Facts of Eli

When your fingers are cold, your smartphone won't acknowledge you.

Ugh

I'm sick. It sux. I googled whine and google - the bitch - autocorrected my search and gave me wine memes, instead.

This is me today

Illegal immigrants...

...or mice invasion. The war against mice is on up at the farm. I've sort of lost the battle in parts of the house. I've found a couple of places they come in, but the slim hubby has been too busy with his fishy business to close the mice-freeway entries. I can almost hear them dancing their way inside.
So instead I've emptied out the sink and cupboards in the hallway and installed mouse traps.


The traps need to be checked once a week as a minimum, but that's okay.Even though we don't spend that much time up there during the cold winter months, the place needs to be checked and looked after. Old cottages needs to be warmed up regularly. I'm not quite sure why, but it's what my dad always told me, so I go up there light the wood burner, take care of the traps, go for a hike while the house warms up and have a nice lunch before heading home again.

Slim hubby the hunter was out deer hunting this weekend. He brought his assistant, Marianne. She takes her job very serious and is absolutely pooped when they get home. She spent the rest of the day and night sleeping and hunting in her sleep.

I made scented candles and tea lights today. There is no snow around here yet and I struggle a bit getting into the spirit of Xmas. I figured some cinnamon/orange scented red tea lights would do the trick....except that apparently I don't do the color Red. Instead I do orange and/or pink. Go me?! At least they smell the way they're supposed to

It lives

...and so do I. Hello, how are you?


2016, what can we say about 206? If I was to describe it with one word, it'd be INSANE.

I went through a lot this year. I lost my dad. Fought a lot of old skeletons hiding in my closet. Illness. I'll blog about that another day.

Hubby got a new job and a new hobby/job/fun this year. He and two buddies started a fishing project. None of them had any extra money, but they are capable men and know how to fix machines and motors, etc. They used last winter to get all the official, necessary paperwork in order - there is a lot of applications and forms to fill out if you want to become something so traditional and old fashion as a fisherman. Who'd have thunk? Then worked day and night late spring/early summer fixing up two old boats registered as fishing boats and two even older outboard engines and by early July they were in business.

Salmon farming is a big business over here, but they have problems with salmon lice. Instead of using toxic remedies to get rid of the lice issues, they use smaller fish that feed on lice. This is where hubby and buddies join the circus. They fish what we call "lip-fish" here's a wiki link Lip fish They live around the coast down here in plenty. And they sell them to the Salmon farmers up north.

 The season for lip fishing is very short and they more or less worked around the clock, combining the fishing with ordinary daytime jobs.  They got lots of fish, but they got lots of issues as well. Engine problems. Boats sinking. Rescued by coast guard. First page news. Three became two... the funness goes on and on



Actually they slimmed down and muscled up quite nicely...I should start calling him my beefcake hubby...snortgiggle, no...uhm, where was I? Right, fishy business. This fall they turned our old blue and white recreational boat into a functioning fishing boat for cray fish. You can fish cray fish all year round and you can sell to restaurants, etc. 

The buddies knows NOTHING about cray fish. The ones they have caught so far have been let out to sea, or been given us wives as frustration-bandaid for never being around to help us anymore.

The fishing business is a learning process, but it sure is fun to experience. From a safe distance.


Have a fantabulous weekend 

goodbye 2015 and welcome 2016

Hello 2016, let's be friends

Were babysitting Vera this week while Frida has surgery to open up her airways.  It is actually happening this time. She is well enough AND her heart is fully fixed.  No more holes. W00t.

Runar lost his job. We'll likely repeat last year's procedure and go back and forth between the farm and here, resulting in minimum time online

Mom's 3rd hip surgery proved successful

King winter has come. Snow. Cold temps. Bluish light.  Forecast says it ends next week but meanwhile I'll enjoy it!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS

November Ramble

Regardless of all the tee lights and candles, scented, or not, I feel the darkness. Guess it's that time of the year again. We have had no snow yet. It's only naked bare trees surrounded by the murky darkness of November.

Every once in a while the sun comes out. On those days, I go outside feeling happy and smiling. And immediately have tears running down my cheeks, because the sun is so low, the glare of the beams hits you directly in the eyes. The reflections off of poodles and wet asphalt aren't helping. It's painful. I'm sure the sun is sending me a message about how hard it it is to come out way up here in the cold north. I almost shout back at her: "Alright I get it. Fine! You go back into hiding you vicious moody bitch!" But I don't, because even though my eyes are hurting, I feel her warmth, barely, on my face, and it is still healing.

***

Marianne is no longer a puppy *sad panda face* Now, when grumpy old dogs yell(read bark) at her, she'll reply likewise. She no longer throws herself down crying for mercy at tiny adult dogs we meet. She meets their gaze with a gaze of her own; C'mon, you mofos, bring it on, cause I'm not backing off anymore!

She doesn't get over the top excited by leaves blowing in the wind, anymore, either.  It makes me a bit wistful, but at the same time, she's not aggressive towards other dogs, which is good. Nor does she think the neighbour's garden ornaments are dangerous aliens out to get her. She's slowed down, calmed down, heck, she's lazier than I am. " Are we going for a walk, today? No? Goodie! I'll just nap on the sofa a bit more. Lets snore in tandem"


***

I did a proper effort regarding quitting smoking this fall. I got Champix from my doctor and started on them in August. It worked. I had cut down to a minimum and got started on the second stage of pills and freaked out. I was aware of the dreaming weird dreams thing, but this was a whole other game. The dreams turned into nightmares that left me exhausted in the morning. Childhood traumas kept popping up like spiders in a cellar. After a few days of total panic attacks with the sweating, shaking, hyper ventilating, I called the doctor and asked for help. The doctor was kind, sent off a request for therapy - which was denied, btw.

I sat down to think, because I don't normally get panic attacks. I'm usually able to notice them sneaking up and avoid them by change of mind set, etc. This was unfamiliar and scary.

It finally dawned on me - the damn champix pills. I quit and after a few days, the nightmares and the panic attacks disappeared.

So, I'm back to smoking, but I'm not losing my mind. I still have issues that sorely needs to be dealt with. I'll have to find a way to get help with that. Someway. Somehow. Sometime.

I'll just have to quit smoking the hard way, I guess. Ugh! Will have to get my big girl panties on and do it

***

Simen shot his first deer last weekend.  A nice young buck. Clean shot. I'm happy, he and his dadman are ecstatic. Christmas dinner is now fully provided. Which is a good thing, as we'll be the entire  clan Jakobsen this year. Runar and I are cooks, as usual. Dinner is at the inlaws. It'll be fun.

I taught the neigbour farmer up at Vintland how to knit. We're making a patchwork blanket together. Fun. I'm also chrocheting shawls. I've got to use some of the yarn I inherited.

I've broaden my horizon regarding erotic romances. I've read a few kindle books by someone from my AFP Facebook group and they were a lot of fun. Very sci fi, which I liked a lot.
I stumbled onto some BDSM type of audiobooks by going with some of Amazon's recommendations that had Runar die a million deaths. He'd moan, hide his face and claim" Eli, you're killing me!" when he walked in while it was playing on the stereo. Then he'd stop, look at me with an evil, devilish gleam in his eyes, asking "You're into this!?!" That had me freaked out. We agreed on there being something for everyone, out there. Now I'm using ear pieces. No more speakers. Sheesh!

***

My mom fell down and broke her hip this week. She had surgery yesterday. My dad and I are visiting her this afternoon. He wants to ride with me, cause he loves my new car. It's easy for him to get in and out of, and his wheel chair fits easily in the back. He's got issues with his dentures. He's got a denture set for his upper front teeth that keeps falling out while he eats. We've been visiting the dentist at least once a week for a month now, trying to get them fixed. It's tiring for him and painful for my arms/shoulders. He's shrunk a lot this last year, but he's still a big heavy guy and the chair is heavy. We also have to be very careful and mindful with his body, as his meds have thinned his skin to the point where the lightest of touches causes his skin to fall off in big layers. It's scary. He hates being old and fragile. He wants to die, but hangs in there for us girls. I love him. I know it's getting near the time to let him go. I can't talk about that, though. too painful.

Words

Be sad, 

be rad,

be ravingly mad

but, do stay around

go down,

with a frown,

go wear a crown

but, do stay around

do this,

do that,

do it with splat

but, do stay around

I see you,

I feel you,

I certainly love you

so, do stay around