peaceful day

I slept in really late, which was great and very much needed. The kids have spent much of the day playing and talking with each other.

The kids and I just brought in a bunch of wood from the downed tree; we went carefully through the piles and brought the pieces that looked small enough to fit into the fireplace up to the back door. We will keep a fire burning most of the weekend, as it is winter again. That always helps keep the house a lot warmer.

That tree, along with the one that fell earlier in the winter and took out the phone lines, should easily keep us in firewood for all of next winter. And a master craftsperson whom Dan knows might be interested in buying the trunk of the oak tree from us, as he can use it to make custom moldings and trim pieces. The trunk is very long and very straight, and is apparently worth quite a bit of money as a result.

I am so lucky in having such great kids; all I had to do was ask for some help and they jumped cheerfully right in and did it with willing hands and hearts.

As soon as Dan gets home from work we will have a nice home cooked dinner - chicken tonight with various side dishes.