Another Day

Good morning! I was not going to write anything this morning. I woke up at 4:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep so I read a bit after using the bathroom and making an unsuccessful attempt at more sleep. Then I got up just before 5:00 and decided to fold clothes. I was on a roll and then it was time to get ready to milk.

As I was on my way out to the barn, I was thinking how awesome is my mother. My supply of socks went from very small (about five pair) to very large (over twenty) just because she doesn’t mind darning socks. It’s wonderful. Then I was thinking that I didn’t always think she was awesome. I mean, I was a teenager at one point and I had my moments of thinking that my mother had not a clue about what it meant to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, etc. I think it stopped around seventeen when I found myself in the position of becoming a mother.

Emma having a nap on my lap. I think she's going to be a lap goat. She's so little and cute.

Right now, Amena is having an episodic moment. She spent the evening crying yesterday because I won’t let her go to New York with Nick and his parents this weekend. This is precisely why fifteen-year-old should NOT have boyfriends (unless they are boys, in which case they should not have girlfriends). She doesn’t see it that way; she just sees a heartless mother who is interfering with her happiness. At some point yesterday she informed me that she didn’t think she would go to school today. I happen to know that she has a science test today and I informed her that I don’t think much of missing school and that she might want to think about what the possible consequences are. I gave her two possibilities—being homeschooled next year, and not being able to spend time with Nick outside of school.

Kitty being very regal, something she is very good at.

I like that I have a really good relationship with Laura and that Joanna and I have an evolving relationship that is getting better, it seems, all the time. I have hope that one day I will be able to resume a relationship with Alisha and I expect that as Amena and the younger boys (as in Cedric, Seth and Joseph) get older, we will have good relationships.

Speaking of Seth, we had the sisters over for lunch yesterday and they liked the food, our new one, Sister Riggs, really liked the rhubarb dump cake. For dinner we had the Petzolds over and they really liked what we had including the rhubarb pie. Elder Petzold said that everyone has given them good food here and Seth said, “That’s because Mom is hiding and cooks all their food.” I’m pretty sure that’s an eleven-year-old compliment.

Gabriel getting comfortable. He really likes to nap on the outside of the garden wall amongst the rhubarb. Hopefully he never decides to eat the stuff.

Yesterday afternoon I had a few minutes, well, you know, I didn’t really, but I took a few anyway, and used the sample Jamberry nail wraps (if that’s supposed to be capitalized, sorry) that Meg Koslowski sent me. I’ve looked online at what they have available and to be honest, some of them I like. It has been a long time since I did anything with my nails other than keep them short but that is not necessarily because I don’t like doing anything with my nails. I specifically remember in 8^th grade doing interesting things like writing messages on them and painting every other nail a different color. I remember being creative when I worked at the courthouse. Then I married Dan and he didn’t like the fumes and he wasn't in favor of makeup or anything unnatural and then I had all these lovely children after Alisha and there wouldn’t have been much time even if I’d had the desire. Well, these wraps kind of solve everything. They don’t have smelly fumes that I don’t like (I have to admit that at one point, I actually did like the smell) and they don’t take too long. Not to mention, if I happen to get interrupted, I could always go back to them. So, I might be hooked. I’m waiting until noon to see how my somewhat less than perfect application is holding up and if satisfied, I might have to order some.

The debudder. Doesn't it look awful?

Sorry, that was a bit long.

But I’m almost done.

In fact, have an absolutely splendiferous day!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Good morning. Today is Papa’s birthday. If still with us earthside physically, he would be 89 if I’ve done my math right. If tears leak out of my eyes when I think about him, it’s only because I miss him so much because I love him so much. Surely there is not anywhere a better example of a good life well lived. I feel very blessed to have Papa in my life.

I’m not sure today will be as busy as yesterday and that is quite alright with me.

The Flags-In at the cemetery yesterday was nice. It’s a lot of fun and gets done very quickly with such enthusiastic cub scouts. I’m very glad that while the boy scouts don’t do the same cemetery, they do others so that the boys can continue to participate in such an activity as they advance.

When Seth, Joseph and I got home from doing the flags, we ate lunch and I took Cedric to the West’s to do some more yard work. Then I went to Hardwick to get some milk filters. I think that’s where I got the ones last time but I’m not sure. It may have been Horse & Buggy Feed or even possibly Agway in Gardner. Anyway, I also got a teat dip cup and some Bag Balm because we’re almost out.  Then I picked Amena up even though she wanted me to let her go home later.

Then Paul wanted to go to the bank to deposit tax refund checks so we also went to pick Cedric up. Then it was time for me to get something in the oven for dinner before milking. Joseph and Seth brought in Snowflake, Goldilocks and Zoey as well as young kids and I milked. Then we ate.

Then Paul took Joseph with him while he took Cedric and Seth to scouts and Amena and I went to church.

At church we watched the most recent Face 2 Face event which had David A. Bednar and his wife Susan. It was very good even though we did not get to watch the entire thing. One thing he mentioned is that young people shouldn’t have to be told every little thing that they can and cannot do. Interestingly, Amena used that to tell me that according to what he said, I should let her go to New York with Nick and his parents this weekend. I’m pretty sure that the Bednar’s would agree with me that Amena going to New York under such circumstances is not the best choice but that she should perhaps check out the ten commandments and other scriptures that relate to number five.

Really all I have up for today is school, making something with rhubarb in the next three hours, and maybe actually getting Julia’s other battery and the charger. Plus all the usual stuff that needs to be done.

Have a fantabulous day!

Please Forgive Typos Today; My p, ', and . Keys are Having Issues

Good morning! Becky, you left a pair of earrings as well as the slip. Just FYI.

This morning Seth and Joseph and I put last years kids out in the back field and the lactating does and kids in the garden. It’s interesting to watch goats. I’ve seen several videos that different people have posted online of goats and there are noticeable differences between those goats and ours. The one I’ve been observing lately has to do with kids and behavior.

If you take kids away from their mothers, as many goat owners do, and feed them by bottle, you get a herd of young kids running around and behaving somewhat like I imagine the children on Pleasure Island did in Pinocchio. They run and jump and run and jump and butt heads and run and jump and butt heads and jump and run and climb over rocks and crates and run and jump and climb over rocks and butt heads and run and climb over crates and I think you get the idea. There is no moderating force at work so they get to do as they please and what pleases them is running and jumping and climbing and butting heads. Great. Kind of reminds me of children left unattended. Kind of reminds me of children in a classroom even if there is a teacher present sometimes.

Snowflake enjoying the wild berry leaves and her kids enjoying the rock wall. You can see the lovely grass that needs to be eaten. :)

If you keep the kids with the does, like I do because it seems more natural (I can hardly be in favor of women breastfeeding if I don’t allow my goats the same, can I?). I keep an eye on them in order to attempt to prevent any issues and if a kid needs to be bottle fed, we’ll do it, but generally, I think they need to be with mama (I also think they need lots of exposure to people). Our kids do run and jump and butt heads and climb on things and play but this behavior is moderated by the does. The does definitely keep the kids in line and don’t always let them play with other kids.

Snowflakes boy kid. He managed to get stuck on the outside of the garden.

Is there a parallel we could draw between the behavior of kids and children? You can come up with whatever conclusion you’d like but I think we can.

In other news, life has been quite life-like around here. Yesterday we got a little rain and did a little school. We did some laundry and I played chauffeur.

Goldilocks' boy doing his best to traverse the wall in spite of the human boy in the way.

For school, I’m attempting to get Seth and Joseph excited about reading and writing. They both are quite capable of both but were getting rather sloppy so I thought it was time to rectify that. This week we’ve talked about the importance of the three ‘r’s’: reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are very aware of many of the things they need to be able to use all three for now and things they’ll need them for in the future. 

Penmanship is a big deal, too, in my book so the Monday I had them try an experiment. First, we each held a pencil (or pen in my case) with two fingers way out at the end. We discovered that the pencil is not terribly easy to control that way. Then we each held a pencil with three fingers but still way out at the end. That was a little better but still not that good. Next, two fingers closer to the tip. That was a lot better but still not the best. Lastly, we held our pencils with three fingers closer to the tip. That yielded the best results.

Today we have lots to do. At noon we are exchanging old flags for new at the Brookside Cemetery in Hubbardston. Veterans get flags on or hear their headstones and each year a few days before Memorial Day the Cub and Boy Scouts change the old for new. It’s a fun activity but really brings on the allergy attacks for me as I think about the sacrifices these people made and my thoughts turn to those in my own family who have served and who would have if given the chance.

After that Cedric wants to go to the West’s to do more work and I need to go find milk filters. I don’t remember where I bought them last but Tractor Supply, where Paul likes to stop on the way home from work, doesn’t have the ones I want. Then tonight there is scouts and church.

Have a great day!

Life Just Keeps on Keeping On

Okay, so I’m actually writing (typing) this last night because it’s 8:48, I don’t want to go to bed and there are too many other things that I could be doing. Also, I’m annoyed. There are so many things to be annoyed about, it’s really hard to pick one but one is really annoying me more than any other at the moment so you get to hear about it.

Amena was invited to go with Nick’s family to somewhere in New York this coming weekend (as in Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) because he’s playing baseball in a tournament. She first mentioned it to me a day or two ago and today has been laying it on really thick because she just does not understand why I won’t let her go. She’s fifteen so I don’t expect her to understand but that doesn’t change anything. I understand that Amena is fifteen. I understand all the nuances that entails. But when I say no, I mean no and in this case, nothing is going to sway me; certainly not asking me over and over again. I actually remember what it was like to be fifteen and I remember how annoying my parents were. And I know I wish they’d have kept being annoying.

But let me tell you what really got me this time. “So like 75% of the people at school have sleepovers with girls and boys and of them only the druggies do anything because their parents are weird.” Wow. Really? Do 75% of the kids in 8^th grade really have parents who are okay with having coed sleepovers? You have got to be kidding. And just because a kid is a druggie means his parents are weird? Sometimes these kids make decisions that have absolutely nothing to do with their parents or the weirdness their parents possess.

If seventy five percent of the parents of Quabbin eighth grade students are okay with coed sleepovers, then I would like to know who they are to make sure that Amena never goes there again. I don’t care how much you love your child or how much you trust them. They are 13 and 14 years old for the most part. You want to tell me you can trust their hormones? Think again. I’ve seen some of the posts on Facebook from some of the parents. Those hormones are doing their job, let me tell you. I just wish the drama was on Facebook instead of at my dining room table.

I am now writing/typing this at 6:38 am of May 18, 2015. I am happy to report that at least one other parent of Quabbin Eighth Grade students does not allow her children to attend coed sleepovers. She mentioned that there are parties with boys and girls in attendance but that one sex goes home before bedtime. I can deal with that a whole lot better than an overnighter with both present. Sheesh. Teenagers.

My mornings are quite busy right now so I’m not sure how I’ll fit this in exactly on a regular basis. There are currently three goats to milk and although I get typically an ounce or less from Snowflake per milking, and so far only around twenty ounces from Goldilocks, I’ve been regularly getting close to forty from Zoey and she’s been steadily increasing even taking into account a knocked over milk bucket and milking late one night. Snowflake is also feeding two kids and Goldilocks one and that will continue for a minimum of five more weeks so even though I’m not getting as much from them, they still need to eat their yummy sweet grain.

And then there are mornings like this one when the stakes all need to be moved. And then taking out the goats is not really a one person job currently because there are so many of them. I did get some good pictures of them last week so one of my goals for today is to get them listed on craigslist and a couple of Facebook pages.

This is our newest kid. He was born Saturday, May 16. Because he was a singleton, he's absolutely huge compared to Snowflakes kids. But really pretty. Too bad he's a boy.

I’ve been rather lax on my soap blog which is not a good thing. I need to make a ton of goat milk soap because I have a ton of off-tasting goat milk right now. I need to check out liquid soap make with goat milk. I know it can be done but have never tried it myself. I have enough milk that if it tasted good, I could easily make some yogurt or cheese.

Side view. I think it's kind of funny that our white goat had a black kid.

Saturday I cut lumber enough to make five beds for the garden and with the sister missionaries got two put together before the battery on the drill ran out. I will pick up the spare and the charger from Julia sometime this morning and hopefully get more beds done this afternoon.

The birds are singing outside and there is a little breeze. It’s cool and lovely even if a bit on the humid side. It was so hot yesterday afternoon that when I went out to take the goats some water I let Snowflake and Goldilocks loose so they could find some shade. Zoey had some shade or I’d’ve let her loose as well. The others weren’t out in the sun quite so badly. When I move stakes when I’m done here, I’ll make sure they’re along the edge so they will have shade this afternoon although it isn’t supposed to be as warm today.

Other than the goats being hot when I went out yesterday afternoon, I noticed that the grass is getting really dry in the back field. I’m pretty sure that if Paul were to mow back there, half of the field would be brown because the short under grass is brown, the tall stuff is still green. I’m guessing that means the longer stuff has deeper roots. I know that average rainfall for May here is between four and five inches and so far we’ve had less than half an inch. At the current rate, it’s going to look like Yreka before the summer is over.

Hey, Laura, the Cox’s were at church yesterday. Sister Cox apologized for not making it to the reception; her mother-in-law was visiting and they spent the day with her. Kenisha said she really wanted to make it but life has been kind of crazy and wasn’t able to but she sends hugs. Ryan and Jessica didn’t make it because Jessica was packing and looked at the clock at 5:30 and had an “Oh, no!” moment. Jonathan and Elizabeth didn’t make it because Elizabeth couldn’t find the invitation and when she did realized it was too late. I think those are all the messages I’ve been given. I also have a card for you from the Arbon’s. They sent it to your old address in Provo so it was returned and they sent it here. I’ll get it in the mail at some point. J

And Becky, it looks like you left a black slip here. It’s too big for Laura and I don’t think Mom left anything on the couch so I’m guessing it must be yours. I’ll get that in the mail at some point as well unless given other instructions.

And that is all for today. Have a magnificent day!

Crazy Days

Good morning! It has been a few days, hasn’t it? Goodness!

Stone jetty at Fort Stark.

Last week I was working on Laura’s dress. I had the loops to do and the hem and the petticoat thing to make it poofy. The petticoat thing did not get finished. There simply was not enough time. That turned out okay, though,  because Laura found one at the bridal place in Gardner that worked better than what I was working on because it has really stiff netting as opposed to the really soft stuff that we had to work with. So that ended up being a good thing.

A cool metal door, one of many, at Fort Stark.

The morning of the wedding, I went upstairs because the poofy thing was driving me nuts and I cut my fingernails. I thought I heard  kid so I finished my nails and listened more. Sure enough, a kid. Zoey had a baby girl. So exciting! And she was so stinking cute with dark brown hair and a black stripe down her back. However, I had to leave to go to the temple with Blaine and Laura and then there was the reception so it was rather late when we got back although it was still light out. The kid seemed to be doing fine so I milked Zoey because she was very full.

A cool ring, also one of many, at Fort Stark.

Sunday morning everything seemed fine as well. And after church everything seemed fine. Once we were all ready, we left with a picnic lunch for Fort Stark in New Hampshire. Paul decided to drive up a way we hadn’t before and it took us right through Hampton Beach and that was a huge mistake. It took us about two and a half hours to get through that and Hampton before we could finally get going.

An awesome sunset at Fort Stark.

Our time at Fort Stark was nice. Blaine’s parents went with us and other than the drive up, it was really a nice day.

When we got home, it was approaching eleven o’clock so I milked Zoey. The kid seemed to be doing well enough.

Joseph on the phone with Dan telling him how awesome it was at Fort Stark.

Monday morning we’d talked about going to Vermont to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial but it takes at least two hours to get there and after sitting in the van for so many hours Sunday, I was not about to sit in it for a minimum of four. It is not a comfortable sit to begin with.

When I milked Zoey, the kid was not doing well so I brought her in the house and suggested that Paul take everyone else to Doanes Falls while I stayed home with the kid. I got some milk in her but I think at that point it was really too late and before they all got home two or three hours later, she had fallen asleep and was gone. Very sad.

In spite of the sadness, it is actually kind of nice having a goat to milk and not having to compete with any kids. Although, only having one kids wouldn’t have been as much of a competition as two or three. Still, there is give and take to all things.

Monday  night we all went out to Arisu for dinner and that was nice. Joseph loves seaweed salad and Amena, Cedric, Seth and Joseph all discovered that there are things on the menu that they actually like.

Tuesday I went with Julia to take Becky and Jay to the Boston Airport. That was alright. It wasn’t too bad other than the tunnels and the traffic (which wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been) but considering that I don’t like either, I would prefer that people not use Boston when they come to visit for arriving or departing.

Tuesday evening Cedric and Seth had scouts. They needed to meet first at the church across from the school in Hubbardston and that was great. When they got back in the car Seth said that they needed to go to another cemetery and Cedric said they needed to go to the lodge and he needed to use the bathroom. Well, we headed to the lodge but I was pretty sure Seth was right so we turned around and by the time we got to the most logical cemetery, there wasn’t anyone there so we went home.

Yesterday I managed to make bread and finish the first proofreading of Hywel and Cailín’s story. I also made fudge. And we went to Friendly’s for dinner and then I took the boys to church. Pretty exciting.

Yesterday morning Snowflake decided to give birth. She had three kids. The first is a boy, the second was stillborn, the third is a girl. The girl was quite a bit smaller than the boy so I’ve been keeping a pretty close eye on her. She’s doing really well, though. I did help her find her teat a few times yesterday but this morning she was going great guns. Yesterday, the boy seemed really huge compared to his sister; this morning she doesn’t seem quite so tiny. One of the boy’s back legs seemed to be a bit twisted yesterday but this morning it seems better just like one of the girl’s ears. I suspect they were just stuck in there at odd angles and needed a bit of time to get the kinks out.

Right now I need to find some grey yarn so my mother can finish darning my socks. Then I need to see how good a job Seth and Joseph did picking up garbage and getting branches out of the goat pen. Then I need to check on the kids and Snowflake.

Have a splendid day!

May the 4th be with you!

Amena didn’t miss the bus this morning. Other than that, just ask me how my weekend was. I dare you!

It was fine. Fairly typical in that it was nothing out of the ordinary and unlike every other weekend just like every weekend is.

Saturday morning Paul went to three places that do inspections for cars (something that must be done yearly in MA and is something of a joke but if you want to know more about that, you’ll have to wait until a car doesn’t pass or you ask) and the lines were such that he would have had to wait two or three hours. Therefore, the Jetta did not get a sticker. Therefore, I could not drive the Jetta. Therefore, I had to take the green car. You can ask me how excited I was about that. Not.

Saturday morning about 9:00 I found myself driving north to Fitzwilliam in New Hampshire. It is only something like 26 miles but it takes about 45 minutes. That is just one of the things I don’t like about this area. Still, it’s not a bad drive and can be pretty. Right now it’s still not that great because the trees are just starting to bud for the most art. Although most of the trees around are more advanced than ours because Hubbardston tends to be cooler than most of the surrounding area.

I was going for a Midwifery Skills Workshop. It was a combination of the one that was postponed in April due to everyone else either being sick or having sick children (except me) and the one that would have been this weekend but was bumped up a week because I can’t be there this weekend. Anyway, it being combined, we were going to cover April’s subject matter, Well Woman and Sexuality, Saturday, and May’s subject matter, phlebotomy, Sunday. We covered a lot and got done early Saturday and because one woman already had phlebotomy last year, one was a medical assistant and therefore knew phlebotomy, and I am actually certified as a phlebotomist, we didn’t have to cover that and therefore I didn’t have to go up Sunday.

Because I was in New Hampshire, Paul got to go get Laura and Blaine from the airport (if I have any typos that are the result of not having a p where it should be, my p key is having issues) in Hartfort Connecticut. That means that Amena and Joseph were home alone and I think Joseph was quite bored.

Friday afternoon I took Cedric and Seth to the Carrignan’s so they could go to the Spring Camporee at Camp Split Rock. Seth wanted to go and then he didn’t want to go. I’d already paid so there was no choice and it turns out he had fun. Hubbardston actually got first place which is really pretty cool. After I picked them up yesterday, Cedric was giving me a play by play; he really had fun.

That’s all for now.

Just Words

Good morning!

Yesterday was a lovely day. It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it was quite lovely.

The morning was filled with school work. We’ve been neglecting the reading of Laura’s story, Nightfall, so we read yesterday after other things were done. We actually have less than 50 pages left so as long as we keep up, we should be finished sometime next week. Then we need to keep bugging her about getting the next one finished.

Ages ago I told Paul that I like Shredded Wheat. I do. It and Grape Nuts are two of my favorite cereals. The only problem is that he always buys the mini-shredded wheat type cereal and I’m not as fond of it as the big biscuits that you have to break up. Not only that, but he usually gets the frosted kind. That would be tolerable if they weren’t also flavored. I am not even remotely interested in blueberry or strawberry flavored shredded wheat. That’s for people who think they’re eating something healthy and can’t handle the stuff plain. I have discovered that if I take a bowl of plain bite-size Shredded Wheat and let it soak in the milk for a bit, which is odd because I generally greatly dislike soggy cereal, it isn’t too bad.

We have discovered that a good routine for the goats is to feed them their grain in the morning and make sure they have lots of water and then put them out sometime in the morning. Following this schedule, Seth, Joseph and I put them out during a break in school and it serves many purposes: getting the goats out, getting fresh air, getting a little exercise. The biggest problem is that the grass is still so short that I have to move the stakes quite often. So far, I’ve moved them all once and three of them at least three times. I’m also learning that I don’t want to have kids in October or the fall again—spring is much better.

In the afternoon, Joanna stopped by quickly to drop off a movie that Joseph had requested. While he and Seth were watching it, they reported seeing a mouse. Kitty wasn’t interested in catching it I think because she’d already had a mouse and a bird outside. I lectured them about not leaving food and crap all over the floor and couches because that attracts mice and continued about my reading and test taking.

Then they said they saw the mouse again and I decided it was time to take action. I got the broom and started sweeping. First I pulled out the love seat and swept behind and under it. Then I tipped it back to make sure the feet were clean and pushed it back where I like it to take up residence. Then the chair. Then the lamp stand and the tree. Then the green couch. I basically swept everything into the middle of the room while they put stuff away. The only thing that didn’t get a good cleaning under was the blue couch. All of this was taking place while Cedric was over at Paul’s house. When I was done with sweeping other than the blue couch, I went to take a shower. Then Cedric called, ready to come home, so I went to pick him up.

When Cedric and I got home, Seth and Joseph were almost done picking up the stuff from the pile so I just had to sweep up the remains. Before that, however, Seth and Joseph reported that they had trapped the mouse under a box. Great! I ripped the flap off a cardboard box and slipped it under the box and dumped the mouse in the toilet and away it went! We got rid of the mouse and now have an almost cleaned living room.

For dinner we had stroganoff that I made with some taco flavored hamburger that Paul brought home and salad. Paul is always bringing home things that I really wouldn’t cook with, like this taco hamburger, so I have to think of ways to use it. The flavor isn’t the same as what I come up with and is almost vinegary. I don’t really care for it. Anyway, we didn’t eat until 7:00 because I didn’t really start cooking until 6:00 and the salad was fine (because I only put tomatoes and cucumbers in with the lettuce—I’m not sure what to think about the fact that Paul likes to have more other stuff than he does lettuce, does he  not like lettuce?) but the stroganoff tasted too much like the meat. Not a big hit. Paul does like it, though, so hopefully he’ll make it disappear.

Paul got home just as we were finishing dinner. He left early because he had the class that he’s been going to on Thursday mornings. He got home early because he’s not feeling well. Still, he was hungry and had seconds of stroganoff. My plan had been to do prayer and scriptures as soon as the table was cleared off and since Paul was eating, we did them at the table. Worked out really well because when we were done, it was time for the boys to brush teeth and get ready for bed and then it was only two minutes to 8:00 so I sent them to bed.

And they went. And they weren’t up and down and up and down. Seth and Joseph were noisy for a few minutes but I didn’t even have to say anything to them and the quieted down and by 9:00 I only got an occasional disturbance from Cedric bringing some clothes down he wanted washed and Amena who decided she needed to clean the bathroom upstairs because Sam is coming over this afternoon to sleep over.

I had a brief conversation with my mom on Facebook and a slightly longer one with Sam’s mom, also on Facebook. I was listening to music from Middle Earth on Pandora and, get this!, working on one of my stories. It was wonderful.

I did fill up the goats water bucket and took it out to them. It was very nice outside. The goats were making their going to bed noises and the frogs in the swamps and around the creeks were singing up a storm like they are wont to do. There was some kind of a bird in the back of the house somewhere that made a kind of croaking noise every few seconds and I heard a turkey gobbling from the woods. Except for the fact that it was quickly growing dark, and was already quite dark in the woods, it would have been a perfect time for a walk.

So I went in the house, finished the dishes, and went on adventures with Hywel and Cailín while I had a cup of hot chocolate and then a cup of tea. It was very nice. And I got 1,699 words written. The only downside is that I didn’t go to bed until 11:00 so I wasn’t ready to turn the light out, so to speak, until about 11:30. Still, a pretty good day.

Have a fantastic one today!