Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[WIchickMama]

We still have snow, enough that it did not melt off the driveway or roof tops. We got another inch or so overnight and it is cold so it is likely going to stay until next week.

I am so ready for the weekend, I am tired this week. hubby works so it will just be me and the girls so holiday movies and popcorn

 

[jvls1942]

GS lives with us. He has worked midnight shift for
five years. never had thanksgiving dinner with us
because he had to sleep.
this year it looks like he will be with us.
he has a new manager. She decided to re do
the schedule. part time nights, part time days , etc.
GS gave his notice. THEN she said that she would not
change his hours. Too late, he already has another job.
Why do new managers always feel that it is necessary to
mess with the schedule ? Is it a power thing?
or do they feel that they are doing something useful?
GS has the longest time invested than anybody else.
the turnover is rampant at that place.

 

[WIchickMama]

GS lives with us. He has worked midnight shift for
five years. never had thanksgiving dinner with us
because he had to sleep.
this year it looks like he will be with us.
he has a new manager. She decided to re do
the schedule. part time nights, part time days , etc.
GS gave his notice. THEN she said that she would not
change his hours. Too late, he already has another job.
Why do new managers always feel that it is necessary to
mess with the schedule ? Is it a power thing?
or do they feel that they are doing something useful?
GS has the longest time invested than anybody else.
the turnover is rampant at that place.

That stinks. Hopefully what he found is better than what he had. AND if you are going to leave some people's schedules as they are, that conversation should be had before or right after announcing the new schedule.

Having him there for Thanksgiving will be nice though, something different.

Yep, still snowing here. Looks like I am in a snow globe. In the mid 20s. Only one plastic chicken waterer is freezing up, I have 3 out there 2 plastic and one metal, it is so strange.

 

[jvls1942]

yup,. My other daughter, his aunt , is a RN in charge
of training health providers to go into peoples'
homes for caregiving. She has been after GS for
some time to come to work with her.
He has been caring for dangerous individuals
in a group home setting. High security . These
people are at great risk for self inflicting and
inflicting pain upon care givers. Nobody goes
into their quarters without another person
with them.
His new job will be lots easier, for sure..

 

[Callender Girl]

Reading about the difficulties with the new manager makes me -- once again -- happy not to have to deal with such stuff. Congrats to GS for the new, better job!

When I was a newspaper editor, I posted a schedule every November where I let everyone sign up in categories for the upcoming holidays: My family would disown me if I worked this one; I have no strong feelings; and, Please let me work here so I don't have to spend the day with relatives. Everyone had to sign up to work ONE shift on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Eve, but they got to choose.

And, I always worked Thanksgiving and Christmas because I didn't have family plans and so no one could complain about the fairness of the system. Jim and I spent the week after Christmas with a big group of friends in eastern Iowa; that was our winter holiday.

It is wretchedly cold here with even more-frigid temps on the way. We will apparently thaw out Sunday. I can hardly wait.

I have been melting snow indoors into big containers since I suspect the outdoor spigot is frozen, and I want to avoid using tap water (which has softener salt in it) for as long as possible.

My expected company is taking a pass on staying here this weekend, so I can curl up on the sofa and read uninterrupted by humans. Critters are a whole different situation.

 

[WIchickMama]

I have been melting snow indoors into big containers since I suspect the outdoor spigot is frozen, and I want to avoid using tap water (which has softener salt in it) for as long as possible.

You must opened up a whole new world for me! I never thought about doing this, why haven't I thought of this? I am putting a bowl by the fire now!

Upper teens this morning, chicken coop is 5 degrees warmer and has lower humidity so I think I found the right balance of birds and ventilation! It is a major feat and feels good going into those really cold days.

We didn't haul in wood yesterday so I will have to do that once I get the little one on the bus.

No plans here this weekend, just movies as I said before. Lots of cuddling and kid time. I am think we might make some salt dough ornaments and paint them so they are ready for the tree....which I don't have. I tossed the old one last year and am trying to decide on a new one. They are sooooo expensive. I will probably just go with a 3 or 4 footer, the tree is nice but since we don't do any presents besides Santa there is never anything under it but the cat, lol. I just love it for the lights at night and early morning.

Both my parents have COVID;( my dad is on day 5 and just started to feel better yesterday. My mom is on day 3 and is feeling really cruddy. She has to meet with her doctor virtually today to see if she needs antibiotics because it has started to settle in her chest.

I hope you all have a happy Friday!

 

[Callender Girl]

The idea of melting snow didn't occur to me until this year. And, really, it just came about because I no longer run electrical cords after a smoldering straw scare two years ago. Suddenly last week, I looked around and realized I had an incredible supply of useable water at my finger tips. With age comes wisdom?

Congrats on the balance in the coops. My birds seem to be physically comfortable, I just worry about them being bored. When I do open the coops, few venture out so I guess they would rather be bored than cold.

Like you, I love the Christmas tree lights at the beginning and ending of the day, but there aren't presents under the tree. Last year, I didn't put up the big tree, just a little tabletop model my mom bought for me when I lived in Minneapolis decades ago.

Sorry to hear about your folks. Hope they are quickly on the mend!

 

[jvls1942]

sorry to hear your folks are not feeling well.
I wish them a speedy recovery.
Last night we went to Annie's 2nd cousin's 50th wedding anniversarry.
We saw people we haven't seen in years and even decades. It was quiet
music so we could talk without shouting. We had a good time.
when we left for the party, we met our doe and two fawns at the
end of our driveway. I am sure that buck was nearby.
Annie has a small Christmas tree that she pulls out of
the big plastic contractor garbage bag every year. Sets it on a
table. I like the colored night lights..

 

[Callender Girl]

Hope your folks are on the mend, Anjanet.

It was a busy weekend here. Four of us worked to consolidate some of Jim's remaining stuff so Michael will only be paying for one storage unit. That's down from the original three!

Michael rented a Dumpster, and I got to take advantage of its unused space to haul away a couple of loads of clutter from my place.

The frigid weather finally broke yesterday and it "soared" up to almost 40 degrees. I loved being able to use the outdoor spigot. The warm-up is predicted to get even better, and we MAY see temps nearing 50 this week.

I still have a couple of hens who need to convert their blood feathers into warmer ones. BLRW Marietta is doing well, except for her head. But poor Ursula, a Partridge Cochin, is bare-chested and slightly bald.

 

[WIchickMama]

Barb, thanks for asking. My dad is doing much better, my mom was hit the worst and has really been struggling. She had to get some extra meds from the dr (inhaler, cough meds, etc). She seems to have gotten every symptom I have ever heard of for Covid but thankfully has avoided the hospital.

I also have a couple of hens molting, it is so late, I don't understand. One has just turned the corner and is starting to get feathers back but I have another that just started a few days ago and every time she shakes TONS of white feathers fall. The babies are 4 weeks old and starting to lose some of their fluffy head feathers too, crazy.

We are going to kiss 40 today, which I am excited about. We are headed to our property to grab some wood that we had cut down this summer (dead trees) and will bring them home to split and stack. We are sitting pretty good with wood, and I think we actually have enough to take us into next year.

I wouldn't call myself a prepper, as I am not to that level of worry, but we do can, freeze, and store food and essentials. I did place an order of freeze-dried food this month from Thrive Life and will likely place one more this winter. I typically get two orders in during the winter, but the prices are getting up there and they seem to be 2-3 weeks out for shipping. I will have to say I am a little more nervous this year than I have been with the potential railroad strike. One of my friend's husband works for the railroad and she was talking the other day about how real that potential is.

No real plans for Thanksgiving here, our little one has been battling a virus since Friday (no fever and not positive for Covid) so we will probably just stay close to home and spend a lot of time outside. At one point last year 12 of the 22 kids in her class were out sick. I can't even imagine what Dec will be like once they all get together with their families. I might just keep her home for a month (not really but it would be nice). We just watch her close because she has severe asthma and sees a critical care specialist for it and is on 2 daily inhalers on a normal day.

Hopefully you all are getting out in the nice weather, preparing for whatever you have coming up this week and are staying healthy! Happy Tuesday!