Those French Canadian pie makers are at it!

The calm before the storm. The eldest will be here shortly and then we'll have the three of the girls together at home again. I hope she's healthy. I'm down with a cold and have been fighting it for a week. Boo and Snoot are slumped on hormones. Mamie and PU are on fire. Today it's tourtière!

I cut and ground the venison this morning and then made myself a broth from the bones for lunch. I don't think I could have tourtière too often. Years of begging have finally produced some of this stout sustenance. Like fish for breakfast I crave this some mornings where there is likely to be a lot of physical work done before lunch.

Now if I could just stop blowing my nose and clearing my throat long enough not to look like some kind of wounded deer killer I'd make good on some wood cutting.

Snow removal and fitness levels to be grateful for

Snow blowers die. Life's like that sometimes. The snow gods could care less. The scoop was in use for more than two hours last night. It's lonely at the bottom. It was still snowing this morning. Now it's just all about the cold arctic front and those ever popular winter high pressure domes. The chickens still squeezed out four eggs. Tomorrow spells new belts for the old girl and then let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! HoHoHo
Mr. Aerobic Engine

My folks are off to my brother's sea bound retreat. I shovel light fluffy snow with kids squealing. Not little squeals and not little kids. I'm grateful.

Mars video

Mars is a wickedly unrewarding subject for those interested in amateur astronomy. The atmosphere is a fickle and capricious foe. The dust storms on the surface of Mars can add to the frustration of trying to see the subtle details offered up by the red planet.

However it will be a good long while before we get any better chance to test our skills in finding some detail to ponder than right now. It's close to us! So grab your chance and find a telescope near you soon if you need this sort of thrill.

I saw a link to this short download animation of Mars rotating and thought it would help in keeping me motivated to haul the scope outside in the wind and cold that is our winter in The Great White North.

Hemingway on moving on

I've been enjoying literaryquotes@lj as they come by. Watching my children grow and my immediate family scale various feats of diplomacy, or not, I'm sometimes pained by the weight of the negative. OK, that's a lie. I'm often pained by that weight.

Hemingway came along to reassure me last night.
"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry." -Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

drycleaning wool?

I was looking at a new find on the web for shopping and I found this, which is not my first choice by the by.

Why would they suggest that you dry clean it if it's wool? Is Bernat wool somehow special in it's properties that makes standard cleaning methods damaging to garments made of this type of wool?