The cold

Well, I sealed the sun roof. No problem finding the fuse under the hood. It was dedicated to just the sun roof so pulling it didn't cause anything else to go out. The problem is it has been too cold. The caulk is roofing and window caulk, the stuff you use on sky lights. It wont set below 40 degrees. We haven't been above 40 degrees in days. Now I have this goopy caulk on my roof that wont set. It is supposed to be clear once it sets. I have it covered with plastic at the moment to keep the rain off.

I wonder how long I will need to wait. It crosses my mind to take my blow drier outside and try that for an hour just to get it started. It wasn't a complete waste of time. I was standing over the kitchen sink noticing the missing or damaged areas of caulk. I pulled out a flat screw driver from the drawer and removed the damaged areas, quickly resealing them with some of the left over caulk in my bottle. This is heavy duty stuff. It should hold up to kitchen abuse without a problem. It is probably overkill.

It's Sunday, everyone is sleeping in except me. I can hear Tom's snoring. Riley made an appearance to take his morning pills, but then went back to his room. Trevor growled at me when I tried to wake him, mumbling it's the weekend, he doesn't have to get up.

I could barely find a way to Trevor's bed as it was, with the clothes and blankets strewn across the floor like an obstacle course. But I promised Tom no fighting with the boys. I have decided I can only mention the issues, then I have to let them go. Thank God for work so I can shut the door and leave the mess behind. I am even loving Saturdays working, when the whole family is home making messes.

Tom has given up Copenhagen, again. He is doing the gum. He likes Rite Aid's gum better than Kroger. It has a hard shell to bite through. My job will be to keep the gum in the house and pick up the little piles of used wrappers. Anything to make this transition a success. I am hopeful the cigarettes will also be cut out, but one step at a time. I have always told the boys that we could go to Disney Land every year on their Daddy's tobacco expenses. I was hoping that they might convince their father to give it up. No one can do that but Tom and he is so stubborn.

Tom has never smoked in the house. It will be snowing outside and he will be huddled in the corner outside on the patio, trying to light the cigarette in the wind. His collar turned up on his jacket, shivering. I have little sympathy. I get up from my warm bed and shut the window so the smoke doesn't drift back into the house.

We keep our window open in our bedroom so we can hear the wind blow or the rain fall. It helps Tom and me sleep. It was one of the reasons we knew we were compatible. We like to have the window open year round and have that cold air blow across our faces at night. We even have a little fan set up to encourage the circulation of the cold air into the room.

This house with its open floor plan makes the upstairs really warm. I turn down the heat to 60, but upstairs will still be 70 degrees. Trevor also sleeps with his window open some of the time. Riley doesn't like the thought of bugs getting in so he keeps his windows closed.

In this age of modern construction, I do find the air in the house needs to be changed out periodically with fresh air from outside. Especially after it rains and the air is so clean smelling outside. A friend of mine has a big, monstrous, cedar in her yard. Her house smell so fresh and clean. The air around her house is so pristine. Its like an extra kick of oxygen in the air. I love to just stand and fill my lungs with that earthy, rich air.

I planted trees in my yard, but only half are evergreen. They get so big, there aren't a lot of spots you can plant a tree that is going to be huge. I do look forward to the day when I can stand under them and take a big breath of clean air. They are a natural filter. They wont be big for years. That is the problem with housing developments, they bull doze everything so there are no big trees or established plants. The first thing people need to do is plant trees. Trees take so long to grow that if you don't get them in the ground immediately, you will never see them when they are established.

Tom and I have had three houses, moving every eight years or so. Just as the fruit trees start producing or the evergreens get established, we move. At least I know someone else will enjoy the fruits of my trees, or the good clean air under the branches of the giant fir I planted as a seedling. I will keep planting every time. I like doing it and know that it is worth the effort.