manlycornhusk's blog post - why is it?

I've come to the conclusion that my property is the exact center of the fallen leaf universe. This being flatlands...the wind has free reign to do whatever it chooses to do. Lately, that entails blowing every stray leaf withing a mile radius onto my grounds.

They swirl, float, roll, tumble and dance on the gusts until they stop at the great leaf graveyard I call home. Look East, West, North and South...no leaves. Look down, a 6 inch carpet of gold and orange..sheesh.

It's neverending...or at least it seems that way. Rake now and wait a few minutes and you'll never even know it had been cleared. Ignore it and you'll kill every blade of grass. I'm starting to think that Mother Nature is trying to tell me something..lmao. Payback for being pissed off at her earlier this fall.

So many things to be working on right now. Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. Winterizing the house is still going on. Sealing windows...a necessary pain in the butt in this 110yo house. The stove installer told me he loved it because it had character. He's right..it's a character, alright. Fickle, demanding and comforting all at one time..lol.

Yvonne has been making the most amazing gift baskets for the holidays. She can be so creative...one of the many reasons I love her so. They are filled with the coolest things...Black cats for her sister(a strange and twisted Christmas tradition), Baking goods, wine and cool little kitchen utensils. I look at them an realize that I'd be so happy to recieve one of them myself so I'm sure where they're going, they will be loved. She just got done making this cool blanket for my grandson. The two panels are knotted along the sides to make tassels and it turned out even better than when she described it. I love her creativity.

We're making an attempt this winter to live without natural gas. It's ridiculously expensive now and we replaced the water heater with an electric one. New stove, as well. Love the ceramic top and huge oven. It was time for that anyway. The gas stove we had was nothing but a pain in the butt. When we bought it, we marveled at the electric igniters for the burners and the sealed top. The oven igniter constantly went on the fritz, the top ones are spotty and the wells for the burner liners are sealed, yes, but allow stuff to seep between the burner and the top of the stove, making a mess. Good riddance. Even bought a fireplace unit. It's a full wooden mantle and sides with an electric blower insert. It's amazing how they can make the fire seem so real. At night, it's very pretty watching the flames jump and dance.

Well, rambling on, aren't I. I'll stop now before I need to borrow more bandwidth..lmao.

Peace and love....stay warm!