Archive for December 2017
snow duties
Our first big snow arrived Saturday night. Twenty centimeters of fluff. Time to begin snow removal duties.
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This year my husband has about 30 clients for snow removal and he has been getting ready for a couple of weeks — staking driveways, buying diesel, replacing lights in the tractor array, removing stressed bolts and moving things around the yard to make moving the snow as simple as possible.
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My duties are simple and few. I set the alarm for 3 AM, print off the client list from the computer and run the checklist — water, raisins, earplugs, client list, flashlight, cell phone, “go bag”. The “go-bag” has about sixty pounds of chain, a roll of tow strapping, assorted connection devices and anything you would ever want to pull yourself from a ditch.
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I also supply diesel when needed and lunch. No set times for anything. Just a hearty meal, packed to eat on the road, when my husband gets hungry.
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lunch packed into a cooler (or in this case, a heater) … lots of protein and calories …
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Otherwise, I answer the phone, work away at various editing projects and worry. Things can go wrong out there in snow-land and they often do. A stray two-by-four goes through the blower. The tractor slips off the side of a driveway into a deep ditch. The plow for the main roads is late. There are three cars in the driveway and no one at home to move them!
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My husband is the only one I know who talks about snow and winter longingly in the middle of summer. Everyone should love their work as much as he does!
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Enjoy your snow-day where-ever you are.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
a day getting ready for Christmas
I have been so busy lately, all duties associated with my new book. But occasionally I need a day to just catch up, and to pay attention to the season. So last week we drove out on a Christmas adventure. We did four things:
1. Bought a balsam fir wreath for the front of our house. These wreaths are hanging outside most of our local quick-stop stores, so our wreath was easy to find.
2. Bought a Christmas turkey. I am not much for preparing meat for the stove, so we bought a ready-stuffed Butterball turkey. I will still have to cope with the ‘gizzard’ bag but mostly I can just peel off the plastic, put the bird into the pan and shove it in the oven. What a wimp I am!
3. Visited the Atlantic Super Store and got a sampling of their fancy hors-d’oeuvres. Coconut shrimp! A treat for a cold winter evening.
4. Drove to our camp and gathered cedar boughs to make a Christmas garland. We sat in the camp, ate Clementine oranges and talked for an hour or so. We even heard the loons on the lake call three times. A very pleasant way to prepare for Christmas.
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our Christmas wreath
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What small things do you do to get ready for the Christmas season?
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
announcing the winner of a copy of ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’
I have a winner in the 500th follower contest! (Anyone who entered a comment on my blog between October 15, 2017 and November 20, 2017 inclusive was entered in the draw to win a signed copy of my new book ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’).
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We drew for the winner at my reading at the Authors Coffee House on November 23, 2017.
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signing books at the Authors Coffee House where we drew for the winner of the book …
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I am happy to say the winner is ‘Rebecca’, writer of the blog ‘walking on a country road’. I will be sending Rebecca her copy of my book in the next couple of days. Rebecca is an avid bird watcher and naturalist and I know she will enjoy the book. If you love bird photography and would like to know more about the natural history of Tennessee, visit her blog at https://walkingonacountryroad.com/
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Thank you to everyone who entered. I will be having another contest soon, so keep reading!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
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