Yesterday we went to town for a day of gut-wrenching horror for Phil. We first went to the passport office to get five passports. From there, we headed to the DMV for the sixth time (well, my second time). On the way, I had just finished asking the Lord for a bubble of protection around our car when Phil went to change lanes ... and was inches from being side-swiped by a vehicle that truly came from nowhere. (We have talked through every option about where the car may have been in the seconds before. Our best guess is that he had been behind us and, perhaps, cut over and accelerated through the intersection.) It was quite surreal.
And so we pulled into the DMV and came away less than 90 minutes later with car registration and two temporary licenses, with the real ones to follow by mail. It took some finagling.
Phil was exhausted enough from the ordeal that he went to bed at 8pm.
Today, the start of a new month, we talked through the tasks we need to accomplish. Phil keeps trying to fix the bush hog, but he has about exhausted his options and ingenuity. Hopefully we can get it to the shop soon.
We figured out where we intend to transplant the 25 cherry trees. That has been a mystery to us. You would think that, with almost 44 acres to play with, 25 cherries would fit almost anywhere. But since we have little cleared land, it was more of a mind-bender than you might expect. We figure we'll line the fencing of the lower pasture, and make sure to fence out the cows, so they won't eat the cherry leaves, with all the cyanide in them. (Very bad for cattle.)
And after some discussion, Phil ended up just butchering the piglet, rather than attempting a pig roast. We liked the roast in idea, but to rig a turnable spit, and sew the piglet onto the metal rod, to man the fire for the necessary hours, and then to eat the 80 pound (?) piglet before it went bad: too much effort! So he butchered, which took a good amount of time, but we have meat for multiple meals in the freezer.
We didn't keep the feet. I spent an hour or so this morning scalding and scraping Chunky's feet. I split them lengthwise, and then boiled them for hours. But when I opened the lid, I felt a bit ill on the amount of dirt and hairs showing. I took a little nibble of the gelatin, and it was tasty. But then I tried to imagine eating all eight half feet by myself, and I thought about the smell in the motor home. And I decided to be done. Bitsy or the chickens or the worms or the microorganisms in the compost pile will have to finish those feet for me.
In other news, Abraham, at age five, entered the world of crafts, as he designed and wove his first potholder. To say he was proud of this accomplishment would be an understatement.
With the colder weather, the cat leaps in the door as Phil comes in for bed. Isaiah snuck him up onto the upper bunk, and then called for photos.
And Jadon modeled my new warm winter hat. He looks like the Cossacks he's descended from!
And a special hello to all the saints!
I am so glad you didn't get in an accident and that you navigated the paperwork at the DMV. I think that is quite an accomplishment. Love the photo of the boys in their matching sweaters.
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