Weekending

It's been a long while since I wrote a 'Weekending' post and, since this past one was a bit of a doozy, I knew now was as good a time as any.

Matt had quite a project he was working on every spare moment of a long-weekend (more on that in a bit...) so I tried to document that for posterity.  The rest of the photos I took over the weekend were of FOOD.

As I was scrolling through the pictures I thought "Wow.  Here Matt was so productive this weekend and accomplished so much...but it seems I did NOTHING this past weekend."  And then I started to think- now wait, I organized and cleaned the school room!  I organized the Spare Oom and emptied a dresser for Tiddle clothing!  I did this, I cooked that..."

And then I once again realized the sometimes discouraging truth of Mamahood... the work that we do is consumable.  The food we make gets eaten up.  The rooms we clean get disorderly as soon as we walk away from them.  The clothes we wash get dirty as soon as they find their way to little bodies.  

All that is left is crumbs and smudges.  And, well, I guess smiles and giggles and full bellies and warm bodies.

This, I suppose, is some solace.  ;-) 

Molasses cookies- so delicious.  I really must post this recipe sometime.  It has been a while since we made them and I had forgotten (until the batter was halfway mixed up and Corynn was nearing a panic with the enormity of it) that the recipe was a huge one- calling for 8 cups of flour!  Needless to say, we had molasses cookies spilling off the cookie sheets and we have quite a few frozen molasses dough balls in the freezer for a quick cookie bake.  ;-)

Matt made me breakfast one morning.  What a man!  

I roasted a 24+ pound turkey (bought from Wegmans at .48c per pound) over the weekend and then had a freezer meal making marathon for after Tiddle is born.  I made four turkey potpies (two nights worth of dinners) along with Turkey and Gravy (to be eaten over biscuits or toast), BBQ turkey for sandwiches, Turkey Soup and about a gallon of cubed turkey for turkey salad (all in meal sizes enough to feed our family).   Turkey dinners and molasses cookies- what more does a postpartum Mama need?!

While I was working inside all weekend (DOING THINGS! I DID!), Matt was racing against the clock to finish a barn project he started a couple of weekends ago.  Our cow, Penny, was due to deliver soon and Matt had quite a bit of barn work to do in preparation of that.  Penny had broken up much of the already broken up concrete over the last two years and the stanchions were small and uncomfortable for her to overwinter in anyway.  Matt had plans to take out the wooden stanchions and replace them with tiestalls (more spacious and comfortable) and pour concrete.  Which meant, of course, first breaking up the rest of the OLD concrete.

He made these plans early in the fall and then realized something else needed to happen first, which pushed the barn plans further down the road- and closer to both cold weather and Pennys' freshening. Ah- the pressure!  The race was on!

 
He took out the stanchions and then, with the help of the boys, pick-axed the concrete until it was no more.

Then, he had to build wooden frames in preparation of pouring the concrete.

He also had to move the vacuum pump further down the barn and re-do all the the piping and electrical stuff.



Concrete making and pouring day... that was a loooooonnnng day.

He poured concrete the day before the cow was due.

It really was a miracle that he finished the barn work before it was too late.  

I'm a wee bit jealous of Matt and his projects.  

They take grit and sweat and muscle and (most of all) time ~ but in the end, Matt can sit back and look upon his work with great satisfaction and pride, knowing that he has changed the landscape of the place for many years to come.  Not just for a few minutes. (Which is about how long I can change the landscape around here! hehehe) That four inches of concrete in the barn is going to be there as long as we are around (and longer!).  No one can break down the foundation 10 minutes after he replaced it.  The new siding on the barn and his new door and floor and porch are constant beacons of his hard work and reminders of a job well done....and well, done.  He DID that!  

I still can't believe he finished in time.  HE still can't believe he finished in time.

And it was just in the nick of time too- because guess what happened the very next day?!?

(Pictures of a very personal sort to come tomorrow...stay far away from this blog if birthing cows gives you a case of the squirmies!)