The Shed Notebook: The Mysteries of Grayson, Frontier Internet, and All That is Missing

Our house has been surrounded by some strange mysteries this month. Grayson is our big, beautiful, fluffy gray cat. We have a cat door in the basement so the cats can go outside. The mysterious disapperances of Grayson started early in the fall, but after diappearing for at least a week, he returned. He could have stopped in to eat during the night. We just didn't know. Then he was back living with us twenty-four seven. Last week he decided to disappear again. After a few days he just saundered upstairs for feeding time like he had never been gone. Where does he go? Does he have another family that he gets tired of? Is he cat food stealing around the neighborhood? We just don't know. Perhaps he needs a cat cam so we can track his activity. We are so pleased he is back home and keeping my head warm as he relaxes on the back of my chair.

Frontier Internet has been another huge mystery in the Silver Valley the month of February. Many nights in a row about 7:30 the internet would just go off, then come back on much later in the evening. Our local classified page on Facebook had a huge thread about what was going on. It seemed each time a person called, they got a different reason why this was happening. They heard they oversold in our area, there was a break in the line, they were going through an update, a solar outage ( which happens in February or early March. Who knew?), or they had no reports of any problems. I think my sister's theory is the best. When people livestream the Olympics, watch Netflix, or play games after dinner it does overload the system. It has been okay for a few days now. The next thread on the page was how it needs to be fixed. I am not even going into that!

The third mystery is all the things that have ended up missing in my house. I received a beautiful book from a friend after Mom died. It is missing. When I couldn't get my printer to work wirelessly, I looked for the cord. You guessed it. Missing. Two camera batteries walked away to somewhere also.
I won't even go into the usual socks, Tupperware lids, keys, and gloves that walk away. I am hoping one day soon I will open a box, drawer, or bag and find the missing items. Either that, or when the snow leaves, the dogs will show me a hole they dug so they could bury the items. I am holding on to hope.

The Shed Notebook: Top Ten Things I Dislike When It Is Below Ten Degrees

In Kellogg we went from a few days that felt like spring to a blizzard, ten inches of snow, then temperatures that dropped way below freezing.  These temperatures can make things difficult for this person that just wants to sit in front of the fire, wrap up in a blanket and sip hot beverages.

Top Ten Things I Dislike When The Temperature is Below Ten Degrees

10. Having to find boots at eleven o'clock pm to check the garage light. Advice: don't try it barefoot.
9.  Discovering my arm isn't quite long enough to reach the newspaper out the front door when I still have on nightwear.
8. Having Riley jump in my lap when he is covered with fifty tiny snowballs from head to toe.
7. Learning that a latte left in the car overnight turns into a icky coffee slushy thing.
6. After dressing in layers, zipping the coat, getting on gloves, scarf, and hat then discovering I needed to use the bathroom before leaving.
5.  Losing my lip balm.
4. Getting shocked by the static electricity on my sweater, socks, bathrobe, and hair.
3. Realizing shivering doesn't count as steps on my Fitbit.
2. Finding snow in my boots.
And the #1 thing I dislike when the temperature is below ten degrees:
Remembering I forgot to buy my dogs the latest clothing and assessories for really cold weather

Fifty-Two Cups of Poetry: The First Chapter

During the time I first composed this poem my sister Carol was doing research and beginning the writng of a historical novel. As I shared in my last post, life gets in the way of writing sometimes.  Life got in the way for Carol also. I am hoping in sharing this revised version of the poem, she will get back to those characters from so long ago. Enjoy.

The First Chap­­ter

to my sister Carol

Reflecting on the beginnings of

 her historical novel,

her hands fluttered in excitement as

she shared her revisions.

She had completed the first chapter.

She was surrounded by

The women writers at “The Swallow’s Nest”

As her mind journeyed back through the eyes of

Mother Earth,

embracing The Cataldo Mission.

Through her prose she introduced

A Coeur d’Alene Indian, an

Italian immigrant, and a

girl named Elizabeth.

Gentle suggestions, questions for clarification,

historical observations, and praise

spilled out over coffee and warm cake.

“Who is telling this story?”

“What about the point of view?”

“Can you explain the setting?”

Her thoughts drifted far away to a place long ago.

 “Oh… the view… atop the hill by the Mission is breathtaking,” she replied

as she closed her journal and smiled.

The first chapter had been shared.

By Christy Woolum 2006   Revised 2018

The Shed Notebook: The Eleventh Anniversary

Eleven years ago yesterday I began writing this blog. In that time I have written 2030 posts. When I started my blog it was for the purpose of keeping a chonological order of events in my life and have a place to share sibling writing assignments . Later I began using my blog as a place to share photos. As a lover of poetry I also have shared many favorite poems.
As a teacher of writing I stopped following my own advice. I told students to just put the pencil to paper and write what comes to mind. At first it may be not be good, but just get it down. Don't lose those thoughts and ideas.  I stopped doing that. Life got in the way.
I know as a writer I need to keep up with it. Having a routine helps. I admire my two siblings that have each kept a routine of posting their own reflections each and every day. I hope to get to that point again. I remember saying the other day, "I just didn't have anything to write about" when explaining why I hadn't posted on my blog.

Thank you this quote Jodi. How true. As I continue to build a routine again and get those words down I will realize I do have something to write about each and every day. So here is post #2031 with hopes of more to come.

The Shed Notebook: Comfort Food

Usually on Sunday we hold family dinner . Today we thought we were going to be gone, Bill thought at one point he might be picking up The Deke, so we didn't plan it. We also had just had a wonderful time connecting with family Friday night.
Today I felt like comfort food. I have always liked Tuna Casserole, but have tried a variety of versions of the recipe to see if ones were better than others. Today I found a winner on Pineterest.
I liked that part of the cheese was blended with melted butter and bread crumbs on top. The mixure for the casserole was easy to prepare, and the recipe give an alternative to using cream soup.
It hit the spot.  You can tell by the pan that is looking pretty empty!
If you feel like preparing an easy recipe that falls in that comfort food category, try it. You can find it here.

The Shed Notebook: Obsession With Sunsets

When we lived in northeastern Washington we didn't ever see sunsets from our house. The mountains blocked them. We had lovely sunrises, but no sunsets. I missed them . When we moved to 514 we have a perfect sunset view from the front of the house. I was reviewing sunset pictures, marveling at how each was unique, but beautiful in its own way. Enjoy a sunset collection from 514.