Getting ice here on the Farm in 2020 is a struggle for us, too. We have very hard water but do not have a filter on the fridge in the kitchen, so we don’t use the ice maker. Instead, we buy bagged ice and keep it in my deep freezer. So when we need to
This is not possible in the world in which I live. By 2:15 the mail person will have just finished Sunday dinner with his/her family after having gone to church at 11:00. I mean, I suppose he still has time to get it to me before church starts but if he or she has kids,
Who knew? Everyone drives straight down the middle and if you do happen to meet another truck you both slow down, shimmy over to the side, and do the farmer’s wave when you pass. Unless it’s Pat or Doug. Then you pause when the driver’s side windows align and chat for a few minutes.
Had to go to town this morning– pleasant though not remarkable. We had to detour around Trade Day which I’d read about in our little weekly newspaper but had forgotten. Came home, picked up the Italian post-doc, and went to Trade Day. Trade Day is new– started last month without my knowledge. It takes its
this just does not happen. It’s 4:38am. As you know from the previous post the power went out. Mr. Big noticed at about 3:40. The emergency light çame on back here in the den. I did what I do which includes calling the emergency number at the power company and then poured two cups of
Throughout the day they worked. They played. They entertained the dogs. They watched football. They read. They wandered around the Farm. Quite sure they managed to get a nap in there somewhere. Sometimes I’d see two or three of them sitting around the kitchen table or out on the patio chatting and laughing. I won
I am conducting an experiment. A few months ago one of the gas stations in town opened up under new management. It’s full service: repair, towing, body shop, you name it. The other day when I stopped in to fill up the non-ethanol tanks we use for all of the gasoline powered things that just
One of my assignments this week is helping the Italian Post-Doc navigate The Automobile Insurance racket so she can get insurance so she can buy/lease a car. She’s looked into it online and it is, let us say, cost-prohibitive. Mr. Big Food and I: Let’s see what Sue at our local insurance office can come
Russell’s Warehouse Antiques & Estate Jewelry, Greenwood, Mississippi. That is a hand cut crystal punch bowl adorned with sterling silver sitting on a three piece mirror and sterling tray set. The the ladle is also sterling and crystal. You cannot tell me that the entire set up wouldn’t look simply beautiful on my dining room
Okay. I get it. This is not Shakespeare. You expected better of us. But why? We are just lowly Country Mice. Not everything we watch is City Mouse high brow. Mr. Big Food suggested this, as he hisself was on the eve of going back to school. (That went well, btw.) This is one of
When no one was looking we turn the page at the park at University guy to daily reading. I had high hopes for Dictation. Speak. Words appear in a doc on the screen. Copy. Paste. Do a bit of tweaking. Publish. It would give me something to do and would keep you entertained. I was
[snip] An Introduction to Country Life. Alfred S. Campbell. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 1936. This is a very nice little crappy old book. Timely, too! Look! There’s a whole chapter on sheep! And two on children! We shall return to Country Life shortly– just as soon as my chores are done.
Originally posted November 2011; minor edits. Background on the fable here, but only the first few paragraphs– then it’s politics. Retold by Alan Benjamin Those of a certain age may remember this little story of two friends who live in very different worlds. “A city mouse was once invited to visit a friend who lived in
A few days ago, I posed a question to SueK and JoBeth, both of whom are Country Mice. So Country Mice, if you had the opportunity to advise a City Mouse who is considering changing his ways, what would you say? The premise was that “current events are prompting some City Mice to reflect on
For what it’s worth, I am finding it very difficult to be in a good mood this morning. Pardon my French, but the F-ing rabbits ate my beans and that really ticks me off. Mr. Big Food tells me there’s no way I can kill them all. Argh. Here’s a question for SueK, JoeBeth, and
You may recall we had a downed tree over one of the paths in the Hidden Pasture. It happened at the end of April, and was an excellent excuse to take a walk down there. Yesterday evening Mr. Big Food’s buddy, Pat, came out to clear it. It was bigger than he imagined so he
I will give folks credit. I made the first phone call at 7:31am and by 8:50 a fellow had already come out, hooked up hoses, had taken meter readings, and left. He’ll be back. No idea what happened. There’s no break in the line that he’s aware of. Someone else on the road called so
On this day in 1917 the French celebrated United States Day. [FYI. From that infallible source: “Frog (pejorative), ethnic slur for French or French-Canadian people.” See also this.] Sidebar– though not in the GDR, Kant was born on this day in 1724, and I found my little orange notebook– had apparently used it as a
“when it’s leveled and paved?” Something SueK said over in the comments led me to remember this about the Hill Country of Texas. The hills of Cow Gap stood rugged and awesomeBut you have to have fill dirt when you’re building a roadThe hills of Cow Gap man they weathered the agesGot wiped off the
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