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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Moving right along through Farch and Mapril.

Since I didn't get anything done the prior weekend, I made up for it this weekend.  However, I am trying something new -- I've signed up for a Tai Chi class on Saturday mornings.  It is, let me say, an hour of delight.  I've always wanted to learn it, and I am sure it will take me the next 15 years to get close to understanding it (do they allow the use of walkers in Tai Chi?  I'll have to ask...) but it actually helps me focus.  Me!  And I was able to barter part of the class fee, which just thrills me down to the soles of my frugal little feet.  A dozen eggs a week comes to almost half of the class cost.  And I am up to my elbows in eggs right now - a win-win!

After all my usual runnings-around after class - yes, the lovely tai chi calm wore off in about 15 minutes - I was home to hack down the dreaded barberry bushes that gird the front of the house.  This year, I cut them down to stumps.  And I am sure they will come back bigger and pricklier.  I'm not sure what the previous owner was thinking - putting briary bushes right in front of your windows - the same windows that need their screens taken off or put on.  I then hunted down my window screens, washed them thoroughly and proceeded to scrub the front of the house, top to bottom, side to side.  My house faces north and gets no direct sun.  Last year (and the two prior years) were so incredibly wet that I had a nice green and black crop of mold growing on the siding.  Lots of elbow grease, six buckets of a water/bleach solution and two hours later, it's all clean!  I also discovered what appears to be a bullet hole under the bedroom window, and also discovered that I am going to have to get it re-sided in the not-too-distant future.  A new roof gets first dibs on my emergency fund.  There's no end to the projects, is there?

I also restacked my scrap wood, laid out another raised bed, mounted a feeder for the sheep to try and force some order to feed-time, raked spoiled hay - although I didn't cart it out because I ran out of steam - and did four loads of laundry, which I, gloriously, hung on the line.  From reading everyone's blog posts, it seems like the whole country is dealing with this wonderful - yet, strange - weather.  I keep putting my rain gear away, only to have to haul it out every other week.  I'm afraid to put the winter gear away because it is, after all, still Farch -- or is it Mapril?  Whatever odd season it is, I've managed to get three things ticked off my to-do list (made a nice big batch of laundry detergent, too.)

12 comments:

Dirt Lover said...

Holy cow, girl, you were busy!! Now I feel like I'd better get up and start doing something. Congrats on getting so much accomplished. It sure is nice to get so much done, then be able to look at it for the next few weeks and give yourself a nice pat on the back for being so industrious.
~~Lori

Tombstone Livestock said...

I think I need a nap after reading all you accomplished, lol. You go girl.

Susan said...

Lori - Yes ma'am! Nothing like an open weekend with good weather to get some hustle in your bustle!

TL - Truth be told, every year, at the onset of this nice weather, I need to take a nap midday.

Mama Pea said...

Gosh, you were a real sloth this weekend, weren't you?

I tried Tai Chi a couple of years ago and it felt like watching paint dry to me. Drove me nuts being so slow. Having said that, people do criticize me for "moving too fast." But heck, I've always felt if you have something to do, get on with it and don't spend an overly long time at it! (Are you starting to understand why I don't know how to relax?) I'm hopeless.

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Yes the lovely bullet hole in your house. I am all to familiar. And then all these hunters can not understand why I would never permit hunting on my property. No one should ever hunt with a gun that can shoot a mile. No one.

I wonder if I lived in a yurt or cave if there still would be such a long list of projects. The list just never gets any shorter does it?

Susan said...

Mama Pea - I thought it would be too slow for me, too, but there is so much to focus on (especially for the uncoordinated, such as moi) that the class moved along amazingly fast.

Jane - Good heavens, no! I imagine that, no matter what you lived in, there would always be a long list of things that needed to be mended, fixed, replaced, etc. I agree with the hunting range. If there are homes and livestock around, hunters should not be. However, I believe this particular item was acquired after a rather heated domestic dispute. Or so I hear...

Candy C. said...

The prickly barberry bushes may have been planted under the windows to discourage burglars, some do that around here with pyracantha bushes.
Have fun with your Tai Chi, we are exploring the benefits of Yoga here! :)

fiona@fionacampbell.ca said...

Wow... I'm lucky if I get that done in a week! It seems this lovely-yet-strange weather has jump-started everyone's busy season. I realize that I am somewhat solar charged, and I do get much more done when the weather is nice like this, but then ironically, it's also the time when there is so much more to do!

Anonymous said...

Beginner Tai Chi-er here, too! It is the ONLY time I can focus on just one thing and not have work driving through my brain! I'm lucky in that there is a big group at work. We do TC at lunch! In-house instructor, and everything!

Unknown said...

Farch and Mapril, funny!

Michelle said...

No, the whole country is NOT dealing with an early spring/summer; here in the Pacific NW we are dealing with a very late winter, and temps far below average. We may wake up to several inches of snow in the morning, a BIG deal for us at any time, much less late March!

Erin said...

I can't do Tai Chi/Yoga type stuff, makes me anxious LOL! I sure wish I could relax and enjoy it, though - nice job working out that class fee!