TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

The Beast awoke to an outdoor temperature of 44 degrees.  That is just 12 degrees from freezing.    No wonder he kept pulling all the covers off me and burying himself under them.  What a mess he made.  You should have seen it when I had to remake the bed.  I have our down comforter out and it's folded just three steps from his side of the bed.  He could have grabbed it on one of his trips to the bathroom.  That thing is warm!

We ended up with both of Tara's older boys today.  Keyfer and Keyvine got dropped off about 11 am or so and went right to work once the Beast told them what he wanted them to do.  One of them helped him thread some wiring through the piping or whatever the heck it's called.  It's a flexible, hard plastic.  That was a big job that the Beast just couldn't manage on his own.  They also helped plant another one of the big fence posts that the Beast has to re-cement in place so he can fix it and put the gate back up.  It may not sound like much but....the Beast had done a heck of a job the first time so the hole had to be made really big and deep.  I told you about our soil here.  They have something called *chert* here and I swear it's part cement.  The men that owned this land also own a chert supply yard and I think that is what they used here to level the lots.

So things are proceeding apace.  I think the Beast is going to run some wiring tomorrow in the cottage/shed for the lighting and outlets.  That idea kind of excites him because he's always wanted that in someplace other than a garage.  Must be a *man thing*.

The Brother should be here on Tuesday if the Beast got the day of his meeting right.  I'll have to put fresh sheets on the bed since he is going to be sharing a bed with the Beast.    I can manage sleeping on my recliner for a few days without a problem.  I take my naps in it as it is.  It's my room in more ways than one.

I spent part of the day clearing things out of here.  I had a pile of clothes I won't wear again so I'm sending it over to Tara's since some of them are nice and good for using for work.  I also sent her some of the sleep pants that are too small for me but I think will fit her nicely.  There's also a nice warm nightie that I liked.  It was short on me but should be a better fit for Tara who is shorter than I am.  I had them stacked on the table I use for my hobbies and for sewing but you couldn't see the table for all the clothes on it.    I have more I will send over to her if those fit her.

The Princess went and did some grocery shopping and...get this!  There was no...repeat NO....whole milk at Walmart. At least not in the cases.  Not a gallon, half gallon or quart of whole milk.  She said she thought she saw some waiting to be stocked in the cooler in back but she couldn't locate anyone to help her out so she just got some 2%.  She and I will drink it and so will Chewlee. That is what she used most of the time anyway.  She's always worried about her weight and love handles.    But this girl loves to eat!  So she just tries to make it up in other ways that don't bother her and makes her feel like she's doing something positive.

Love you all. Have a great week and keep a positive attitude.  Keep track of the temperatures since they seem to have made a drastic drop in a lot of areas.  I think we are going to have an early winter.                                                                                                                                                                 

TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

It was an interesting day today.  A lot of it had to do with Chewlee, who is so happy that she now lives with Grandma AND Mommy both.  Strange kid.  Guess the *feeling* while Assholecakes was involved must have been intense if she was aware of it.  She's definitely happier.  She spent most of the day watching her programs on NikJr (no commercials...**Grin**).  She was very interactive because she joined in dancing to the music on some of them, she *helped* Dora when asked to do something or other and I found her doing various exercises.  She told me she had to practice for a special surprise show for ME. 

Later in the day, she DID do some tumbling and stretching exercises for me.  At one time, she came into my room while I was watching Predator 2.  She had no idea that I was watching a *monster* movie.  So, when she came in and looked at the screen absently, the alien surprised her and she let out a scream of surprise.  Then, when the alien falls off the building, she screamed again and told me, *He's falling!  Oh no!*  She watched while the monster breaks into the bathroom of the building he ended up falling into and decided he must be the bad guy.  She told me, very seriously, *I guess you have to fight back when people are bad.*  She was upset because the alien had long hair LIKE HERS!  I told her he was wearing dreadlocks and that wasn't nice hair like she has.

When the movie was over, she turned to me and said, *That was the greatest program I have ever seen!  It's totally awesome!*  I had to share that with Bratfink because she and I were watching the movie at the same time.  The one thing that DID upset her was the fact that the *good guy* had to kill the alien even though the alien had killed a lot of people.  She said, *Bad aliens do that....they kill people.  Good aliens don't do that and we don't have to kill them, right?*  You just never know with this kid when you are going to have to enforce a moral.  Cripes, she's only FOUR!  You just don't expect that sort of thing with someone her age.  Hell, you don't expect them to even be aware of the differences.

Today, the Beast picked up Keyfur (one of Tara's sons) to help him with running the pipe for the electric wiring.  He installed the box in the side of the cottage/shed and Keyfur got the job of digging the trench to bury the piping from the house to the cottage.  When they were done, it looked really nice and you actually couldn't see where the trench was except a spot here and there.  The Beast will pull the wiring from under the house to our box in the garage and he says that takes a real load off his mind because (to him) that is the worst of it.  He considers the insulation, paneling,etc. to be truly cosmetic.  He will get the flooring down first since it makes it much simpler to deal with it without having to worry about doorways, etc.

I'm just glad he took advantage of using Keyfur and I hope he paid him well.  He worked hard and really was a blessing to the Beast.  It might seem simple to some people but then they haven't tried to dig a hole or trench in this soil.  I swear,it's half concrete.    How a farmer tilled it is beyond me.  Tractors must be more awesome than I realized.

The Brother will be here on Tuesday.  He has some kind of city meeting he is going to on Monday.  The Beast says he thinks his brother is getting political in his old age because he wants to get on some board or other.  Since the Beast has no interest in anything like that, he couldn't tell me which board.  I'll have to wait until the Brother gets here to find out.  I'm sure he will be happy to tell me all about it.

Once the Brother gets here, the real work begins.  Insulation, paneling, running the wiring inside for lights and outlets, the flooring.  I have no idea how long he will be here but I'm actually looking forward to it.  The Brother may be all thumbs in many ways but he has a different sense of humor and outlook on life than the Beast.  He's much less depressing. 

Well, Chewlee is in bed for the night and the house is much quieter now.  Love you all and I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  The Beast made a deep dish apple pie (bought from the store) and I am going to have a piece of it with some fresh coffee.  Heaven!