A Busy Morning

 Today was a bright and sunny day and we had a lot of work to do.  While I stacked split wood on the porch (l), Jeff went up to Valley Health where Mom is see a man about some pallets.  He had talked to a maintenance man there last week and had arranged to go up today to get some of the pallets that had collected beside their big garage.  It took him most of the morning...and 2 trips...to bring home 40 pallets (r) ...we only have a 1 ton utility trailer that you can just see in the upper left corner of the photo!  Jeff figures a couple of days with the sawsall and table saw will turn these mostly hardwood shipping frames into a week or 2 supply of firewood.  The guy invited him to go back tomorrow morning and get another couple of loads but we don't have the room to store the pallets.  After helping to unload these things, I can understand why Jeff doesn't want to drag and stack them behind the garage and have to drag them out front again to cut them up.  You really know when you get your foot under one!!  But they are saving us money!  We just got our 2nd 100 gals of fuel oil for the season yesterday...costing $382 and bringing the total cost so far this winter to $671. Not bad for the beginning of January. This morning I saw an ad for a face cord of seasoned hardwood at $225.  I'd like to get a face cord next month just to have in case we run our of pallets or Jeff runs out of steam.

I got the yarn I was waiting for at Walmart yesterday and finished the baby set last night and sewed the buttons on it today. I think I'll mail it to Jeff's sister rather than waiting for us to go to Utica later this week to deliver it.  While I was waiting for the yarn to be restocked, I finished the socks I found for Jeff and started the cashmere blend socks my cousin ordered.  Oooh, what yummy yarn!

This (l) is what's left of the old box elder tree in our backyard.  Actually, it's not in our yard...more like just over the property line out of our yard and it fell the right way... still more off our property.  It is on the old trolley bed which is a hiking/snowmobile trail and Wally from next door said the local snowmobilers were  going to cut down the big branches to open the trail.  But after taking the machines under the branches I guess they decided there was enough clearance coz they've been using the trail this weekend. They just have to remember to slow down when they get to the tree...the opening is to the left of the trunk...and it could be nasty if they hit it.