Thursday 13 #4

1. Just came back from ice skating with Emerson, this pond has a fresh 2-3" of powdery snow on top. We skated through it--like ski skating. I made Emerson a cup of hot cocoa and warmed up chai tea for myself that I'd made earlier.

2. Our Muscovy duck's (hen) final appearance was on Monday. Since the pond has been frozen solid we went from having a duck trio to, sadly, none. We miss them. We tried to shut the ducks in the barn hen house two nights but the mini door blew open in the wind. If we're going to have more poultry, we have to make sure the hen house is safe and secure.

3. Yesterday was a Snow Day, the third (?) for Floyd County schools. I made another creative pot of homemade soup, this one was so good I wrote down the recipe. Some of my creations never make it to an index card.

4. A week ago today I was in a dither organizing mortgage loan files from the first six months of 2006 for an audit this past Monday. It wasn't pretty. I haven't heard from the lender, nor do I care to, really. I passed two previous audits without problems and I have a different life now as a Foster Care Provider.

5. I took our client to the pet store last Friday to replace the parakeet that bit the dust the night before (at the end of an already crappy day). Things are back to usual. Our client is going home tomorrow for the weekend. We are all--client and us--looking forward to the break.

6. I'm making homemade macaroni and cheese tonight. I also made it for dinner the evening of my first Thursday 13 on January 18. Perhaps I should post the recipe.

7. Scott, my husband, got his confirmation from the May LEAF festival this past week. He's been hired for four days of entertainment, we' are excited.

8. I balanced my checkbook this morning. Yesterday I entered information from our DirecTV and State Farm insurance accounts into mycheckfree.com, now I can pay more bills online. I find it to be a time saver and like choosing what day bills get paid.

9. I'm reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. She had a speaking engagement in Floyd last year but I wasn't able to attend. I don't know how to use underline in Blogger, another thing to learn. I have a stack of books by my bed to read that is more than a foot tall.

10. I read a tip this past week to help us bloggers avoid aching backs and shoulders. Think "earlobes, shoulders, hips." They should be in alignment from top to bottom--or lobe to hip.
11. I made two homemade cards this week, one for an anniversary, the other for an upcoming birthday. Once in a while I feel like creating cards and have a big time doing it. Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

12. It's been so cold this past week. We heat with wood and electric. Our January electric bill was 25% higher than last year--and half of January was warm. Apparently AEP (Appalachian Electric Power) had a significant rate increase last fall, they surely needed more of my hard earned money.

13. Check out Colleen Redman's site, she's been a 13er for a long-time and blogging for even longer. She is also a fellow Floydian and discovered Floyd before we did.

The Thursday 13 site here.