Weekly Update: 2.22.25
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!Robert Burns, "To A Mouse"
We had clear plans for this week. Each day's projects were neatly labeled on our homestead Google calendar. We had daily to-do lists to arrive at an intended weekly goal. When the snow started falling and the temperature started dropping on Tuesday, however, we knew it was time to set aside our plans.
When we saw the forecast for this week, we started talking about options for what to do if we got too cold in the tent. We planned to try to stick it out, and just move over to the bunkhouse if needed. When the wind started whipping around on Tuesday, and we struggled to keep the tent warm during the day, we realized the struggle would be futile.
So by mid afternoon, we put away our tools and started clearing as many spaces in the bunkhouse as possible for beds. By evening, we'd moved several mattresses over, elevating them on totes and table benches. We found our tote of air mattresses and blew up several of those as well. We gathered everything in the tent that could be damaged by freezing, and we hauled it into the bunkhouse, stacking it in laundry baskets and stowing it on shelves. By evening, we had everything moved and a place for everyone to sleep -- even the five dogs and three cats.
Though -- as the week went on, we didn't sleep all that much. The animals all spent every day dozing. Then at night, they turn the bunkhouse into a circus. Grace's cat Strider literally pounced my head one night. Arwen and Strider took turns meowing incessantly at the doors, wanting out. The dogs were disturbed by the cats, so they took to roaming the house in a disturbed loop, sniffing different people awake. I've never been a huge cat person, but by the end of this week, I felt like I was channeling my maternal grandmother who always only tolerated them.
We were thankful for the progress on the bunkhouse we made over the weekend, as we didn't do much else the rest of the week. With all the beds stowed around the house, there wasn't much we could do in the way of siding or painting. We spent most days in survival mode -- cooking, cleaning, and keeping the wood stove going. Despite keeping the house warm, some of our water pipes froze, so the washing machine stopped working. One day, Bonnie-Jean washed a load of clothes in the sink. We also took the opportunity to enjoy a little downtime. We enjoyed some TV. I worked on some earrings. My sisters and I made some progress on our niece's belated Christmas ponchos.
On the second day of our snowpocolypse, Grace celebrated her birthday. We spoiled her with a day full of her favorite treats. The slow, quiet day inside turned out more restful than many homestead birthdays have been, and many of us found ourselves thankful for the snow.
Despite the sub-freezing temps on Friday, the sun helped things to thaw out a little. Our washing machine started working, and we were able to take normal showers using our propane water heater. Several of us decided to move our beds back to the tent for some cat-free sleep. It felt like the close to our little winter adventure -- which in hindsight, was more sweet than bitter. And it looks like the last downtime we will have for awhile. Next week's forecast includes many days with highs in the 60s. And we are more than ready to get some work done.
