Winter – sort of, porridge, refi

Last night was another winter storm that wasn’t; at least for our immediate area. If I understood correctly, there is some icy weather south of us, but we ended up above the dry line for this one. I have to admit to being a little disappointed. I do not wish ill on anyone, but it would have been helpful to get some moisture to our area – regardless of the offensiveness of the form it comes in. When I got to work this morning, there were little drifts of snow at each of the parking blocks. At the farm, I was not able to see any accumulation. It is quite cold. Temperatures are in the teens with the forecast tonight of temperatures in the single digits. Hopefully, we are ready for that kind of cold at the farm.

I started filling the cattle trough last night as Mama and I were in the barn lot. I hooked the hose to a valve I installed in the well header that will be used to drain the system for repairs when needed. I have not yet cut in the frost proof spigot that will allow me to attach the hose outside the well house. Since the trough was empty, I pulled the door shut as far as I could and let the water run. There is a float in the delivery end of the hose at the trough so we do not have to worry about leaving a hose running – like Mama has done several times. I meant to go back over to the well house to shut the valve, disconnect the hose and shut the door fully. I did not think about it again until this morning as I was getting out of bed. I hope everything is alright. I will find out this evening after we go to our Chinese family’s house for another cooking lesson.

Recently, our Chinese Grandma has been cooking a rice porridge with slivers of carrots and shrimp. It is very good and it is perfect for my current colonic issues. We will be told that there is a pot of the porridge ready for us and we will go to the house and get the pot. Every time we return the pot, it is refilled and given back to us so somewhere in the Chinese household the decision was made to teach us how to make the porridge. That will happen tonight after Cheyenne and Yilin are home for the evening.  I will enjoy knowing how to make the soup. That way, I can do it as needed – and in whatever flavor I want at the time. It is one of the dietary items that is fully beneficial to me; plus, I like it.

Mama and I are closing on a loan to refinance the farm today. I put off the refinance for as long as was practical. When we bought the farm, our income was more than double what we now earn so paying for the property and maintaining our herds and flocks was not an issue. I am not complaining, there are so many around us that have far less than the Lord has given us, but I had to make a few major adjustments to keep things operating as usual. Now with the refinance, we will buy ourselves about three to five years. That will give us time to evaluate the financial practicality of continuing to operate our little farm. Unless there is a significant change in our income, it will be difficult to continue as we are now doing. Balancing the books year by year will not get us to the financial position we need to be retire in seven to ten years. Understanding the underlying financial issue will be the key to coming up with a long-term solution. For now, Mama and I will keep enjoying the farm, the animals, the privacy. We love our little patch of dirt and it had provided well for us.

It is nice to have something nice and in the next few years we can only make it better.