bitter cold, better help

The wind whistled and banged and rocked the house and generally made a nuisance of itself all night last night, as a bitter cold front blew in. We went from the mid-50s all the way down to the teens. It was an insult to a long list of winter injuries, which made it all the worse.

If I was highly perturbed about the changed weather, I had nothing on the chickens' mood this morning. They had a lot to say about the matter, and none of it was good. They were truly angry birds.

I may not tell my husband how much I appreciate him as much as I should, but this morning was one of those times I realized I should tell him a lot more. He does the chores every weekday morning, while I am working out in his office (before I go to my other job). Today, he left at the crack of dawn for a conference down in Philadelphia, so it was up to me to get the chores done.

Luckily I had some willing help, who didn't complain about having to wake up a bit early or come out in the cold. He hasn't hit the teenage years yet.

Not even a peep when we found out that we had to haul water to the ewes in the back! He made doing chores a pleasure.

I was so grateful for the cheerful assistance that I let him borrow my best chore boots. It is only a short matter of time until I am the smallest one in the house, and then I'll have unlimited use of my own stuff. My husband will be doomed to share for quite a bit longer.