November Hill farm journal, 90

The theme of this week is RAIN. We’re in the 70s, rain for days in a row, and it’s starting to wear on all of us. Chores in the rain, dogs in the rain, dogs bringing in the rain and the mud, which leads to extra chores in the house. I think everyone here is ready for sunshine and lots of it.

Last week I took an impromptu trip to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and their dog Aria in New York. It’s the first visit I’ve made to their sweet and beautiful cottage which on the outside looks a little like something Dr. Seuss might design and on the inside is Scandavian-inspired building. They’ve done a wonderful job decorating and it was magical. Also there was DRY snow on the ground outside and gusting wind a couple of the days, so the entire mood felt like I’d gone to another country. I loved it.

Immediately upon returning home I met my husband and daughter and Clem en route to the vet. Clem had been whining, going behind the sofa to dig at nothing, and generally just seemed off. We feared an obstruction. Turns out she is having a false pregnancy! The telltale sign was the swollen mammary glands which actually had milk in them!

We took down the Christmas tree, put cushions behind the sofa, and made her a nest in the corner complete with layers of bedding and stuffed animals. She is much better now, and the vet says it should all be over in a couple of weeks.

I’ve been working on writing projects - submitted another essay to a contest, now back to editing a novel that is beyond ready to get out to some agents and smaller presses for consideration.

Project-wise, nothing is happening on the outside until this rain stops and we dry out a bit, but inside, I’ve made a few changes. I’ve decided to remove our coffee table and store it for a few weeks to see if we miss it. Opening up the center of the living room makes life easier with three dogs. I’ve added a side table between sofa and love seat for lamp and a place to put drinks, and I can add another at the other end of the love seat if needed. A smaller coffee table is also an option. We’ll see.

Once the humidity drops I plan to commence painting the dining room. My sample wall has proven that this is the right color, a soft gray which accentuates the beautiful wood trim we have in our main living space, and I’m going to carry that gray up the stairway on the one tall loft wall.

Pella finally arrived yesterday with enough manpower and expertise to replace the two windows we purchased from them in JULY. As usual, the quality of the product and installation was superb. The scheduling piece I can’t praise in any way, but it’s done, that’s off my list, and the windows are lovely.

Early this morning, in the dark time when all I want to be is in deep deep sleep, a lightning/thunder crash happened that woke me up, scared me, and heralded a 10-minute crescendo of more of the same. The house and barn are safe, but once I’ve had coffee I’ll need to go out and walk the farm to insure nothing came down on fencing. This weather is so unlike what a January should be.

I’m thinking of times when we needed rain and now we’re just getting too much of it at one time. The earth has her reasons and after venting about it, I’m prepared to make peace with it. Sunshine, though. It’s what I wish for.