Time flies

Wintry prairie view

Before you know it, it’s Monday and the weekend turned into the week. Throw in a holiday and it feels more like a Wednesday than the first day of the week. Of course, it’s Cyber Monday and sadly I didn’t spend my day shopping. Instead, I attempted to conquer the chaos of post-holiday travel and accumulated bookwork. Yeah, the bookwork didn’t get too far because, well, it’s Monday. And who wants to do bookwork right after a holiday? (Hand not raised.)

Thanksgiving was fun in a whirlwind let’s-clean-everything-and-bake-everything-eat-wash-too-many-dishes and then finally collapse. The fun part was probably due more to an out-of-town cousin joining the festivities and all of us cousins playing a card game, Ligretto. If you don’t have good eye-hand coordination resign yourself to having a negative score (cards leftover in your deck count double, in the negative). Surprisingly, because hey a migraine wanted in on the fun too, I managed to win. No, no applause, really I mean it. A lot of laughter was shared over our mutual inability to pick up cards quickly as the tablecloth invariably came with the card.

Somehow, Thanksgiving speedily came and went; now the calendar is informing me that it’s hubs’ and my second anniversary tomorrow. Wow, does time fly. It feels like it was July just a week ago and harvest a couple days ago. I have to say I’m getting the hang of this thing called travel for my almost-monthly visits back home. Still, long hours of driving get dull so lucky for me I have a co-pilot for most of the road trips to SoDak.

Looking back, it was an interesting year, from the anniversary time clock, that is. I have driven through more auction lots (coincidentally on or right before an anniversary), gone on ‘dates’ to crop scout or check out potential equipment purchases. Side note, some of those equipment review ‘dates’ were booooooring because some old-school Mennonite or Hutterites will not talk to women. You might as well not even be there. Guess my opinion wasn’t needed, right? At least there was good convo and coffee before and after those sketch encounters. Ah well, hubs did well though, he randomly bought flowers (or had flowers waiting when I came home from planting/harvest) and will cook the occasional meal. I taught him well, haha. And we actually made plans for a vacation this year. T minus one month!

He really wanted a goofy photo :)

And speaking of time moving on fast forward, Christmas is the next target up. Who has their shopping done? One of my best friends had her’s done in August, it’s disgusting really, and is half done for next Christmas! I consider myself ahead of the game if I’m making an ideas list in July and saunter through the shopping process. Casual-like because Black Friday shopping is amusing to watch but insanity if you’re wading through it.

May you have survived Black Friday (your wallet too), indulged in the candy cane mochas and start December (this Friday yikes!) with gratitude for (fill in the blank). Me, gratitude for family.

Giving thanks for harvest end

Dressed for comfort in layers for Last Day of Harvest. PC to Dad

Inhale the frost-edged air and exhale an opaque, silvery plume. Delicate, fantastic designs swirl and dance over crisp leaves and up ramrod-straight stalks. Ears of corn rest in their husk jackets safe from the frost. Below the tassels, golden leaves pause in their gentle wave like banners frozen in a moment.

My last day of harvest for 2017 started with such a day. I had to take a couple of minutes to enjoy the novelty and wonder how frost always turns out such ethereal beauty. It gave my combine a different look, especially the windshield. As the frost retreated in the warmth of the sleepy sun it was time to begin the process of starting the combine. It most definitely grumbled to life and took its dear sweet time to warm up and defrost.

This was one of my favorite final days of harvest. Why? Well, it was such a beautiful day and I could cruise to the finish line. Now the cruise was more of a casual saunter with the time to be picky to make sure the cut was excellent. It has to look good from the road, don't ya know.

I saved the final round for Dad so he could officially end harvest. Also, I thought he deserved a little fun time. What better way to end harvest than with the last, easy round on a gorgeous day? As we’re cruising and eating up the final rows, I look over. I see a fat opossum (with a bad hair day) in a waddling jog on the other side of this baby draw, racing us. (I thought he was cheating since he was running between the rows, ha.) The monitor shows a ground speed of 3.5 mph and this dude is keeping up with us. We estimated he kept up the good fight, er, race for about 100 feet before the lack of oxygen on his part sidelined him. Mouth breathers. Everyone knows you’re supposed to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth for an efficient breathing strategy.

How did harvest yield? Well, like everyone says, better than expected. If you’re looking for specific numbers, well, you should know by now that farmers are coy when it comes to that. Similar to back in the day when ladies would flutter their ornate fans as they danced around a question (or flirtation).

A nice sight, minus the dirty windows of course

Best part? Done before Thanksgiving. It’s kind of unfortunate for me because then I’m at Mom’s mercy for doing the weird little jobs for food prep.(You can only have so many chefs in the kitchen.) I’d rather clean the house and set the table. Then I don’t have to wash the hordes of dishes that mysteriously appear after the feast. And this is after the dishwasher is filled. Yikes. The dog said he would clean only so many plates and then he would have to take a nap. I’m kidding, I don’t let the dog help ‘clean’ the plates. That is for fairy tales.

Well, I’m off to begin the pre-cleaning of the actual cleaning process of the house. If I’m quick-like, I might get to work outside and get the combine prepped for winter storage. Ahh, the life of a motivator. Sometimes I wish I was a tad bit more lazy but then I would be bored.

May your harvest wrap-up be sweet, (American) Thanksgiving a time with family and the pie outstanding. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time to put my feet up, ish. Still work to do. (repost from Insta & FB)

Thanks giving

Helping soil test

Today is THE day. I’m finally heading south snowbird-style. Sadly, I’m not a true snowbird; I’m not retired or show the passing of many decades in my face. Or, not sadly, I like working, I feel productive. I was supposed to be south over a week earlier but hey, just shy of six inches of rain in one week will muck up any plans for harvest. By the time you read this I’ll have the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and the miles racking up behind me. Unless you’re one of those perky, chipper sorts that wake before the birds then I might be throwing the duffel into the truck and then on the road. With coffee, okay, two travel mugs of coffee. Thanks to a bestie and an early Christmas gift (she’s got all her Christmas shopping done, BEFORE October) I have a 24oz mug. Yeah! Talk about the extra coffee. :)

Sun bathing, er, napping

 And while I’m driving through Canuckland all the stores will be closed in deference to Thanksgiving. I’ll be honest; it takes some getting used to having Thanksgiving in October and two in one year. This year, I’m actually around to celebrate Canuck Thanksgiving with hubs, his family and siblings (and my super cute little niece). It’s nice to actually be around and celebrate with them.

With this dry year we’ve had, we’re combining corn already. So Canuck Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving both have corn harvest in common this year. It feels a little bit like home. Oddly enough we haven’t gotten a hard freeze yet either but the corn P7527 is coming off at 25% moisture. Not bad, considering no frost. The P7211 came off at 21.5%. Whoa.

This looks the same as the last round

My experience with corn moisture is along the lines of ‘whoa, pull that combine back and go drink coffee or fix something.’ Here in hub’s world, 21.5% moisture is within their optimal range for combining. Of course, it takes a detour through the dryer then to an aeration bin, while still hot, to take another half to one percent moisture out. From there, it’s transferred to a bin for storage.

Hubs asked if I wanted to combine some corn this past week. The big green machine sat ready with its ridiculous-looking chopping head on. (When I’m used to seeing a 20 inch – 12 row – 20 feet corn head, a 30 inch – 8 row – 20 feet head looks funky in comparison.) Now normally I jump at every opportunity to combine (it’s fun!) but I’ll be honest. The green machine doesn’t have the quietest cab ever. And it’s louder when harvesting corn than, say, beans. 

One of my failings is that I’m prone to headaches. A rumbling combine, the odd combo of whistling and rattling golden corn stalks as they disappear into the whirling chopping knives, the weighted thunks of ears of corn bouncing into the head and the crunching thunder of the ears passing through the rotor, the lost silence of corn shelling – separated and cleaned – and finally, the dull, glass-edged shatter of clean grain raining down in the holding tank. All of that pure sound filtering through the cab is enough to give me a migraine. My lovely red combine muffles that enough where it’s bearable and I can also listen to the radio. Win.

May your week be full of gratitude, the crops dry and your coffee nearby.

PS Thank you to my hubs for the photos this week. :)

One year survivor mark

Today is one of those days that shall stand apart from the rest, if not due to great style (can a day have style?!), then most certainly due to the lack of memorable events. 

Yes, it’s Cyber Monday. (I realize I’m a week late but keep reading, you’ll understand soon enough.)

We had celebrated American Thanksgiving with my family and it was only the third time I’d driven to the states that month. Ya, I like putting on miles?! (I’ve realized, with a bit of juggling – and counting of fingers… okay, toes too, that my beloved dream truck will only last me about five more years – should the miles be kind to it. Tear.) Focus, sorry. We had the quintessential turkey and all the fixings, minus the cranberry sauce, Mom thought a break from the norm would be lovely and put lingonberry sauce on the table instead. If that doesn’t show your (cultural) roots, well color me Swede then. The men retreat to the football game, which really is an excuse to not talk and sleep with your eyes open. I wonder if they perfected that skill in college? The ladies stack plates and completely dismiss any further cleaning, on the slim thread of reason that an old family friend had yet to join festivities. Ah, it was well worth it. The old darling was so pleased to be included and to see everyone. Let’s be honest, she was more excited to see me than anyone else. :)

 

Usually the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday (even in Canada there’s Black Friday, odd given how they celebrate Thanksgiving the month previous, eh there’s not enough coffee in the world right now to caffeinate that logic). I like to go Black Friday shopping. 

My quick rules to survival:

Surviving Black Friday shopping (with all your limbs and sanity) intact

1.       Don’t go. (If you were smart, you’d notice that ‘sale’ prices are just as decent earlier in the year. Don’t get me started on that rant.)

2.       Go early in the morning. The crazies are more ‘cautious’ in their driving if it’s still dark out. (Trust me, their driving skill rapidly deteriorates as the sun climbs in the sky.)

3.       Avoid the main mall at all costs.

4.       Save your sanity!

5.       AVOID the mall (you’re not listening)

6.       Rather, find another shopping center with a few big box stores.

7.       Park in the boonies, you and your car will be scratch free

8.       On second thought, park by a light post or something solid and heavy that the crazies will instinctively avoid. But not by the dumpster, that’s just nasty. (Somehow they’re always off scot-free and you are the one with the repair bill.)

9.       Buy a venti, large, whatever floats your sleepy brain cells coffee

10.   Park your bum on a nice bench

11.   People watch!

12.   Warning! Warning! The sun is coming up and people are waking from their nightly hibernation (okay, okay, sleep) and yet more people, er, crazies, are out driving

13.   Escape the madness!

14.   Arrive home. Safe. Count your limbs, make sure they’re all there. Double check vehicle for scratches.

15.   Go ride your horse (with orange on, those crazy hunters will shoot anything that moves).

  

   Interestingly enough, I found Menards to be a great place to people watch this year. Normally I favor Target (great location, NOT near the mall and it has a Starbucks). I used to think it was a joking myth that families go Black Friday shopping and they all have maps with specific areas and items assigned. Nope. This is confirmation that is a fact, not myth. My husband saw the Menards ad and really wanted to go. So we took my dad with too, haha. He’s so tall you can see him just about anywhere.

My mom and I went to Hobby Lobby later that afternoon, hoping the craziness would have died down a little. Nope. I was conservative in my shopping, only shopping off my list and a mental budget. My hubby on the other hand… ya check out the photo in this post. Uff. Da. Eh.

We were supposed to leave Saturday. Then a call from his dad changed the blast off day to Monday morning. This way we could check out the auction of farm equipment in City1 (that was to be held later in the week) and stop in at the auction going on Monday in City2 in our journey back to Canada. Eh. Hubby agrees, turns to me and says I should be thrilled with this change.

I’m over here wondering if it’s worth it to make the drive back by myself. It wasn’t just Cyber Monday Monday but as in Monday-our-FIRST-anniversary Monday. Yeah… 

I think my dad figured that out faster than my hubby did. Oops. 

Okay, so part of these shenanigans is my fault. When we had talked earlier about how to celebrate I said I didn’t care if we went somewhere but I wanted to have a nice dinner out and wine at home later (I haven’t been feeling well). Well, we went somewhere, check. Nice dinner out, never happened. Wine at home, check.  

Our first anniversary, which I did NOT want to spend doing the everyday normal went exactly as that. Of course, with the added bonus of driving through an auction lot and spending the day on the road driving back. My hubby did surprise me that morning though with a sneaky attack of morning cuddles and kisses and popping a jewelry case in my face with the most gorgeous birth stone pendant necklace. (He had ‘freaked’ the day previous, saying he hadn’t gotten me anything. I’d said it was ok, I had everything I wanted – him. Aww.) 

The one year survivor mark came and went with no special memories of where we went or what we did. A lone necklace had to carry all that weight. I still question if my father in-law even had a clue of what he was asking that day, it most certainly wasn’t a favor to me (to get ‘more’ time with my family). When friends ask how we celebrated our first; I say we spent the whole day on the road, it was raining, we drove through an auction lot and it was dark (not hard to do this time of year, ha) when got home in the evening and it was like any other night. No resentment there, right?

How to NOT spend your first anniversary:

1.       See above two paragraphs

2.       Read CAREFULLY the above two paragraphs

3.       Have a plan!

4.       Have a little surprise

5.       No really, see above two paragraphs for guidance on ‘how NOT to’

Life is a grand one, full of ups and downs, twists and turns. I have my partner for life, that’s all that really matters, but take time to celebrate those special markers. Eh

(Copy and paste has ruined my formatting of this post, oh well, I'm off to get coffee. Cheers!)