Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Wild and Woolly Day

Morning arrived, wrapped in a grey and sullen mist.
I lay for a few minutes watching as color crept into the room.
[Little Edward had obligingly pawed open the shutter nearest the bed!]
I could hear the wind whining, and the brittle rattle of branches and twigs tossed against each other.
Edward smacked the shutter again, Bobby purred encouragingly in my ear.  It was obviously time to be out of bed.
I let the kittens out through the sliding door, snatching at the curtain which wanted to follow them out into the damp.
Cat food was doled out, the fire built up, coffee perked.
J. noted a mockingbird teetering along the front walk, balancing in the wind.
Rain lashed down and the glossy leaves of the magnolia tree whipped in the wet gusts.

The bully boys, having dashed about the yard, splatted in puddles and chased soggy leaves, burst back inside, fur sparkling with damp.
Edward and Bobby tusseled and thrashed about on the kitchen floor.

Edward found a battered catnip mouse which he pushed around J's stand near the desk.

Teasel snatched the mouse and tore down the hallway, flinging herself dramatically onto a bedside rug.

Charlie who, by choice, spent the night up in the hay barn, came in, soggy-furred and flung himself exhaustedly on a chest of drawers.
I fetched a thick piece of fleece to absorb the wet and poked it underneath him.


Prodded unsympathtically by J. he opened blue eyes and wriggled himself into a sleepy heap.
By noon, the cat tribe had settled down.
J. had been in and out fetching in wood for the fire. I imbibed two mugs of green tea as I sat here addressing my few Christmas cards, penning notes.
I was aware of the wind outside, of the rain which drove against the window, slackened, pattered again.
At 3 I bundled up my stack of cards in their red envelopes, hastily wrote checks to pay the utility bills, and drove to the Post Office on the edge of town.
The wind buffeted the car, tugged my hair loose from its elastic band when I dashed for the
post office lobby.
At the market I had to park the car more than halfway down the big parking lot.
It was dark, the sky forbidding. One set of the automatic doors into Wal Mart had been braced shut against the wind.  People hurried, heads bent, collars clutched around their throats.
Home again a few minutes after 4 in the dusky gloom of early night fall.
J. was polishing off a bowl of leftover beef/barley soup.
I heated the remainder, buttered a slice of toast.
Cats lay in sleepy heaps--on the hearthrug and on the bed.
Grandson D. blew in for a few moments.
Later I talked on the phone with our son.
After hearing of his day battling snow drifts and minus zero temps in the mountains of Wyoming, I felt that we were nearly tropical by comparison!
Wild and woolly?
Its how my late Dad would have described the day.
I began wondering where the phrase originated and found this:
'like the rough, vigorous atmosphere of the early West in America: wild and woolly'.
We are headed to bed on what will be the longest night of the year but one.
Tomorrow I will fill the house with the scent of baking bread!

[I'm making a greater effort to reply to your welcome 'comments' as I post them.  Its is always a pleasure to know that someone is reading what I write!]

26 comments:

  1. You write so beautifully it's always a pleasure to read what you write. Your post today made me feel as if I were there with the cats. We have had the first of our winter 'rainstorms' followed by two days of cold sunshine. Our winter weather is a series of one or two days of rain followed by several days of sunshine and is very predictable.

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    1. Chris; I've never lived where weather was really predictable--except perhaps to men like my Grampa Mac and my Dad who had stored up a lifetime of observation.
      Thank you for the comments on my words--the more treasured knowing your own background in writing.

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  2. Your weather sounds similar to ours - wet and windy. It all sounds lovely and cosy at your house:) It will be even better when the smell of baking starts wafting through everywhere.

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    1. Rowan; Making the house 'cozy' is such an instinctive thing, isn't it? I can only think of the times and climes where battening down against cold weather was a matter of survival rather than mere comfort!

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  3. I made suppertime bread yesterday (and then ate a big still-warm hunk of it slathered in butter) - as we had to go out when I had set it to rise earlier, and I had to bung it in the fridge and return to it. Gosh, it smells so good : )

    Your day sounds reasonably similar to mine - especially where cats are concerned. That little imp Theo has to be put out of the room when I am cooking as he wants to "help". No, want it the wrong word, INSISTS is the right one. Having caught him grabbing a bit of the bread-dough I was mixing, the minute my back was turned, that was IT!

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    1. Jennie; In a long line of 'helpful' cats these boys, especially Edward, take the prize. He is so persistant that sometimes the only thing is to chuck him out the door!
      Nothing like still warm bread with a generous lick of 'real' butter [no margarine allowed in this house!]

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  4. I loved this post. I love the way you write. You make me feel a part of whatever is happening there.

    Have a lovely Christmas ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Lorraine; Always when I write I'm trying to share sights, and sounds, to give a sense of what I see and feel. I feel honored to be told that the effort 'worked.'

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  5. We used to say "wild and wooly" when we were kids. I haven't heard that expression in a long time. I think your weather has traveled on up to Ohio. It's wild and wooly outside right now with light snow on the ground.
    Lillian
    lillianscupboard.wordpress.com

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    1. Lillian; I am quite delighted to learn that 'wild and woolly' is part of your childhood lexicon as well. I can understand the 'wild' part of the phrase but wonder just what was meant by 'woolly'--maybe just that the two words sounded fine together [?]

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  6. I can't think of anything better than home-made bread. Sounds wonderful. I baked my pumpkin loaves last night and next it will be the pies. My sister does a lot of Christmas baking for us (cookies and squares) so that is taken care of. I love to hear about the cats in your life; the comings and goings of their day. Enjoy your weekend. We are under a blanket of snow and it's still falling. It's a winter wonderland out there. Deb

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    1. Deb; I was asked to bring bread to a lunch gathering at the home of friends after church--I'm thinking I'll make pumpkin bread as well as a yeast bread. J. doesn't care for the pumpkin kind, so I need to make it for sharing.
      I"m thinking Ontario winters are similar to New England--mainly cold!

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  7. I love what you write! Your description of your day is much the same as I endured in Lexington, "wild and woolly" is apt. Determined, I got my running around done in spite of it. I had a hunch today would be worse... and it is. I am making old fashioned potato candy today. Thank you so much for posting about your cats, adorable! They make a place seem so much like home. I love reading about your homemaking. You remind me of Gladys Tabor and her writing. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Barbee; Gladys Taber was one of my mother's favorite authors and she is one I re-read every few years so I'm flattered by the comparison.
      I've been through Lexington a few times since we've lived in KY--all those beautiful fences and pastures for pampered horses!
      I'm glad you can stay home today--I've never heard of potato candy--I'll have to google it.

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  8. Your "wild and woolly" is compliments from my direction, it was "wild and woolly" here.
    We got 4 inches, but the wind was horrid, and it got slick real quick, because its been so very warm here, it cooled and got greasy.
    Enjoy your weekend and wonderful bread baking.

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    1. Denim; Thankfully most of the snow misses us. There was the faintest dusting of it caught at the edge of the lawn this morning--quickly gone, and likely from just a few minutes of colder air moving through the rain.

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  9. Your writing is a joy to read, almost like a short story.
    We are expecting lots of wild and woolly weather over the Christmas period and really heavy downpours of rain.
    We are already sodden and severe flooding is predicted.
    We shall be in front of the open fire along with all the cats and I hope you also will be cosy for Christmas.
    Thankyou for all your wonderful posts throughout the year.
    Briony
    x

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    1. Briony; 'Sodden' and 'flooding' are terms of concern and surely don't sound like pretty weather in any part of the world. One of the [few] benefits of retirement is that we usually don't have to go out in storms.
      I'm glad you enjoy the 'stories' of our life in Kentucky!

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  10. Regarding the potato candy. I saw it on The Southern Lady Cooks blog. I think she is over in Frankfort, KY.

    http://thesouthernladycooks.com/2012/12/13/old-fashioned-potato-candy/

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    1. Barbee; Thank you--I read the recipe and a similar one on Southern Plate. It seems that the mashed potato is the 'binder' for the powdered sugar--I wonder if you really taste the potato?
      I'm not a peanut butter fan so probably won't try this--however I can see that it would make a large-batch sweet treat quickly and with few ingredients--thrifty!

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  11. Loved the beautifully written post and the pictures. With over a foot of snow, it has been a little wild and woolley here as well!

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    1. Diane: Snow for Christmas is such a classic scene! I recall a very few 'green' Christmases when I was a child in Vermont--the landscape didn't look at all correct!

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  12. If I don't get back before Christmas Sharon, I would like to wish you and your family, a very happy holiday, with good health and much happiness for 2013.

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    1. Kath; Thank You! I hope all will be festive and safe at your cottage on the hillside. 2013--where has another year gone? [Rhetorical question, of course!]

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  13. Wonderful feline photos ...wet cats seem always alittle indignant ....they seem to blame us for turning on the rain ...and as for the wind ...we did that on purpose too!
    We had a welcome visitor today ...a beautiful long haired ginger and white who used to drop by for a bite about once a week. There has been no sign for months and a neighbour said there was a dead ginger found a few streets away last month.There he was, meowing at th kitchen window for a snack ...so glad he was safe.We have had several that drop by for something to eat,or get a wound sorted, over the last few years and it is sad when they eventually do not return.
    I am keeping everything crossed that the five of us are well enough to enjoy Christmas and do the food justice ....I am sure you will be having a wonderful family time ...Take Care xx

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    1. Angie; Over the years we've had cats that dropped by for a time and then were seen no more. Some have been nearly feral, coming to snatch food from the outside dishes--others have been more friendly. Sometimes not knowing where they went is preferable to learning that they came to a sudden bad end. We wish we could care for them all!
      I hope you'll all be well by Christmas--unfortunately that kind of 'bug' seldom leaves anyone in the household untouched!

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