Because all I am going to talk about is the weather! 
For the next few months I will fret about the cold and the humidity and the wind speed and the virtual velocity (actually I have no idea what that is but it sounded good) and the fact that the dryer just quit and as I cannot dry the washing outside – it would freeze solid – the house is draped in sweet smelling slow drying laundry. And if there is bad weather in February when I want to fly out to catch my plane in California that will take me out to Australia and New Zealand there will be hell to pay and no mistake about it.
Just saying!
And as I am saving to go to Australia and New Zealand a new dryer may have to take a back seat. So from now on everything I wear will be dried the old fashioned way – in the loft above the fire- and will smell like cooking and coffee! No-one mentions the smells of those old clothes in those deeply romantic back in the day movies.
The snow came yesterday – not much – but enough to excite the dogs.
and Tima the kunekune pig.
Today we are going to take the bull by the horns or in this case the little Sow by the Feet and trim Tima’s hooves.
Also Poppy is coming into Heat so I am hoping that this evening I can introduce her to the Boar – Manu. Wish me luck. If I take her in to him at the right time there will be no trouble. If I get it wrong – well – I will have trouble. But I know Poppy well and I have worked all the anticipated problems and am confident. Plus I can move very fast if necessary. I believe I can out jump a pig!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Happy New Years Eve for all of you on this side of the pond.
Much love
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
59 responses to “Don’t listen to me”
I don’t think they minded the smoke, cooking and coffee smells, because in the pioneering days they didn’t bathe much. Tima will be reading what you read about drying by the fire and volunteer to test the warming effect. Good luck with Poppy and Manu. Happy New Year 🙂
Yes, fancy being lucky enough to never have to wash! c
If I could get past the smell I would do the same, but soap dodgers make me gag!
hello from the farmhouse in Denmark, with weird weather, just to tell that once our washing machine broke down and we had to wash all by hand, at a time with 2 small kids ! but my father in law was very solidary, made a washing table for us, so we could stand up right in a good position when we washed by hand and our kids actually learned to wash by hands ! and yes, good old worn clothes need to smell somehow 🙂 and another thing, I hope one day to visit you, to see all the things and your animals in real, happy new year from the small farmhouse Niels
Welcome Niels!
I agree with this: “good old worn clothes need to smell somehow” . It reminds me how as a child one of my great pleasures was to sort through my dad’s closet and try on a shirt here or a sweater there. The human aromas together with accumulations of cooking and smoke smells (we didn’t have a washing machine or dryer) put me in touch with a deeper world I knew existed but couldn’t explain to myself. Now I can. Visiting the farmy helps me do that too. It was good to read your comment.
What a lovely memory, going through your dads clothes, the scent of them, when I was a kid if I sniffed my Dad would give me his hankie and i can still remember the scent of that hanky. It is Dad to me. c
This almost made me cry (and I’m not a cryer). After my dad died my mom couldn’t bear to empty his stuff so quite some time later when she was away my husband and I went in to do the job. It was going really well, emptying sorting folding etc until I pulled his ‘good’ cap from the shelf, that smell was my dad and I was smacked with such a powerful wave of missing him I sat right down on the floor. Simply amazing what a simple smell can conjure up.
Good luck in the pig pen of love! And Happy New Year to you my friend.
Dear, dear Celi, could you please tell me which peacock was featured on yesterday’s post? That photot I up eaam not was drop dead gorgeous!! Right now insomnia has me awake. I just needed you to know that. Haven’t yet been to sleep but was mighty
Happy to read your posting.
Lots of love,
Gayle
That is Mr Flowers. Hope you get to sleep soon! I will.. c
Morning miss C…sorry your drier has given up,,I don’t use mine anymore. I just put it all on airer and leave for a week..then its dry..so i fold it up and leave as a pile on bed for one week..that way i do not have to iron, which i dislike intensely….stay warm and a HAPPY NEW YEAR
ditto ditto. I decided years ago that the tumble drier was an outrageous way to use expensive energy. We start on airers outside if above zero and not precipitating. Move into the garage at first spot of rain, bring into living room in front of fire overnight. That does it perfectly.
I will keep everything crossed for your flights when the time comes.
love,
ViV xox
Still New Years Eve this side of the pond too 🙂 we are just further into it. The celebratory fireworks have started, NZ being the first from Sky Tower, Australia next and usually the one to be beaten. Oooh Hopefully Poppy and Manu will have a happy and calm New Year congress, please be careful. Must say the light layer of snow looks very pretty, hope it remains within these minimal boundaries for the rest of winter. See you on the other side. Laura
Happy New Year to you, and stay safe in the quickly changing weather. And with the piggie breeding!
Good morning Celi. Love seeing Tima on the porch … just one of the dogs! 😉 I think I’ve finally fixed your location in my mind – down there below Lake Michigan? We’re up above Lake Ontario – into the shield territory. Rocks and lakes and swamps. Hard scrabble farming in our neck of the woods. Our neighbour’s barn is tucked into the side of a cliff of rock. That forms the south side of their fencing … a high rock face … higher than the barn roof. Our donkey woods is lined with two backbones of granite ridges. The animals around here are good climbers. 😉
We had no dryer when I was a kid. Mom did laundry for 9 kids and 2 adults. She hung the clothes out on the line anyway. After a day or two, they were brought in to some lines in the house. Dad’s bib overalls could stand by themselves due to frozen wet seams.
Is that a swimming pool still full of water?
Yes, my Mum never had a dryer either with eight of us but we lived in NZ by a beach and clothes could go on the line all year round, I have drying racks in the loft above the fire.. c
Happy New Years Eve to you, good luck with Poppy and with the nail trimming!
Happy New Year!! c
I love the smell of drying clothes, even if just a sweater or shirt, and the bit of humidity they bring inside a house. 🙂
A very Happy New Year’s Eve (we are on the same side of the pond) and a New Year’s too.
We have a sweet smelling house at the moment.. c
I only have to use the dryer in the Wet, when the humidity level in the house is nearly as high as outside, so the moisture simply doesn’t evaporate. If we are not to wear mould-scented everything, I have to dry. No heating either; the Wet is in the heat of summer! I hope Miss Tima behaves nicely when she gets her pedi, and I hope even more that Poppy behaves nicely with young Manu; we don’t want him scarred by his first experience with a piggy cougar! I will be sending urgent prayers out into the universe for decent weather when you have to fly!
YES! Lots of prayers in February, my daughter would just cry if i missed my plane and it is such a short visit – i hate to waste a moment.. c
OH – your clothes will smell divine!!!! Be careful with Miss Hop and Pop – she could definitely wreck some havoc on YOU! I will knock on wood several times thinking about you and that task today. 😦
I put them together but they did not like it and they were easy to seperate so all well so far. c
They did not like it ! 😦 What a pity… Glad you’re safe… 🙂
We just got our first dryer last month. I’ve been drying clothes the old fashioned way for over six years! Six people! Up hill both ways! What was I thinking!? Sorry to hear about your dryer.
Dryers are like Dishwashers (my dishwasher is broke too) they make life so much easier!… c
Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well with the breeding!!!
Happy Happy New Year Fellowship of the Farmy!!!!
She is not ready yet so still waiting. c