January 16, 2010. Artemas, Pa. The Farm.

Today at the farm I have been very busy. The last time we were here just prior to leaving for Christmas at the time of the big snow, we stayed at the farm house in the valley down by the barn. I left dirty clothes in the laundry basket in our bedroom, and clean dishes in the dishwasher. We also left our cereal in the pantry. Ken made coffee at the hill house where we live but we took the milk down the hill and ate breakfast in the kitchen of the farm house. It is pleasant in the new kitchen looking out at the barn. After breakfast I did the laundry and unloaded all the boxes from the truck. The dishes we took from here were taken to Mississippi in very sturdy milk crates, lent to us by the Jays. It took quite a lot of organizing to put everything away in the proper place.

Pizza for lunch, again at the farm house as I had one more load of laundry to dry so Ken went to fill the bird feeders while I read and waited. It seemed that we were out of bird seed, so Ken came by to get me so we could drive to Clearville to replenish our supply, but to no avail. The feed store closes at one o'clock on Saturday, so on we drive to Everitt to the hardware store, where although they have seed available, the cost is double the price at the old feed store. But we bought it anyway. On the way home we stopped to say hello to Mike and Marie at their Cafe and ate dessert with Helen and Erin Jay who were there for lunch. Helen the grandmother and Erin the ten year old helper had just delivered three fancy cakes they had together baked and iced and decorated. Our visit was longer than anticipated but it was fun. Now at the end of the day both houses have been put back to order and the truck packed to return things to the apartment. One of my difficulties is always trying to keep things in their proper house.

Today I figured it out. I found my good wool coat in the closet of the farm house, the one that was supposed to go with me to Mississippi to keep me warm on the way home. I had planned to leave my fleece jacket there, but was chagrined to discover I had no coat. I had intended to take two coats with me, but in the rush and excitement with all the snow, I forgot to take my very warm coat, so I suffered. But I did survive.