The trees were frosted and shone like diamonds against the eerie indigo sky as I headed to the barn this morning. It was stunning and I had every intention of photographing the scene, but by the time I’d finished chores I just wanted to get inside and warm up.  I shouldn’t have waited, for when I did go out again the sun was melting the icy branches and the magic was gone.  I guess this is why some people make their living as photographers while others (like myself) do not.  

            There have been some ominous signs in the publishing world due to the sluggish economy and today I felt a stab of the necessary frugality.  One of my favorite magazines to which I’m a regular contributor has had to cut the size of each issue, thus cutting back on freelance material.  The editor and I are sure that this is temporary, but even so I’m now forced to go out and sell myself to some new magazines to take up the slack.  It’s especially challenging since all publications are feeling the same pinch.

            The floor project is into phase two.  Since another big snowstorm is predicted to begin tomorrow it seemed prudent to get all the necessary supplies in now.  My next job is to scrub the old oak with paint thinner and a stiff brush.  This doesn’t sound like a pleasant job at all, but I think the hardest part of doing this floor is going to be keeping the animals out of the kitchen for several days and getting myself used to using the door on the south porch. Another path to shovel....

            Cabin fever has hit the barn critters. The chickens are getting testy with one another, but the donkeys finally ventured outside today. They looked as if they were stuck in cement as they stood in the middle of the barnyard and it was obvious they weren't enjoying themselves.  Tom also ventured from his basement apartment, but unlike Corky and Andy, the silly cat enjoyed his romp in the snow.

            Nature has forced everything into a slower gear and this is good.  I doubt that the kitchen floor would have been tackled with such gusto if it were milder outside.  It’s also easier to focus on writing projects since there’s no temptation to go for a walk.  It’s too cold and it’s impossible to get through the woods and it’s not fun to walk on the road.  When I take a break now it’s to pour through the mountain of gardening magazines and mentally plan the new arbor and where to put the new peach trees—if spring ever comes.

 

 

            I know I've said how much I love the snow, but after two full hours of shoveling just to get the truck out to the road, not to mention shoveling to the barn and to the shed and to the woodpile and the pump, well the beauty of this winter wonderland is wearing thin.  The donkeys finally ventured from their stall, but only out to the path I’ve worn from the gate to the barn.  Corky keeps reminding me that he is after all, a Mediterranean donkey and he is just not keen on this weather.

            It seemed so odd this morning to walk into a kitchen that is two inches lower than it has been all the years I’ve lived here  A great deal of work remains to be done, but the room has “the look” and I like it.  The cats wonder where the furniture is, but the dogs seem to have accepted the temporary placement of their food bowls in the dining room as if it's no big deal. 

            During the demolition process a key and a pearl button were uncovered. These are going into the ‘found items’ jar that I only wish I’d established twenty years ago.  This picture of the new/old kitchen floor in its current state reflects nothing more in the way of cleaning than a cursory sweep with a broom.  Such a strange feeling to be walking (with shoes since there are still many protruding nails) on the floor laid by John Grogg in 1821!  I find this very exciting.

 

 

 

           I was up at dawn. 'Couldn’t wait to get outside to take photos and enjoy the pristine landscape. The snow is about 26” deep where it is not drifted!  The donkeys refuse to set one foot outside their stall.  The dogs think it’s a little too deep to be much fun, but I think it’s gorgeous. Then it was time to get to work on that kitchen.

            T. and I worked like beavers to get all the old stuff out, pulled about 1,000 nails and swept up nearly 200 years worth of mouse poop. More layers of flooring revealed two new linoleum patterns and more underlayment, but what a surprise when we pulled up the final layer and found the original oak boards.  No prefinished bamboo for this kitchen now. This was like finding gold!

              This old floor wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s great.  Lots more work to do, but the project is coming along nicely and the worst part is finished.  We are both ready to drop.

 

 

 

Unwarmed by any sunset light
The gray day darkened into night,
A night made hoary with the swarm
And whirl-dance of the blinding storm,
As zigzag, wavering to and fro,
Crossed and recrossed the wingàd snow:
And ere the early bedtime came
The white drift piled the window-frame,
And through the glass the clothes-line posts
Looked in like tall and sheeted ghosts.

So all night long the storm roared on:
The morning broke without a sun;
In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature's geometric signs,
And, when the second morning shone,
We looked upon a world unknown,
On nothing we could call our own.
Around the glistening wonder bent
The blue walls of the firmament,
No cloud above, no earth below, --
A universe of sky and snow!

 

 

             What in the world was I thinking?  What was wrong with the old kitchen floor?  Am I mad???  The biggest snow storm of the year, only 1/3 of the old kitchen floor and the 5 underlaying floors removed and the new floor is still at the store.  I’m knackered.  Can’t remember being so tired.  A friend and I worked for many hours uncovering the lives of past families that prepared meals in this kitchen.  I could almost pinpoint the year the fake marble went down(1960).  Under that was a hideous green and tan diamond floor(1950) beneath which was a blue marble swirl. (19??)  By 1930 the pretty cool retro stuff was laid, probably at great expense.  Layer upon layer of linoleum, luhan, more linoleum, plywood, more flooring, masonite, nails that ripped skin like tissue paper.  It’s been a very rough day.