a bit on the bland side. I can see myself making a half recipe of this as a snack during the night.

A night like last night, were sleep just didn’t want to happen!!

The Re-Farmer

Yeah, I’m paying for it

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I really should know better, but gosh, I had so much fun yesterday.

Yes, I really do enjoy shoveling snow that much.

I’m paying for it today.

Yes, I took my painkillers and anti-inflammatories before bed.

Then I forgot to go to bed.

I started making a muff for my mother’s hands and before I knew it, it was 1am. I finished it, though, and I think she will be very happy with it. It’s made with Blanket yarn and double thick, so it’s soft and squishy and cozy. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get it to her – definitely not today! – but it should be soon.

I was a bit late when I headed out to feed the outside cats, but they didn’t mind too much. It’s been warm enough that the oodles of frozen kibble out there has started to thaw, and I’m seeing them eating it more, too.

I did notice a big throw up in the snow, full of worms. We still have no idea which cat has them, but from the size of the what I saw, I can at least be sure that it’s an adult cat.

I did their food and water, refilled the kibble bin, and that was it. I was done. The only reason I didn’t go to bed again right away was that I had to eat something. All I had energy for was instant oats with chia seeds.

Today is laundry day, including the cat blankets and mats, and the girls took that over completely. The washing machine no longer makes sounds, so we have to monitor it regularly to know when it’s done, and make sure the drainage hose out the window doesn’t have a chance to freeze in between loads.

Me, I took a painkiller, went to bed and crashed for several hours.

I woke up to see this.

Potato Beetle very politely let me know it was time to get up. He was even polite enough to NOT step on my bladder. 😄

Thankfully, my phone was nearby and, aside from taking a picture, I was able to message the girls and ask for help getting up. My older daughter removed Potato Beetle (he did NOT want to get off of me!) gave me a hand, then stayed nearby in case I needed help moving around. My balance is totally off for the first while, but it does get better after walking around for a bit.

I was tempted to go back to bed, but it’s too painful getting in and out, so I’m in my office chair, typing this, instead. My daughter was a sweetheart and made a couple of sandwiches for my lunch, and I pain killered up again.

The crazy thing?

It’s so gorgeous out there right now, that I’m fighting the urge to get back outside and continue working on the fire pit and getting things ready to do that pork roast in the cast iron Dutch oven I was planning to do tomorrow.

Instead, I need to use today as a recovery day, or I’ll be just as immobile tomorrow, too.

I really, really want to be outside right now!

The Re-Farmer

A day in the city, and a cheeky thief!

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Today was my day to get into the city for my appointment with the sports injury clinic about my hip.

I had a really rough and sleepless night. Not because of my hip this time, but I kept waking up and just generally couldn’t settle in. As dawn approached, I messaged my daughters, who both ended up awake all night, and asked them to take care of the morning routine for me, so I could try and get more sleep. I didn’t want to be driving to the city feeling the way I did.

They were sweethearts and took care of the entire morning routine for me, from feeding the cats to switching out the memory cards on the trail cams, to all the yard and garden checks.

My appointment was for 1pm, and I made sure to check the maps for the address. It turned out to be well within the area we normally do our not-Costco shopping. My landmark was a Shell gas station that seemed to share a driveway with the clinic, from what I could see on the satellite map.

Still, I ended up leaving about 2 hours before the appointment, even though it would take only a little more than an hour to drive there.

I am so glad I did!

As I was heading out and reached the first highway, there was an ambulance, lights on but no siren, that turned towards the north of us. A short distance away, I could see the vehicles of volunteer fire fighters at the fire station, and the fire truck was gone. On the other side of town, there were a couple of police vehicle, sirens and lights going, rushing through.

When I got to the next highway, I paused at a case station to pick up an energy drink and a sandwich (made by the restaurant in our little hamlet) for “breakfast”, and messaged my family. They kept tabs on the news, but nothing came up. Hopefully, whatever happened, no one was seriously harmed.

The highway I took into the city turned into the street that went past the clinic I needed to go to, so no turning or side trips needed.

Almost.

When I reached the Shell station, I went past and turned at the next entry, trying to find a street number, somewhere. I ended up driving around a building and, on the side facing the gas station, finally saw a sign over a door, saying “medical clinic and mall entrance”. That entire side of the building was all grey concrete, with a few service doors along the way. You really needed to want to find this place to get there!

I went in and the inside was just as bleak. Nothing but narrow hallways with lots of doors. The doors all had signs for different businesses, with some saying “employees only”. Eventually, I reached a door that actually had the street address on it.

It was a different address.

???

I headed back out and went into the Shell station, and asked the guy behind the counter. I gave the address I was after, and the name of the clinic, but all he could tell me is what his own address was and point vaguely further down the street.

*sigh*

So, off I went again and continued down the street until…

I passed another Shell station.

I’ve gone down this street so many times, but only really paid attention to where I needed to go. I had no idea there were two Shell stations so close together.

This one, however, had a very new looking building with a big sign and the name of the clinic. I swear, it wasn’t there the last time I drove this far.

I also drove right past it. Missed the entrance completely.

I was able to turn around and go back fairly easily but, again, you really had to want to find this place! The building may have been well marked, but the entry and exit lanes were very hard to see.

Then, there was finding the right door. It turns out this place has several related clinics in it, plus a pharmacy with a drive through (very unusual in our neck of the woods).

By the time I got to the right place, I was only 10 or so minutes early.

They did take me in a bit late, but not by much. The first person to see me was not the main doctor. He introduced me to himself with his first name only, telling me he was an orthopedic surgeon from China. Since he had just given me a very English name to us, I’m guessing his real name is hard for English speakers to pronounce! Much like my previous doctor who used his initials as his name.

This doctor started off by asking all sorts of questions to try and get a bead on why I was there.

By the time he was done, he seemed a bit perplexed. The thing that seemed to make it more difficult to figure out is that the hip troubles I’m having only really happen when I lie down to try and sleep. The more I try to relax, the worse the pain. It’s actually been a lot better lately, but it’s not gone away.

After a lot of questions and discussion, and looking at my file (for some reason, my most recent X-rays didn’t come up; just the report), he left to consult with the doctor my appointment was with. Then he came back with more questions before leaving again to consult with the doctor.

The doctor I was booked with swung by a short time later, apologizing for the wait (which I really didn’t notice as a problem) and said he just had to finish with another patient, and then he would be back to talk with me.

When he came back and we started talking, he was able to give me a diagnosis. GTPS. Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome. In looking it up, I can see why there was some confusion. My pain is really, really localized, and it happens only at certain times. My thought is that the anti-inflammatories I’m on, as low a dose as it is, helps with most of the symptoms that I would normally be feeling, or feeling more acutely, and now it’s just that hip joint that the anti-inflammatories aren’t enough to help with.

The other doctor had already given the area a physical exam, plus he also had me doing a number of range of motion tests. I had no issues with range of motion at all. During the physical exam at one point, he had me lying on my back, got me to lift one leg at a time, while he pressed down on my thigh. I was to resist his pushing my leg down as much as I could. He wasn’t able to push my leg down. When I got up from that, he commented that I had a lot of muscle.

The primary doctor got me on the table again, too, but he focused on finding the exact area in my hip to work on. That location would be the site for an injection. At first, as he poked and prodded, it was no big deal, but then he found THE spot. WOW did that ever hurt! Worse, he kept having to poke and prod around the area to find where the pain was the most acute.

Ouch.

That done, he explained the situation and that they could try a steroid injection. Which is exactly what my regular doctor and I were expecting. He wanted to know if I could come back tomorrow, or if I was okay to wait to get it done today. I told him, it’s a long drive, so I’m more than willing to wait to get it done today!

That decided, he had another patient to see before he could come back. While I was waiting, the first doctor came back to check on me and make sure everything was all right.

I didn’t have all that long to wait, really, and I was able to update my family on things. When the doctor came back, he made sure to go through all the usual disclaimers, then got me up on the table again. More poking and prodding to find the right location. He actually inserted the needle at one point, without doing the injection, and I didn’t even feel it compared to how much the poking and prodding hurt, when he hit that “sweet spot”. He ended up moving the needle to a different location before finally giving the injection. He told me it would take a while for the anesthetic to kick in, but there still might be pain in the injection location later on. I was also warned that there might be a “rebound” affect, where the area might actually hurt more before it starts feeling better.

He wanted to do a follow up with me in two weeks. Looking at my calendar, I asked if 4 weeks would be okay. In the end, he said he didn’t need me to actually come in, in person, and we could do a phone appointment in 2 weeks, instead. Which was just fine by me!

All in all, I was really happy with how things went. I now have a name for what’s going on with my hip and, hopefully, the steroid injection will make the difference. For some people, it doesn’t help at all, for others, it helps, but by how much is really an individual thing.

That done, I made the telephone appointment and headed out. I had a couple more places to go to.

My first stop was a Canadian Tire. I remembered to bring a paint sample for the colour of the isolation shelter. The exposed wood on it needs to be painted before winter, plus I want to pain the wind/snow break box that fits in front of the door when it’s open at its winter location.

Unfortunately, the piece of painted wood I brought as a sample wasn’t smooth enough. The colour matching machine “saw” it as a grey. So the paint person and I went looking at the colour samples and found one that was pretty close, and she tinted a gallon for me.

When she opened it up afterwards, though, we were both pretty surprised. The purple was a LOT darker than it should have been. She checked and double checked, and she had all the inputs and base paint correct. Yet the result was a darker purple than any of their samples!

After talking about it, we decided on another shade that we had been choosing between. It’s lighter, but not by much. When she tinted another gallon of paint, this one worked out and matched the colour sample. It’ll look a bit darker when dry, but will still be lighter than the original. It’s just for the cat isolation shelter, though, so it’s not like it’s meant for anything fancy. It’ll be close enough!

That done, I also picked up a large bag of kibble for the inside cats, some wood screws I needed, and a quick release hose connector repair kit. I also went looking and found a “calming” spray for the cats. We’ve got a lot of problems with some of them pissing outside of the litter boxes and other places – that’s why we go through so many puppy pads – which is likely stress related. I’ve been looking at pheromone diffusers, too, but all they had here was the spray. I decided it was worth a try.

I was able to pay for all this with my Canadian Tire dollars, so nothing at all came out of budget.

My next stop was the Walmart nearby. My husband gave me his card, a budget and a shopping list that included another bag of kibble for the inside cats. We should be set for the month for both inside and outside cats now. Along with a few grocery items, I ended up getting another box of moon cakes, very different from the last ones I got. The Autumn Festival is over now, so they were on clearance. I snagged a package of chestnuts, too, because they were also on clearance. I love chestnuts, but I seem to be the only one in the household that likes them!

With all this walking around, I did have some issues with my left hip after a while. Not pain, but it did feel… unstable. I used shopping cards as if they were walkers and was limping but, overall, the hip and injection site were feeling pretty good.

The shopping done, I was soon on my way home. By then, it was late enough that I asked my daughters to do the evening outside cat feeding, too.

When I got home, I was going to pull up to the house to unload, forgetting the vehicle gate to the inner yard was still closed. I don’t think we need to worry about that heifer getting through the outer yard fence again, and if he does, I really don’t think he’d wander into the inner yard, all by himself. Too far from the rest of the herd. I’ve left the gate open with that in mind. Hopefully, we won’t find ourselves with cows in the inner yard tomorrow! 😄

After everything was put away and I had my supper, I decided to head outside to walk around before it got dark. I brought out the hose repair kit and cut off the leaking and of a hose at the tap, only to discover…

I bought a quick release connector kit. Not a repair and quick release kit. I ended up having to switch hoses so I could still reach to water the winter and summer squash, until I can get the proper kit to replace the hose end I’d cut off! At least I was able to water what needed to be watered.

While I was outside still, my phone gave me a notification for a voice mail message.

It didn’t ring, of course.

Yes, it was home care again.

This time, it wasn’t to let me know about a cancellation, though! The person who was to see my mother for her bed time med assist was having vehicle troubles, and would my mother be okay if she came in almost an hour early, instead?

This time, the scheduler actually left a phone number, so I went in to use the land line to call back. I tried to listen to the message again to get the number, but I couldn’t access voice mail. Apparently, my number isn’t “registered” (I’m having no end of troubles with wi-fi calling!) and I had to go back outside to get enough data signal to listen to the message again and get the number. I had the land line handset with me and tried to call.

It failed. Twice.

Finally, on the third try, I got through.

It rang, then went straight to voice mail. The voice mail with the message saying no one would be checking the messages outside of office hours.

Why ask me to call back, if I can’t get through to a person, and any message I leave wouldn’t be listened to until the next day?

Still, I left a quick message confirming early visits to my mother was okay, then I called my mother.

After how terrible the call went the last time I talked to her, this one was actually almost pleasant! I had interrupted her evening prayers and was going to make it short, but she was talkative and kept me on the phone. I finally was able to end the call because the med assist was supposed to arrive.

That done, I was finally able to go back outside to finish my walkabout – this time with a flashlight, because it was full dark!

I heard some strange noises as soon as I came out. Noises from the shrive feeding station.

I chased away the skunk, then saw something moving in the isolation shelter.

I found this bugger!

Yup. That’s a raccoon in the cat bed! It had been at the empty food bowl when I first came over, then went to “hide” in the cat bed.

What cheek!

I did get it out, but it was really a moot point by then. There was no kibble left, anyhow.

Then I went and chased the skunk out of the sun room.

Once I was done my walkabout and settled at my computer, I got the live feed to the critter cam open. Since then, I’ve had to chase both skunks and raccoons out of the sun room, several times!

Greedy buggers.

It’s been getting really, really hard to get in and out through the old kitchen door into the sun room, lately. Frank’s three littles, plus a couple other really tiny kittens, all make a mad rush for the old kitchen door. They want in, so badly!! I really hope there’s a rescue out there than can take Frank and her babies. The new rescue we’re working with is putting feelers out, I’m told, so we’ll see.

Anyhow. That’s how the day went today. As I write this, I can say that my hip is feeling a lot better now. Tonight will be the first litmus test, though.

I might even be able to sleep on my left side and not wake up in massive pain for a change!

That would be pretty awesome!

The Re-Farmer

Morning kittens and too much pain

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First, some cuteness that is actually from last night. I went out to do my evening rounds before it got dark when I spotted this before I opened the door.

Adam and Slick were both nursing babies on the sidewalk. Two mamas, seven kittens. Slick has a litter of five, but they’re not all there. I think only one, possibly two, are there. I don’t know how many kittens Adam has, but I’m thinking around four. Being a créche mama, I have no idea which are actually hers. She is content to nurse any kitten. I’m pretty sure at least one of those kittens belongs to a much more feral mama that I’ve seen nursing a kitten in the sun room, once or twice.

I wonder if my evening walk has anything to do with how things turned out?

It’s just hit 9:30am as I start this, and it’s already been a very rough day.

I was awakened this morning by pain. Something’s gone wrong with my left hip. Maybe a slept in it wrong or something, I don’t know. I tried using Voltaren on it and took an extra anti-inflammatory and tried to get back to bed. There was no position I could lie in that alleviated the pain. When I finally tried to sit up, after about an hour or more, I could barely move. I couldn’t lie down. I couldn’t sit. I couldn’t stand. Moving hurt in one way. Not moving hurt in another.

I finally managed to get up and get moving, hoping that if I walked around, it would help, as it often does when my joints stiffen.

I can’t say that it worked.

Getting dressed was a challenge. Just try and put on pants or socks while sitting down, but not being able to bend over far.

We have a cane with feet on it, so it can stand on its own, and I had to use that while feeding the indoor cats for the morning.

That done, I went into the old kitchen to start on the outside cat food. In the mornings, I still mix up a can of wet cat food with ground pumpkin seed and water to make a “cat soup”, then mix it into the dry kibble and leave it to soften. I couldn’t use a cane while feeding the cats their softened kibble, so I was hobbling around on my own.

I did spot an adorable surprise.

Yes!!! In the first photo, that’s the smokey garage kitten we’ve been trying to lure closer to the house, at the feeding station on the well cap! This is between the house and the kibble house. She even was at the doorway to the sunroom when I first came out of the old kitchen!

It was around this time that the girls realized I was having issues, and they came out to give me a hand. My older daughter got my husband’s walker out for me, and I used that to continue my morning rounds. It’s heavy duty enough that it can handle the rough terrain in the main garden area.

I took my time doing my usual checks, stopping to sit on the walker along the way. It almost wasn’t worth taking the break. The act of sitting down and then standing up was the most painful.

When I came around to the house, I found my younger filling the water bowls, and she came to join me. As I was wheeling around the portable greenhouse to return through the sun room, we spotted the kittens inside. There was a fluffy grey tabby snuggled up against the protective collar around the bigger luffa – that explains why I keep having to shift the collar back in position! There was a tiny white and grey on the ground next to the other luffa’s pot, and Colby was pretty posing on top of the heat sink’s cover.

One of these days, I hope to get an accurate head count on the smaller kittens. They run and hide way too much!

As for me, it’s been about half an hour and I think my hip is feeling a bit better. My daughter made a breakfast for me that would protect my stomach from taking another anti-inflammatory (I’m still taking far less than “allowed” with them), and she was able to get some Voltaren over places I have difficulty reaching on my hip and lower back.

I don’t think I’m going to be able to accomplish much outside, today!

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer