Paladin drinking

We have artesian well water, and Paladin sometimes likes to sip a drink of the good fresh water from the kitchen faucet. Outdoors, a bowl of water tends to collect bugs, leaves, dirt, and green slime.

There are times when efficiency is fun. Paladin may decide it would be good to wash his feet while drinking fresh flowing water.

Freezing and Powerless

Our electricity company has had some transformer issues since 7:55 this morning, and 60° F in our house has not been cozy. Power is expected to be revived around 7:00 P.M.  The outage is affecting our entire area.

My husband rigged up one of our  generators, but  the furnace, refrigerator, and microwave had to take turns, and the stove, washer, dryer, and dishwasher have to wait. The outage occurred while the washer was in mid-cycle.

By early afternoon I was chilled rather close to the bone and donned a wool hat,  turtle fur, Polartec vest, sweater, and the thick Polartec snow pants I wore snowmobiling in the Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska in 1998 while visiting my daughter.

Our diligent power purveyor’s recording says the company aspires to resume normal service 6-8 hours from their 11:00 A.M. update, so our discommodity should be over by around 7:00 P.M., and we will be able to dry the laundry. The generator allowed the washer to complete its work, but its power is not sufficient to run the dryer.

What a blessing that we are still in thankful mode!

 

Three faces and scarf

I was wearing this scarf in the cold wind yesterday, to a doctor’s appointment and the pharmacy. I find the scarf pretty, and it’s also warm and doesn’t itch. My Mum-in-law made it for me last Christmas. I sent her a note yesterday that I continue to love the scarf, and that it receives compliments every time I wear it. I took this photo so she would know to which scarf I was referring; she has sent me several.

Our expressions: I am taking the selfie, and it is taking a bit of strategy to get the three of us in the frame. Effie’s expression is adorably coy, but she’s a tad squirmy; and Vic is thinking about something funny.

Other friendlies around the house

My husband is reorganizing his shop, and Halvor loves watching Vic working there. I came in to check on Vic’s progress, and Halvor, who was sitting on a work table next to me, climbed up on my shoulder. I adore Halvor, so I felt very honored, even though he weighs 16-1/2 pounds, which happens to be 16% of my own weight. Oof–but what can I say–Vic, Effie, and I all think he’s terrific.

Deer constantly graze on our lawn. For whatever reason, they prefer the lawn to our field–but they are beautiful and sweet-natured, and we can certainly spare the grasses and weeds they consume. The light wasn’t right for a through-the-window photo, and they distanced themselves from our house when I stepped out on the deck.

Effie makes the most of laundry time

Effie enjoys napping and relaxing from her busy Effieland rounds, so we recently bought her a cozy rubber-backed rug to keep atop the dryer. The rug doesn’t slip or slide, and she seems to appreciate the softness, warmth, and security. The color blends nicely with her fur, too.

Effie’s dryer-top rug is also a favorite bathing spot.

Effie’s warm spot

Even  set to low heat, the top of the dryer is a cozy spot for thin-furred Effie. The temperature outdoors was 37° when she came in from a morning romp around Effieland, and earlier it had hit 32°.

 

The color of When?

Normally we see fields of grain and the basalt walls of Hells Canyon. I titled this photo “The color of prairie” when I took it on a beautiful morning last October.

This is essentially the same view, but with forest fire smoke. According to our local newspaper, the smoke could clear tomorrow–if (a) sufficient rain falls tonight; and (b) wind of sufficient velocity blows in from the right direction.

Such suspense!

Effie: “Smoked in, and boy am I hissed!”

Grrr. . .I’d rather be romping in my Effieland place! But my Mom had to go and call the vet and ask whether it was safe for me to go outside. The office has been instructed to recommend that pets be kept indoors. Smoke from the forest fires is worse than ever. My Mom and Dad were talking about it being declared unhealthy for everybody, not just sick people.

But my Mom loves me and we play with toys, and she combs me, and makes bread that smells really good in the oven. She promised she would stay home with me all day, too! She doesn’t do well with the smoke–she gets dizzy. She usually goes out to get groceries on this day of the human week, but Dad’s going to take her tonight instead. They probably think the smoke will go away by then.

I wish I could be out romping in my beloved Effieland, but there aren’t even any birds out, and not even any bugs, either! Mom’s going to clean a bunch of things today, like the refrigerator and the upholstered chairs and my window perch, and the insides of the windows where I leave my adorable little prints of my nose and my toes.

I have also made plans to take lots of baths and naps.

Bounty of the vines

This evening we picked nearly nine pounds of grapes from two of our twelve vines in under half an hour. The variety of colors and flavors is amazing–all beautiful, and all delicious. Flame Seedless and Swenson Red are represented here, and we also picked and nibbled a few ripe Canadice as well. After rinsing the grapes, we loaded them into zip-lock freezer bags and put them in the freezer. We have just a few bags left from last year, and the newly picked grapes, and all the ripening grapes we will soon pick, will supply us for at least another year.

Westerly greetings

These sunflowers beam their cheery golden brightness into a west-facing window.