First Christmas at the Harn

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family

What a week of busyness.  A drive to town for holiday groceries was cut short as the Internet installer was coming earlier than expected.  But, hey, INTERNET!!  So glad to be reconnected to the web.  It’s like the Harn is a whole new place.  Can’t explain this amazing difference.  I feel way more connected but am wary to not spend too much time online.  I still want this space to be a place of relative getting-away-from-it-all.  And the first few days have been good.  I spent time cooking a pie, making dips and dinners, and enjoying conversation.  Also got some more reading and card-writing done.  And now I can post blogs without having to drive 10 miles to get WiFi!

It was really nice to have Mom, Tom and Dan arrive Friday evening for a tasty Harn-cooked

meal of pork roast, potatoes, and carrots.  Of course the real visit was to assure Lucky was being well treated and he got the first lovin’.  I did manage to get a hug sometime after Mom had assured her little man was in good shape.  She expressed worry about how inactive he was but I explained he had ALL the pork blood from the roast that morning so he was a fat and happy cat.  [And here I was worried about how to dispose of raw meat juices at the Harn…  Not a problem!]  Mom was so tired after a relaxing evening of story-telling that she was ready to head to the Hostel early and I didn’t realize until they’d been gone for almost a half hour that we’d forgotten to eat the pie I made for dessert!  Ah, well, I had a small bite of it before an early bedtime and then Dan and I had pie for breakfast.  Delish!

Christmas Eve was some tightening up of the pump room and fixing of loose wires in  an outlet and installing a new timer on the pump room heat lamps.  We heated the place up for Lucky and headed to the Hostel for presents and ham supper with Mom and Tom.

Tom’s chili was yummy for a little bite of late lunch and then we chatted and cooked.  I haven’t made caramel corn for probably 15  years  but this little batch turned out ok.  I had popped some corn earlier in the week but it wasn’t as good as usual and adding some caramel made it yummier!  Mom and I took a walk down to Lake Itasca for the sunset where Dan was taking photos.  It was gorgeous and full of color, getting better as it went.  We were able to enjoy it for quite some time.

My first Christmas Day at the Harn has been largely uneventful.  Christmas songs on the radio but family was all gone by 9 AM so it was a day for me and Lucky to lounge. He enjoyed a long fire in Clay and stretched out on the blanket-covered cob for his long winter’s nap.  I was able to Skype with Tom and Celia and it was a real joy watching them open presents with the grandparents joining in on Google Handouts – my new favorite place!  Here’s Celia trying on the beard hat! It’s a little bit big!!  She’s adorable… even with a big beard!

With all the worries of weather, it’s not looking too bad.  Had some sleet on and off late Christmas afternoon and evening but the morning light showed that we had no ice damage as expected but simply a fresh coat of snow falling. I swept the porch pallets and there was a bit of a thickness to the snow at the bottom but it swept off pretty clean; just a light iciness on the wood slats.  The snow continues to fall so perhaps we will get a bit of a blizzard.  The driveway was a bit deep – maybe 6-7” – making for a trudge out to the mailbox.  Tomorrow the post lady will gather my holiday letters and take them on their way to friends and family.  I will take the last few out later this afternoon and see how deep our snow has gotten.  But I will mostly stay bundled inside, warm and busy with unpacking and organizing, and letting my mind think on what comes its way.  I was able to get the suet up for the birdies so I hope they eat well in this little blizzard!  Mom sent this up from Alex and it smells peanut buttery delicious.  Thanks, Mom!!

Surviving the Cold

Tags

books, local, Reading

Well, it’s been a cold week here at the Harn.

Hmmm… I feel a bit like Garrison Keillor.  How strange.

I have had the thought, “What was I thinking… coming to the Harn as winter comes on?!?”  But I am truly grateful.  We’re finding all the holes to plug so winter will be warmer than this chilly end of fall. With the past week of truly cold temps, it’s hard to believe that winter has yet to arrive.  And I’ve been able to, thus far, convince the critter trying to dig through the wall to cease and desist.  I’m guessing if I wasn’t here, he’d have chewed through and made himself at home inside the Harn.  He was chewing again Sunday, after an eleven-day hiatus, and I yelled and banged and he stopped.  Unfortunately, he was back today.  I hope I’m hearing each time he comes and that I someday will be able to determine his entry point to block it.  So far, there seems to be no entry from outside.  I can only assume he has residence in the attic or was stuck in the wall when I blocked the outside access.  If he’s in the attic, he needs to stay there!  Of course, if he’s in the attic, I may be fighting this chewing as an ongoing battle.

Several times this past weekend Dan reminded me, “it’s a dry cold!”  This was the coldest weekend of the year and, indeed, it was dry.  But that does not help but when it’s so bitter… -25°F.  You just do NOT want to stay outside for long.  It’s just f-ing cold!  I got a lovely heated bird bath from Fran and Ed last week and just getting it plugged in was enough to teach me about wet cold.  Snow melts when it touches your fingers and, once wet, the fingers are fair game for the death the cold air can bring.  No worries, my digits are fine.  But even without wetness, I have learned that I need to wear gloves when I go out and it’s below zero.  I can no longer live the lackadaisical way I did in Indiana, shunning a coat until well into January or February.  Minnesota North Woods, I’m learning, can deliver a deadly cold.  My comprehension of cold has been a bit of a shock.  But I now always assure I have boots, hat, coat, and gloves on or in the car.  I’m considering adding the snow pants to that inventory!  I did find snow pants as we unpacked and they are so toasty!

The week involved lots of fires and running the space heaters overnight but I’ve been able to stay warm so far.  We continue to plug leaks and I found a breeze coming in from the closet so this weekend we insulated the concrete slab in there (which we didn’t think to insulate from the rest of the slab which is in the cold garage…  Hindsight is amazingly brilliant!)  The floor insulation helps but it’s still only about 40F in there with this heavy cold so the breeze persisted.  It amazes me that a 20-degree temperature difference can create such a strong airflow at that entryway!  We closed off the room with another piece of insulation and that stops the breeze.  The pump room stays warm with the heat lamps so I’m feeling relieved that one of our plans appears to be working well.  And it does seem like we’ve seen the last of mice in that area so – winning!

We did entertain our first guests for a meal – Char and Wyatt!  Made a chicken and red lentil soup and some cornbread.  It was a simple meal but good to see them both.  They have been a huge blessing to me and Dan.  For me, it’s great to connect with Char for so many reasons.  She’s a knitter and has a yarn store – so it’s nice to have a crafty gal close by – and she raises her own food and I hope to learn much from her in the coming years.  Plus she’s just adorably funny and the sweetest gal you can know.  I think Dan and Wyatt are hitting it off too.  Wyatt did our concrete work in the garage and Dan reciprocated in part by helping Wyatt with his electrical work at their place.  And they are finding more in common as we go – turns out they are both album fans.  Yes, vinyl!  They both have turntables and record collections, and, though Dan’s is much smaller than Wyatt’s, I believe Dan will be expanding his collection.  They’re both good and handy guys so Char and I feel pretty lucky in our picks!

I was able to read a couple books this past week: Out of the Woods by Lynn Darling and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.  I’ve now started The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey – can’t believe I haven’t read any of his work until now!  What a character.  I love his description of State Police in his opening paragraphs as it reminds me of the officers at Standing Rock.

The proud tough sensitive flunkies of the rich and powerful.  Armed and dangerous.

As I watch Trump fill his cabinet, I fear, will continue to see the use of government forces in collusion with the goals of the rich and powerful.  And I have a foreboding sadness for those who voted for him in the hopes of finding a better life as I believe they will soon find the same disillusionment I felt when Sanders was ousted.  It’s a bitter pill to swallow and often makes you feel like swallowing many more bitter pills in hopes of ending it all.

Back at the Harn… I have continued putting up trim so the place is looking a bit more finished.  I was also able to get a laundry cabinet hung.  Almost had a major issue with this as I did not thoroughly plan the process before I got started.  I hung a board on the wall on which the top rail of the cabinet back would rest.  Then I put up the cabinet and put one screw in the bottom, not assuring I had a ladder at hand to reach the top screws… When I tried to let go of the cabinet to grab a chair or ladder, the top of the cabinet pulled away from the wall and off the rail.  I realized this before letting go but was left standing there holding the weight of the cabinet and unable to reach for something to get high enough to put in a top screw.  I looked about and ended up pulling over a box of books that was within reach.  I was able to stand on it to get a couple screws in the top rail.  Then I got the chair to finish the rest.  Lucky break!  Looks good and feels sturdy now.  The cabinet was a $30 find at the ReStore.  I decoupaged the exposed end and hung a picture on it and I think it looks pretty good.

I was able to get down to Alex for my U-Group meeting and it sure was nice to see so many people I love. 🙂  Got to see Momma and Tom and that was great too, though Mom had some disturbing news.  I was able to help her through it to a great degree and that felt good.  I think she was more concerned with how the news would affect me than she realized and, when I took it OK, that helped her relax about it quite a bit.  I will say that some things are just too strange to understand and you have to just let them be and not try too hard to unravel them as there is likely to be no comprehensible explanation.  It did help to talk with my good friends Steph & Lee about it and I am grateful that I have them.  They have lived through similar circumstance in their own lives and empathy is the greatest of soothers.  Of course Danny was his steadfast self in keeping me on track about it all.  In the end, I’m just moving on, doing my best to be myself and loving everyone.  I have a peace about it all.  While in town, I did get a chance to sneak by Cherry Street Books to see Shawn and KP and I stopped by ABE @ ATCC to spend a bit of time with Minerva which was delightful.  I have missed our ESL time each week and am hopeful that we’ll be able to connect on Skype sometime soon.  I gave her a book we can use to practice pronunciation and a bar of the homemade soap I made and she astounded me with a lovely red, white, and green beaded bracelet and a pair of earrings with Frida Kahlo on them!  That I would receive a gift depicting an artist is such an inspiration to me.

I had some mail delivered to the door – three packages!!  I was on the phone with Steph when the driveway alarm went off so I kept her on the phone as I wasn’t sure who it would be.  Was exciting to meet Chad, the fill-in mail dude, but when I checked the packages after getting off the phone with Steph several minutes later, I realized they were not for me!  The address wasn’t even close!  Actually, there were two different addresses for the same recipient.  Oh, geez.  Another round of weirdness with the Post Office.  I left the flag up with a note to let them know but have not seen them yet.  When I got to the mailbox today, the flag was down, more mail was in the box – this time for me! – and the note was gone.  I dropped off the packages when I headed south today.

So with all the recent cold, I am super happy to be in the 20’s this week.  It’s a heat wave!!  I’m thinking my buddy Plumbob (who moved to MN from IN a couple years before I did) may prove to be right in saying, “26 below ain’t as cold as you think!” as 20 now seems balmy. I needed to gather more wood for the stove so this heat wave came at a good time.  I like seeing a rack of wood that will keep me ahead in the heating game.  I have a wood stash closer to the mandoor to the Harn but my stockpile had gotten quite small!

With the warmer weather, I’ll be burning less but it’s nice to have the wood ready.  I’m guessing this load will get me into the new year.  I’m hoping so but I do plan to get out in the woods this week and gather more wood while the weather is nice.  That’s a nice way to get outside, get a bit of exercise, and also get some much needed work done.  I took a brief walk out the back yesterday and gathered a small handful of sticks for kindling as I went.

The best part of the recent work at the Harn was being able to get some big moving done and the craft room is starting to take shape.  It will be an ongoing job to unpack but I am feeling closer to being able to get crafting again and that will make winter much more productive.  Yippee!

So my Christmas is looking like it will be a happy one.  Though I feel I have done little along the way of presents, I am finding a joy in hearing the Christmas music on the radio – something in years past I would turn off quickly.  Not sure what this means…  but I hope all your Christmas dreams come true.  I believe we are going to have a white Christmas here… 8-12” deep!   Lucky will remain in his new favorite spot on the Rocket Mass Heater.

A Political Perspective Before our Electoral College Votes

Tags

Democrats

Well, the night of the election I was pretty much in shock.  While I was not a Hillary supporter, I truly did think she’d win.  I knew she was unpopular. I knew she wouldn’t bring out the vote the way Bernie brought out the masses.  But I had no idea the troll she opposed would garner the voter turnout he did as people looked past the limited vocabulary, the misogynistic comments, the grade school bully behavior, and the crude tweets.   But he did.

By the second day I was at a point where I could think, “Well, the Universe knows what it’s doing.  All will be well.  There will be a groundswell of grassroots resistance to his ideas and we’ll all survive.”  I was able to stay there for a few weeks but the more he revealed his picks for cabinet appointments and other top posts, the more concerned I became.  And now, with the nomination of Big Oil ally and climate change denier Scott Pruitt to head the EPA, I’m realizing this may be more that we can overcome.  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html

I had some hope when I heard about Trump’s meeting with the NY Times where he did agree that there is a man-made effect on climate change. http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/11/trump-now-believes-manmade-climate-change-real But this guy Pruitt?  Really?  This is the guy who still thinks the jury is out on Climate Change while the rest of the world has been able to look at the data, or at least their own weather, and realize there is definitely something different about our world these days.  He even sued the EPA – this agency he’s being nominated to lead – to try to block the Clean Power Plan.  https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/fact-sheet-clean-power-plan-overview

But I think I’ve figured it out.  Have you heard that Trump hasn’t been attending the security briefings?  http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-has-attended-only-two-intel-briefings-steep-drop-n687916  Yeah, the Nube to politics doesn’t think he needs to attend these {though his call with Taiwan’s president clearly showed he can use some schooling}.  But have you noticed who is attending?  Pence!  And this morning, while listening to Kerri Miller on MPR, I realized Trump’s plan.  He’s just going to leave the work to Pence while he visits stadiums full of supporters and gets his weekly fix to keep his ego fed.  Yes, Pence will actually BE the president while Trump takes credit for all that works and (Pence might not have figured this part out yet…) throws Pence under the bus for each failure.

There was a brief but eye-opening summary in, of all places, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.  {Thankfully I have a friend there who forwards info to my dad and I was in the loop when he shared it}.  http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/Historically–GOP-power-bad-for-nation-16485881  Here’s the basics.  The last two times we’ve had a Republican President with majorities in both houses of Congress were 1) GW Bush from 2003-2007 and 2) Hoover in 1928 following Coolidge.  What did they give us?

1. GW’s Republican national government took us into two wars, passed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and increased the rate of government growth by 11 percent.  In a mere eight years, they doubled the national debt leaving an annual deficit of $1.4 trillion while America was shedding 800,000 jobs per month. The Dow Jones had declined to 6,900.  And worse…
2. The Republican plan in 1928 of tax cuts, immigration restrictions, deregulation of Wall Street, high tariffs and low wages created the greatest economic crisis our country has faced – the Great Depression.

OK, now I’m scared.  I think our only hope now is that the Electoral College voters have been watching and realizing they must cast for Clinton if we have any chance of saving our planet, let alone our republic.  Otherwise, it’s gonna be up to the “publicity-addicted casino operator”.

Photo Credits: http://fortune.com/video/2016/04/21/donald-trump-businessman/ & a book about 1993

Ups and Downs at the Harn

Tags

sustainability

Still alive at the Harn!  Had an interesting week of good and bad.  Here’s a recap:

After bidding goodbye to the family after Thanksgiving I continued with my unpacking and temperature logging.  So far I have been able to keep warm in the Harn but the temps are gonna drop next week so we’ll see how I fare when winter really hits.

I started sending some cards from our new mailbox and noticed that the first one was not picked up on Tuesday (I’d put it in the box by 9 am) so I picked it up from the box on my way to town Wednesday (about 9:30 am).  I called Shevlin PO (I’d met Angie there last week when I stopped to inquire about mail and let her know I was new to town) and Angie told me that rural delivery was a daily thing.  She would leave a note for the carrier.  I got a response (at least she picked up the letter I had for post, along with the little treats I left for her and Angie – Minnesota Nice Doncha Know?) saying “My boss has to get extention applied first before delivery.  Please call Bagley P.O. Thanks”  WTF?  I called Bagley PO Saturday AM and guess who answered?  Angie!!  She’s a one woman show!  She explained that she was out of the loop but I could call to talk with the Shevlin Postmaster Monday – she would text me to have me call.  I ended up calling in Monday about 8:15 and Angie says she’s figured out that she can’t do anything to help me and I need to talk with Brett at the Bagley PO (Bagley is the county seat and a larger population zone – apparently this is where all the mail processes for the area).  I called Brett and he said he was getting mail out and asked if he could call me back.  With my limited signal I asked what time I could call him and he said “10:30”.  OK.  I had some work to do – you will hear about that below.  But when I called him back at 10:30, Jackie said he was out.  What!  I told her he told me to call him at 10:30.  She said he was at the Shevlin office.  So I called there and Angie (her again) told me he’d just left because he needed to get back to Bagley to take my call!  She assured me she’d given him an update on my situation and she apologized again.  I waited a few minutes to give Brett time to get back to Bagley and just as I was about to call, my phone rings.  It’s Bagley PO!  Brett  and I had a long chat and he’s going to have to come visit me to see if he can get me added to a route. 😦  But good news is he will bring my accumulated mail from Shevlin when he comes!!  🙂  I won’t have to make a 22 mile round trip to pick up my mail.

I was able to score a couple cheap cabinets from town for the craft room on my trip to town.  🙂

I took my first winter shower at the Harn and it was a success!  I washed my hair first and then hopped in the shower for a body wash so only used about 3 gallons and 1 of those was old wash & rinse water from the dishes.  Really trying to be conservative!  🙂

The plumber came to see our components for giving me indoor plumbing and he was a bit vexed by what we have.  A Visitor!!  🙂 Most of it makes sense but there are some questions I will have to resolve with our manufacturer, Rainharvest, before he can get things in place.  He’s booked until early 2017 anyway so not too big a frowny face.  Talked today with Rainharvest and they are the best.  I was able to get most of my questions answered by Mark, the sales guy.  But he was sure to send me a link to Curtis, their tech guy, so I could communicate with him to resolve anything more.  He’ll even work direct with my plumber (not a bad idea as I don’t really speak plumbese).  If you want to do rainwater catchment, these guys are the best.  www.Rainharvest.com  🙂

I found out that the heat lamps in the pump room were not functioning.  Not sure if it’s a bad timer or bad lights or what.  Tried a few things to resolve it (flipping breakers, trying other bulbs) but this will take an expert.  😦  Good thing Dan came up for the weekend and could fix it!  It turned out to be a loose wire on an install done after we’d put the heat lamps into practice and he was able to get things back in shape. 🙂  He brought more things than could possibly fit into the Smartie I’m sure (no wonder I can’t get this place unpacked! It keeps coming!) 😦  It was nice to see him and we were able to get all the bedroom shelving I wanted added, hang the mirror and put up the bookshelf above the bathroom sliding door. Plus I found the recipe box!!  And some snow pants and have now almost cleared out the spot for the washing machine.  Also got the desk in place.  I love the new desk.  🙂

While he was there the neighbor came to call.  A Visitor!  The Second this week!  It was good to have him meet Dan as I was the only one who walked over last year when I met them the first time.  We chatted a bit and he eventually shared with us the reason for his visit was that they’d had a robbery at their place. 😦  The guy was quick, in and out in under 20 minutes, and took only the TV.  Well, maybe that’s good news for us as we don’t have a TV!  But it is still a little unsettling that it all happened while I was next door.  I never heard a thing.  Merle’s got his gate locked this week while they are away.  They are weekenders but hope to be up here full time before long.  🙂 We made sure to get contact numbers and such which is a good thing.  Their friend, another neighbor, reached out to me the next day and invited me over.  I can’t wait to see her artist studio!!  🙂

Big bad news and Big good news rounded up the week.  Unfortunately, my Aunt Elaine walked on following an unsuccessful surgery this week.  😦  It will be sad not seeing her cheery welcome at the holidays when we visit – she always had the biggest smile, most exuberant welcome, and best stories.  She was always up to something and wanted to hear all about what you were up to as well.  I burned sage and said prayers of well-being for all the family and friends.  On a good note, it was encouraging to hear that the Army Corps of Engineers denied the ETP’s easement for their Dakota Access Pipeline.  🙂  I burned sage and said prayers of thanks!  Tears of sadness were softened by these tears of joy.

As I was headed to bed last night after such a big week of ups and downs, I heard a mouse (I hope – it sounded much bigger!) chewing at the wood at the bedroom wall. 😦  OMG!  I banged on the wall and it stopped… only to start again later.  (Lucky meanwhile was oblivious.)  Banged again and yelled, “Get Out!” and that seemed to make it go away.  When I went outside, it looked like there is access to the wall directly from outside.  No wonder we’re feeling the cold air!  On investigation in the light of day, it seems the dirt settling on the north side of the barn, alongside with the roofline dripping for the last few years, has resulted in the erosion of the dirt on that side of the foundation.  I was able to foam and push in treated wood to (hopefully!) block off further intrusion. 🙂  Felt good to resolve an issue on my own.

So, a week of ups and downs.  Still no routine!  But I am starting to feel like the Harn is home. 🙂