St. Barbara

History lesson:

Barbara lived in the 4th century and was brought up as a heathen.  A tyrannical father, Dioscorus, had kept her jealously secluded in a lonely tower which he had built for that purpose.  Here, in her forced solitude, she gave herself to prayer and study, and contrived to receive instruction and Baptism in secret by a Christian priest.

Barbara resisted her father's wish that she marry.  Then on one occasion, during her father's absence, Barbara had three windows inserted into a bathhouse her father was constructing.  Her purpose was thereby to honor the Trinity.

Then it gets really bad and he tortures her and kills her, but we won't talk about all of those details.  BUT, as he does he himself is struck by lightening. St. Barbara is now the patron saint of lightening.

While she was locked in her tower, she put small dried branch of a cherry tree in water.  It bloomed the day of her death, December 4th.

Traditionally in the German-speaking countries, particularly in Austria and the Catholic regions of Germany, a small cherry branch is cut off and placed in water on December 4th, Barbaratag (St. Barbara’s Day). Sometimes a shoot from some other flowering plant or tree may be used: apple, forsythia, plum, lilac, or similar blossoms. But it is the cherry tree that is most customary and authentic. This custom is known as Barbarazweig.

The cherry branch (Kirschzweig) or other cutting is then placed in water and kept in a warm room. If all goes well, on Christmas day the twig will display blossoms. If it blooms precisely on December 25th, this is regarded as a particularly good sign for the future.


Fast forward to today:

I try every year.  Last year I got leaves and roots. Last year, I remembered what day it was after it was dark and cold.  I grabbed my pruners and ran outside and cut a piece of forsythia. In the dark I didn't realize I got an old branch instead of new growth.  No flowers.

This year, I cut my branch a day late, but I picked a better branch this year in the daylight.  I got new growth.  There are buds.

Now I just need a little faith.

Shopping

Walt Kowalski and I each things we needed at the everything store. 

What is the everything store?  You know that big store that has everything.  You need a pair of shoes, they have it.  You need coffee and bread? They have it. Need tires?  Got that, too. They have everything.  You don't want to go to the everything store, but you have to go to the everything store.  They have everything. 

We each had a short list and compared those lists.  Walt Kowalski needed rubber gloves and wanted to look at the ammunition.  I needed plastic wrap and baggies that zip. 

He looked at me and then looked at our list and said "You know, we're just one roll of duct tape away from the checker thinking we have plans to commit a terrible crime." 

I looked at our list in a different light and agreed.  "Maybe we should check out separately." 

Luckily, like always, we bought other things at the everything store that that there was no suspiciousness.  

We haven't *exactly* started demo on the front house yet.  We're still finishing up outside seasonal things here at the Cat Ranch. Putting away furniture, empting flower pots, removing tiki torches, wrapping the swing, and picking up sticks in the yard always takes more time than I expect. 

One thing we have done is salvage everything possible from the front house.  Using parts for blinds, wood from the trim, doors from the bedrooms, pipes from the sink.  When we need parts, that's the first place to look. 

The kitchen cabinets weren't in good enough kitchen to reuse in a kitchen (and they smelled like stinky food, smoke, and pet odor) but they were good enough for a garage.  Or a shed.  Walt Kowalski wanted to use the kitchen cabinets in Shedzilla. 

We removed a large base cabinet with counter top, a small 12 inch cabinet, and four wall cabinets.

 
We removed these wall cabinets, but kept the sink base and sink for now.  When we are ready to remove the sink base, we'll cut the countertop straight around the sink and Walt Kowalski will have additional countertop to use as a work bench in the shed.

This kitchen is small and will eventually become the laundry room.  The room to the left will become the kitchen and dining room.  But that's just a preview of what is to come. 

Decorations

 

After last year's door disaster, (if you don't remember, click here -> Door Disaster to review) I wasn't making that mistake again.  This year, flat door decorations!

 

You can still see it from the road, and I saved the greenery for the light next to the door instead.  

 

 

 

I just happen to have an abundance of fresh pine. This might be my favorite new decoration this year.  It needs a little fresh snow.

The kitchen window got a little holiday spirit, too. 

Tree Trimming

Tuesday I did a few back and forths from the Cat Ranch to the store and back to the Cat Ranch.  From the Cat Ranch to storage and back to the Cat Ranch. Each time I passed the tree trimming crew that was working along the road to the Cat Ranch.  Each time I waved to the flag man at the front of the crew and the flag man at the back of the crew. 

The man at the front was a younger man.  Very serious.  Only waved back very small with his fingers. Just a nod of acknowledgement. 

The man at the end of the crew was an older man.  White beard, jolly fellow. He waved whole-heartedly every time I drove by.  The last time I drove by he wasn't the flag man at the rear, but saw my car and stepped out between the trucks to wave.

Yesterday was my turn for the tree trimming crew.  I heard them coming around the corner, so I took the opportunity to hang my garland and wreath on the front stoop.

We have known the tree trimming was coming for at least 3 years now.  The pines along the driveway are tall and in the wires. I worry about them every time there is a heavy wet snow or a big wind storm.  One wind shear could cause our entire street electric, phone, and cable problems.

  

In the warm months, Walt Kowalski and I regularly sit on the front steps and talk about what we would like to do with the front hill.  Small flowering shrubs, small trees, and a nice ground cover.

We dream.

Taking down the pines is a major task.

So when the tree trimming crew appeared, I gave them permission to top the trees.  Yes, it was sad to see such large beautiful trees be trimmed, but I worry and I want new trees. 

I waved and smiled to all three of the tree trimmers.  The third trimmer was actually the white bearded, jolly fellow I waved to the day before!

I hate, Hate, HATE when tree trimmers trim only one side of a tree around the power lines.  Or even worse is when they cut a large C shaped out of the tree to allow space for the wires.  In my opinion, topping the trees looked like a short hair cut instead of like trimming your bangs after several margaritas.

 

They trimmed the branches and then dropped a Christmas tree from the top of each large pine. (It is really hard to tell how big these trees really are!) They probably took a 10 foot tree off the top of each tree. 

 

 
Many of the branches fell into the driveway and on the hill.  When they started falling I grabbed my work gloves and pulled a few branches over to the side to save.  The team leader walked over to talk to me.  He warned me to be careful of falling branches. I thanked him and asked him if he'd like a cup of coffee on this cold and damp day.  He declined, but thanked me for the offer.   

 

When the trimming stopped, I grabbed a few more branches and he helped me pull them aside.  I asked him how long he had been trimming trees and how he got involved in tree trimming.  40 years and he needed a job.  Another gentleman joined in the conversation.  He had been trimming for 44 years!  He said he went to the coal mines when he was young, but couldn't handle it.  The third trimmer came to join in the conversation, too.  He had only been in this field for 35 years (only) and his wife's father got him started in tree trimming.  He said 'I divorced her but kept the career.'

I asked about working in the weather and the most difficult trees to trim.  They agreed that every year the cold gets a little colder and the Pin Oak and Locust trees are the hardest to cut.  We've got both of them at the Cat Ranch.  (In case you don't know, they are two of the hardest woods out there. Pine is in the soft category.)

I joked and told them it sounds like they needed to start trimming palm trees.  All three of them said "Nooooo!" They did several "tours" in Florida and Louisiana after hurricanes and said the trees down there are just as difficult to cut.  AND the pests are much larger.

They wished me a Merry Christmas and were on their way to the next tree.

Side Note: They worked on Mrs. Mayor's trees yesterday.  Funny, she only posted negative comments that it took an act of congress to get her trees trimmed properly. 

Then again, it's Mrs. Mayor.  We should call her Mrs. Miserable Mayor. 

Pity for her.

Decorating

It was a damp and dreary day yesterday.  Rain, clouds, and all around gray.  Blah.

What better way to fight off the gray blahs than with Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas movies, and hot tea.

It worked! No gray blahs here. I had lots of help, too.

Several years ago, Walt Kowalski made me a stand for the Christmas tree. Knowing that I have four nebby noses and one with especially nebby paws that won't leave the tree alone, I have to anchor my tree.  I was using several bricks on each leg of the tree stand. This worked, but they had to be repositioned regularly because they would move.  I also had to make sure I had the bricks prepared before the weather turned cold and the bricks froze to the ground.

Walt Kowalski said came up with the brilliant idea to screw the tree stand to a large piece of plywood. Now the tree may sway, but it won't fall over. 

Fudge arrived to inspect my work. He approved.

 
First, I put several towels down to protect the floor and to make the tree easier to slide on the hardwood if I need to move the tree. 

 
More help inspecting and if you can't tell, Oreo is already in the first layer of branches licking all of the "needles." This tree has three sections.  It's is heavy, but easy to put up. It takes a little while to reshape the branches.  

More help.

Last year, Walt Kowalski and I accidentally found a 90% off sale of decorations.  We were at the home improvement store early on New Years' Day and they were just marking down their decorations.  I got these new red, shatterproof ornaments.  You can see why I need shatterproof ornaments. Oreo loves being IN the tree.  I use florist wire to attach the ornaments to the tree for this reason.
 

 
But she's just too cute and so photogenic.

I love the little white lights.  Last year I didn't put enough lights on the tree.  This year I used a thousand white lights. Just call me Clark Griswold.

 
I saved the angel for Walt Kowalski when he got home.  Grammy got this for me a few years ago.

Do you have an angel or star on the top of your tree?  Or maybe you have another family tradition that adorns the top of your tree.  Please share!

Cat Progression

Walt Kowalski brought in the mail the other day.  Along with the mail was a LARGE box. "What did you order?" I asked him.  {Uh, oh, did I order something and forgot about it?} "I didn't order anything.  It's early Christmas presents!"

Walt Kowalski brother sent us some beautiful artwork.  He is a wonderful artist.  I am envious of such talent.

As Walt Kowalski and I admired the art, the cats admired the box. Not only did it smell like foreign kitty cats from his brother's house, it was full of egg crate foam!

Heaven for kitty cats.

Pepper was in the box first.

 
Cocoa Fluff couldn't be left out and snuggled her way in.

 
Oreo knows when there is a warm nap going on.  She wouldn't miss that for the world. (Please ignore the empty box of tea bags and cream cheese headed for recycling.)

To think I spend money on expensive cat beds!  Fudge had taken his turn, but he doesn't share as well as the girls.  He likes the box to himself. 

Till the very end

Certain things will vex us until the very end.

We finished up the last bits and pieces at the Bungalow. I finished installing and painting the baseboards.  Walt Kowalski replaced the receptacles and switches. I cleaned the bathroom floor. Walt Kowalski made a dozen trips to the front house carrying saws and tools.

The last thing we had to do was the bathroom fan and light. We bought a fan similar in size and shape expecting it to be a quick unscrew/rescrew replacement.

Ha!

You'd think we'd learn.

The old fan had to go.  Once we opened the case, we found out just how bad the old fan really was.

The new fan was larger.  The ceiling had to be cut. Walt Kowalski had to get in the attic.  Then he couldn't find the fan in the attic. 

WK: {muffled in the attic} 'There's no fan up here!"
Me: "There had to be a fan up there. There is a fan down here."
WK: "There is no fan up here! There isn't even wires to where the fan should be."
Me: "You know, they put a false ceiling in the bedroom, they probably did the same thing in the bathroom."
WK: ARGH!

That's what they did.  There was a drop ceiling covering the old ceiling.  At first we had concerns the old fan was venting into the space between the two ceilings and not getting outside. Luckily, that was not the case and it was vented properly.  They did something right!

 

The new ceiling fan and light is great. I don't know if it's great because it's brighter than the old one or i's great because we made it fit or it's great because we are finally done with the Bungalow. All good reasons.