Snowy Sunny Sunday, and So Quiet

It's been bitter cold this weekend. Friday night dropped almost to zero, and last night wasn't a lot warmer. The sun is bright but it isn't sharing its warmth with us today. Joe's Run yesterday morning was frosty-beautiful.

The possible to-do list I posted yesterday got shortened quite a bit because I was on the phone with one of my sisters until almost 2 am. Can you imagine? We had a lot of catching up to do, and at such times the clock seems to move with lightning speed. I didn't get up until almost eleven this morning. So not as much got done as I planned.

What did get done: the grant first draft is almost done. That's a big thing on my list right now, but the end is in sight. Donna and I were on the phone a good while working through our plans. I sure hope this goes through because we've got a lot of plans for the money--storytelling up and down the Ohio River, in libraries, parks, theaters, and museums. We've rounded up 10 partners who are willing to contribute to the matching funds, and we have a few more possibilities to contact. What did not get done: making noodles, working on the picture books.

Canning beans wasn't on my list, because I forgot to put it there. But that got done today too. I ended up with 17 pints of red beans in tomato sauce, black beans, and black-eyed peas with ham, onions and molasses. I cooked chicken for this week's lunches (I'm still on a mostly bread-less diet and it seems to be working), and spaghetti sauce for dinners. The laundry is caught up, and that's about the extent of what I got done. Larry pruned grapevines, cut firewood for the fireplace, cleaned up the porch, fixed a porch table that was on the brink of collapse and took a long walk with the dogs. Now he's in bed and I'm catching up here.

Weekends go so quickly, and the weeks seem to drag on. On my desk I have a countdown of the number of days left before retirement. Every day I cross one day off, and the number of workdays left is now under 80. It's exciting and kind of scary. Will we have enough money? Will I get enough storytelling work? Will I really have time for all of the many, many projects, ideas, and new things I want to do? It's a new adventure, and I think we are in for an interesting time after May 10th.

Meantime, back to the grant I go; maybe I can finish the draft tonight. First, though, here is today's entry into the River of Stones Project:

Cat and Mouse
Catlike, she moves
as she should, being a cat--
uncatlike, she nudges the sliding door
until an opening no wider than her claw appears.
Slowly, she works the opening until it is large enough
for her paw. Both paws slide in, and she pulls and pulls;
the heavy door creeps along its track. It is open enough to allow her
to slide though. She glances around, jumps onto the couch, and sleeps
in the warmth of the stove and the sun. She is a cat; this is where she belongs.