Am I Losing Interest?

 

(Moon set early a.m.)

In what, you ask? Maybe general life, daily things, this blog. I don’t like the way life has become so much smaller in older age and retirement income. On one hand, my body tells me it’s good to slow down and take it easier but my younger-brain self says there’s still things left undone and I should be more energetic about doing them. The daily barrage of political angst doesn’t do anyone any good either and I’m extremely resentful that what may be some of my best final years have to be constantly colored for the worse by an absolute maniac and his endless-baby daddy-sidekick. 

I give the excuse that Wisconsin winters are hard for trying to accomplish much outside of the confines of four walls and my cabin fever this year was a real thing. I have managed to churn out quite a bit of sewing art though. We’re finally getting a few days where, like turtles, we can stick our heads and necks out and do something under the glorious sun for a few hours of the day but I’m so out of shape my body screams with the effort.

We’re trying to knock the garden back into shape since we plan on spending the entire year here instead of up North. We’ve kept it covered with lumber tarps held down with small pieces of leftover Trex decking material in a futile effort to mitigate the quack grass from totally taking over. A losing battle if there ever was one! We gathered all that up, with the plastic shredding in our hands, for Marc to haul to the dump the other day (800 pounds worth). He bought a burner torch so we can eradicate the dead weeds when they dry out and he has started rototilling. We want to build some beds up high somehow, to prevent having to work at ground level. That’s still in the planning stages of what will be best to use on a limited budget.

The humane society’s latest online auction has come and gone and I contributed 32 items and all but about three sold. The shelter made around $7300, a real shot in the arm for them, out of items folks had donated. Speaking of the shelter, they’ve been very successful at running their low cost spay and neuter clinic from the new building Marc was overseeing last year. They also offer very reasonably priced vaccinations, charging a mere fraction of what a normal vet clinic charges. This has actually now become their prime money-making endeavor so we have to hold less small dollar events in an attempt to raise money. Keep in mind folks, that most Humane Societies are not supported by anything other than a few small grants and loads of donations from people in the communities they serve. If you’re an animal lover they deserve your support once in awhile! 

We took advantage of their services for our feral kitty yesterday and found out it was a female and we got her spayed just in the nick of time. We’ve set up a small shed as her abode, where we provided a heated water bowl and food all winter and a box specially fabricated with a heating pad so she could survive all the minus temps we endured. We’ve now got her locked in the shed for a few days while she heals. We first noticed her hunting her little heart out as a young kitten, trying to stay alive, so we worked to get her to stay on our property. We’ve got plenty of rodents and now that our primary hunter Jerry has passed on, no way to control them, so we hope she sticks around as our “barn kitty”, which is what everyone calls them here. 

Marc continues to slowly work on our kitchen island, the longest woodworking project ever, LOL. We continue to have lots of fun with Buster but have been unable to get him and one of our girls, Spirit, to get along. It presents a lot of stress and aggravation into our daily lives but it should ease a little this summer as we are able to let Spirit outside more. Buster will remain an indoor cat.

(isn't he just the picture of trouble?)

(thankfully Munchkin & Buster get along)

On a final note, as we watch the economy and housing market absolutely turning to shit under Trump, we became delayed with getting our lot on the market. The Realtor we want to use, a very nice and professional man, recently lost his 22-year-old son in a horrific car wreck, so we told him to just take the time he needs to deal with everything and let us know when he’s ready to work again. Although Wisconsin still deals with a lack of inventory, the buyer statistics are sure in meltdown elsewhere in the nation, so we’ve no idea how it will all play out. It will sell at our price or it won’t, and if not, we’ll just continue to own it. 

 

 

Getting It Off My Chest

 

This has been a very trying winter for me; feeling sad. Heavy…rudderless…not knowing what comes next. Of course, I think since the election, many of us are feeling that way. 

I abhor our modern-day politics and won’t make this blog about any of it; people get enough of that bombarded constantly on every source of media they invite into their homes. In fact, that is one of the things I most despise; it’s like there is no where to turn to get away from it all or shut if off. When did this happen that it became like this? Suffice it to say that some of us can see the upcoming implosion and some of us can’t. 

We’re on a mission to simplify our life and essentially just hunker down because we feel the fabric and economy of our society is on the verge. We made the determination to try selling our Northwoods property this year and hope to get it on the market by early spring. Marc still needs to complete the handrails on the new stairway and do some log and tree burning. We’ve not decided as yet whether to set up the RV for occupancy or not. It’s not the easiest thing for him to do as it requires quite a bit of blocking and leveling and him crawling around underneath it. In addition, with our new little kitty as part of the mix, I’m not sure having the three cats in the RV is wise as Spirit does not get along with the new boy Buster whatsoever. It seems easier for me just to remain at home. If I’m honest with myself, it could also be much easier on me because in my heart of hearts, I’m going to miss that place so much it pains me to even think of getting rid of it.  The way the air is always so fresh and pine scented; the call of the loons; the peaceful wonder of gazing at the lake and hearing just the wind in the trees. It’s been beyond belief to own such a slice of magnificence.

From all indications, the market is changing in many parts of the country, but in Wisconsin there is still a shortage of inventory and the Northwoods is unique for the fact that in many cases it’s a second home environment and those buyers usually have money regardless of the economy. It would be wonderful to obtain a quick sale at a price that rewards us for all the hard work we put into it for four years. 

Here on the home front, Marc continues to work slowly on the kitchen island. I’ve slowed down on making my art work as the shelter has enough for two auctions; one of which will occur in late February. I’m looking forward to spring to be able to get outdoors and do some much-needed yardwork catchup and cleanup. This winter has been empty of snow but has been very cold for the most part (minus temps) so it’s become day after day of indoor activities. 

Buster is proving to be a delightful cat and is highly intelligent but is into everything. He’s a counter-surfer extraordinaire so we often have to sequester him in the bedroom while we’re cooking. He’s always up for play and his leg has healed nicely and he’s growing like a weed. Despite how fun he is, I still struggle and grieve over the loss of Jerry. I’ve never felt this depth of loss before with a pet, and it has led to a fairly depressing winter as the other cats fail to make up for missing my boy so deeply.