2020 Holiday Season

One thing Mother and I agreed upon was the joy of decorating for the Holiday Season. She belonged to a Christmas club that met weekly throughout to make over-the-top decorations. Our living room would be off limits from thanksgiving on while she created a unique scene to be admired through the picture window by all driving by. Dad made life size characters, painted by mother, that were placed outside and augmented the living room spectacle. There were days you could not get in our drive for all the families out to see the our festive street. Who can forget the tree made of dowels painstakingly covered with pink feathers and supporting red shiny balls? Or the tinsel tree shined upon by a light with revolving colors? Every year was different. 

I have unabashedly embraced decorating for the holidays, though in a much more, I like to think, "classy" fashion. I have amassed a whole cupboard of decorations which I can combine in numerous ways be it shiny-and-bright or mono-chrome or subdued... Unfortunately, the cupboard fell victim to the remodel, not once but twice when a couple of walls supporting the 2nd moved into cupboard had to be removed for a new electrical panel. (Apparently code does not allow a cupboard full of decorations within 3' of an electrical panel.) At that point I was living with the 3 dogs and a cat in the mudroom and had very little, if any, storage space. Christmas was crammed here and there, like amongst the jars in the pantry and the tools stored under the sink. 

2020 has been a year best forgotten. One bright spot was that after 13 months in the mudroom, we got to move back into the house. A very low spot is that I will be home for Christmas alone due to Covid isolation. I can't show off my house which was remodeled, in part, with holiday decorating potential in mind.

I decided that this year's theme would be lodge-casual. Nothing glitzy, just warm and comfortable. The first problem was finding the decorations I wanted to use. Other than a tree outside, I didn't decorate last Christmas due to the cramped living situation. Now, I had an idea of what decorations I wanted to use but, with no storage-rhyme-or-reason, was having difficulty locating anything. To carry the theme, I decided to go with simple red lights on the tree. 

The tree: Years ago we planted some noble firs just for Christmas. This year nearby trees were logged.  The logging machines did leave the 4 remaining nobles upright but a bit damaged. The tree I chose had several dead branches and was oozing pitch out of scars. No problem. The tree was for me alone in my isolation. Missing branches adds to the interesting patina. I used my trusty chainsaw, cut it down and, brought it home on my quad which still sits against the front porch where I unloaded it. The quad now has a transmission that refuses to engage. To add insult to injury, I managed to get pitch globs throughout my hair as I wrestled the tree into the tree stand. 

The tree stand: was still outside where it held last years tree and had become a haven for a large gathering of stink bugs. Fortunately I found them before I brought the stand into the house. 

A sale of $1.99/100 tree lights was worth breaking isolation rather than finding and untangle lights I have stashed somewhere in the attic. I wasn't sure I could find enough red lights anyway so I masked up and hit the store. Unfortunately, they did not have any red lights. They only had green lights. Unwilling to go anywhere else, I brought green lights. I have never done a green-lit tree. Like most everything about this year, the result was not good. I plugged it in and all I could think of was the Grinch. From there came the inspiration for the tree top and decorations. The tree is nothing like the glorious trees I always decorate, even if they are outside. It is more akin to a pink feather tree but with a little humor. 

The tree is so dry I don't dare turn on the lights for fear of burning down my house. I also fear it may be just needleless branches by Christmas. I still have pitch in my hair but the cupboard that once held ornaments is now stocked with social isolation beverages.

Cyber Holiday Greetings and to all a better New Year.

About Time Update

I see that I started a post way back when the Covid lockdown started. That post needs editing which will happen some day. It includes several pictures and each takes about 15 minutes to upload so getting back to it is worth the effort. It looks like blogspot was changed some of it's formatting since I was last on. This could be an interesting post.

Right now all I want to do it sit down and laugh/cry. I am still living in the mudroom 11 months into the remodel. 99% of my clothes, including all summer clothes since the remodel was to be completed before spring at the latest, are in a POD in a storage warehouse somewhere. I am taking this virus seriously and not risking store shopping for more clothing even though some stores are now open. I did buy 3 tees on line to tide me over the hot months. My needs are simple. I have gone to the store once about every 6 weeks when I run out of dog food, Costco margaritas, milk and salad fixings. Other than being comfortable, my wardrobe needs are limited, as my choices. 

At one point I decided I wanted a pergola over my new, about to be built, someday patio and to replace the front porch posts. The crew went up in the woods and got me 20 15-30' logs off the junk cold-deck and bought me a draw knife. I used my log hauler, which I never wanted but Dave got for me on my 66th birthday anyway, to stack the logs in the yard. (Dave is definitely  looking down and laughing. I love my log hauler). I watched youtube videos on how to peel logs and went to work. There is a reason all the videos were done when it was snowing. Peeling is hot work and it is in the high 80s right now. 

This morning Koyuk had a routine vet exam. I also needed to return some hardware I had bought on line and pick up Rx. I got spiffed up in my one clean new tee;  threw the rest of my clothes, PJs, towels and sheets in the washer and; headed to town. I was off (early) by a few hours on the vet appointment. I still have issues with cell phone calendars. I went to get the Rx, but was early there too. I then went to mail back the hardware. I don't have a printer so planned on creating a label at UPS.  My computer PW are my fingerprint. My cell phone needed an actual PW. So struck out on that errand too. Oh well I have to go back to town for the vet appointment and can pick up the Rx and mail the package later. To town twice in a day when I haven't gone twice in a month for months. (Well that is an interesting format I can't seem to do anything about)

Laundry was done when I got home. I took it out of the washer and to my horror, everything had dog-fur pitch balls stuck to it. Everything. I had not thrown in my pants, which I knew had pitch on them. All I can figure is that some pitch must have been in my socks and more down the front of my tee. That reasoning comes from the fact that my bra was coated as was the inside of a tee. The washer drum also had smears of dog fur coated pitch. The clothes were washed in cold water but I still have pitch stuck to everything - everything and not just a little bit. My wardrobe is very limited.  I only have one set of sheets. I tried removing the pitch with mineral spirits. Some items had to be tossed. I am currently trying a second washing to see if everything has to be thrown away.

I have 4 logs peeled. I do plan to totally dedicate one set of clothes and socks to the process from now on. I am through laughing/crying and need to get back to work so something gets done today before I head back to town, Twice in one day - this is almost scary.

Also scary is the fact that I can't do a post preview and edit. Paws crossed as I hit publish.

Fall 2019 Update

At the same time the BrownStone pack was busy supervising remodel workers, there were other photo opportunities.

construction supervision

Jake stakling an electrician's arm moving in the wall.

The weather during the week of November 30 was cold enough for Ma Nature to decorate with frost crystals. I was kept  busy with popping tiles off the mudroom ceiling to burn in the fireplace for heat.

Cedar celebrated her 14th birthday on December 8

Party Pooch

Cedar with Grandson Trask

BrownStone Pack: Daughter Koyuk, Cedar and Grandson Trask

September through December was spent hanging around awaiting permits and trying to keep warm. 

Staying warm in an empty house.

Never one to miss decorating for the holidays, the Christmas tree went up on the front porch where it remains as a flight perch for birds taking advantage of the porch feeders.

Who needs a cat bed when you have an inbox?

A Long Time Coming

For those who do not know, since the beginning of September, I have been (and still am) camping in the mudroom with Jake the cat and my three Chinooks. My furniture consists of a camp chair, stool and dave's hospital bed. Add three large dog crates, a litter box and all possessions deemed to be too fragile or unable to handle moisture and our living space is a bit cramped. With a lot of road blocks thrown our way, the remodel is slowly progressing. Until recently we did not have heat and were exposed to the elements through the walls, ceilings and floors.

January snow inside the house

I am happy to say that we now only have one 6' X 2' ceiling hole draining our excess heat skyward. We even have walls.

The dogs have done an amazing job socializing to all sorts of visitors. One of the most curious was seeing 8 Spanish speaking guys, in full hazmat suits. on a break, wandering around the yard looking for signals for their cell phones. Even I was suspicious at the sight of them. Different crews have learned the hard way that Trask and Koyuk are not shy at all about getting into unattended rigs and stealing food. One day I even found sushi wrappers in the yard.

The drive and yard were dug up to replace the main electrical line and transformer. Add Oregon winter rains and mud has ruled around here. About the same time as the trench dig, the dogs started to blow coat. The resulting mud caked, fur-rug flooring in a cramped, unheated space became intolerable. Time for a spa day.

Cedar 

Koyuk and Trask

Trask

This post was a long time coming and is just a quick update. More about the dogs soon. I promise.