Mountain Mama: husband-and-wife stuff

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Signs of Fall

Definitely Fall around here. We had a couple of days of absolutely perfect weather!

Fridays here have the best yard sales and there's a church nearby that holds a semi-annual indoor yard sale that I look forward to and one cannot miss! Just rows and rows of tables piled high with good stuff!

Of course we all went and found something for everyone.

Then on to town for a little bit of grocery shopping, Library, apple orchard, and then the scenic route home.

Saturday, Andrew fired up the chain saw and cut down some trees we had marked earlier. The kids had lots of fun climbing trees and we all pitched in, sorting logs, branches for kindling and pulling leaves to the burn pile.

Even Peter did his share of loading up the wagon with logs!

The little guy is strong!

This used to be a big leaning tree, shadowing our tiny orchard. I had a long swing hanging from it, but learned the hard way that if both ropes are not tied off at the same level, the swing won't swing evenly. So hardly ever got used. Seemed like the tree was hanging lower than the year before it, so with my blessing, Andrew cut it down. Good thing, it was hollow and probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.

There will be plenty of wood from this tree to last us a while.

Working together is always fun!

Gotta have some fun mixed in with hard work!

After unloading the logs into the pole barn, the kids get a wagon ride back to the work site!

Wheee!!!

This cat will put up with anything for attention!

Silly Archie!

Apples!! Local orchard had a good crop this year, so the apples are nice and big compared to last year.

These are Jonagolds-- love them! Only one bushel this year-- still have plenty of applesauce leftover from last year. I plan to freeze a few pies and we're eating plenty everyday-- so I just might get a second bushel. Wait and see.

Our so-called garden is still blessing us with tomatoes. Slowing down fast, though.

I got poison ivy again. Dang it! Must have been from when we were working on the felled trees. I checked for poison ivy, worried a little bit about it, but just dove in and got to work. Monday comes and I see itchy welts all over my face and I literally felt my lips blistering. I wasted no time in calling the medical center I went to last time and made an appointment. Knowing I am allergic to poison ivy now, I know that all those over-the-counter creams will do nothing for me. It spread to my ears, neck, cheeks, lips and a bit on my arms and fingers lightening quick! Second day of meds and the spreading has stopped, but still itchy.

Looks like I'll have to back off on helping out with the wood pile. I really like working by Andrew's side, we make a good team. But in this case, I have a legitimate excuse. I'll just have to figure out a way to help with the wood in other ways, without actually touching the wood. I'm sure Andrew would be grateful for my help and appreciate when I hover behind him while he's sawing and I tell him where to cut, how to cut, where to put his hands while holding the saw, and maybe I'll even kick his feet apart a little bit more. Men like a back-seat driver, don't they? :o) (Love you babe!)

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

An Early Christmas Gift

When it comes to exchanging gifts between Andrew and I, it's not always easy. When we want something, usually, we get it (money permitting). Under the tree for Andrew was a shirt he saw me buy, a matching father-and-son scarf from fleece that I made and... that's it. For me was a new flashlight that I needed so I would stop swiping Andrew's and leaving it everywhere but where he left it.

The biggest gift to each other though, was one we, or rather he, got earlier this month:

He got a vasectomy.

That's right, snip-snip!

It's something we talked about and he volunteered to do it, rather than me go through major surgery to get my tubes tied. Much easier for a man to get snipped and he can go home an hour after the procedure is done. It helps that he had a role model-- his own father had a vasectomy.

When we found out that the Veterans' health insurance covered vasectomies, he made an appointment as soon as he could get one.

Andrew wasn't nervous about the procedure at all. They had a pre-op appointment to explain how it works, but we had already researched it on our own and talked to other men that had it done. A close friend of ours suggested that Andrew "drain" himself before the appointment because that's what he did and he didn't even have to ice it afterwards. The thinking behind that is that there was no build-up or back-up of fluids to cause any pain.

Well, the week before the appointment, we had nightly fun a little more often than usual, a sort of farewell slash emptying of the fluids. He got slightly nervous in the waiting area, but who wouldn't when you're naked and cold and dressed only in a flimsy hospital gown? They asked him to shave himself prior to the appointment and gave him antiseptic soap to wash with that morning before leaving for the hospital.

They numbed him up and quickly worked one side, then the other, and before he knew it, they were done. The doctor told him that he still needed to use protection and that he wasn't sterile until he says he is sterile. We'll find out in January, six weeks after the procedure, if the vasectomy was successful.

He walked out of the hospital looking nothing like a man that just had a vasectomy. I expected him to walk slowly and possibly hunched over in pain, but he looked just fine. I drove him home and he laid down for a bit when we got home, but he didn't ice it and was in no pain. I had to laugh when I saw they put a bandage on either side where the cuts were made. Good thing he was shaved!

Surprisingly, the next night he was ready to go! I had doubts, I thought it would be too painful for him, but who am I to deny a night of fun for each other? There was no problem that night in his performance and hasn't been any problems since.

Hopefully, in January, the doctor will declare Andrew sterile and we will no longer have to get these anymore. Good riddance!