Yesterday, we had thunderstorms, wind gusts to 55, and hail in the evening.
In the morning, it was 61’ and we were running around the yard, in sweats, gathering maple sap and marveling at how spring like it was. The CBW had an absolute blast running around in the yard as we worked.
And now, it’s 30’, snowing and the sap turned off due to cold. We managed to make up 2 quarts before the short run stopped. It will run again next week when the weather once again moderates. It smells so wonderful when we’re boiling it down-it takes 28 gallons of tree sap to make a gallon of syrup, so between the reverse osmosis machine Dan built that takes away water and leaves enriched sap, and boiling it, we took off 27.5 gallons of sap-and what remains is simply the most delicious stuff besides our bees honey to put on pancakes, waffles or in home made bread. Are you hungry yet? Supper was a while ago, I best change the subject.
In spite of very dreadful stuff going on locally, it’s a good day when I am on this side of the sod. What’s been dreadfukl, you ask? Cheaters and schemers and frauds…
Everybody better run! Grandma is about to get frustrated…
Bad stuff happening here? Oh, yes. I got a call from the fraud department at our credit union and appears I got skimmed, which means somehow the numbers on my debit card got stolen and they wanted to know if I was traveling or had ordered from grub hub. I am neither ordering in nor traveling, so I said no. Appears I am down quite a lot in my account, and due to $500+ in unauthorized charges, which put my checking account into arrears, adding several $29 overdrawn fees. (Why do they charge OD fees when the account is already empty, in this case by a crook but why?) I found out later that day that due to a clerical error at my office, I needed to reimburse a colleague to the tune of $1200+ as well from that account of money that seems to have not gone to them as it should. Have any of you had this irritation happen to you? Although I am not poor, normally, things balance. It can make you feel poor, even though its a temporary condition. The credit union assures me they will, within 10 working days, reimburse the fraudulent charges and the OD fees and in the meantime, all the automatic deposits from various places that go into that account go in and disappear into the void of overdue balances. I expect by next week, it will straighten itself out. In the meantime, I am shifting things from this to that account to keep up with my own bills, not some skimmer’s shopping sprees and I’ve frozen my checking.
. Let’s go to better news, shall we?
The Kindles have arrived with their covers which means I can at least set up a giveaway for my fellow wanderers. This time, let’s call it the winter blahs giveaway: we are having the grand prize be a kindle, and the first prizes to be autographed, paperback books; since we are heading into the lent season, we’ll do the newest devotionals for first prizes. Our newest devotional for this season’s lent-40 devotionals, one per day, is called The Sage, the Swindler and the Sheep. I hope it brings you closer to the one we love who loves us. It is a good book to meditate with, I think. Other devotionals in the pile are Such a Cloud of Witnesses, about chapter 11 of Hebrews, Lenten Stories for God’s Little Children, Natural morning; really we do have several devotionals and let’s say 12 lucky people are going to win one of them. Watch the prize page for that contest to begin. I am thinking maybe sometime next week, let it run 2 weeks so folks can win it before Lent starts February 22.
I am releasing Terrorists Traitors and Spies as a hardback early next week, and in celebration, we will be running a special on the ebook download-I am thinking 99 cents a download for a week or so ought to be useful to some folks. And once you have read it, you might want to think about getting the hardback for your personal library, or the paperback.
So a giveaway, a book special to start, a new lent book to put out-all in the next two weeks- it’s going to be busy! Watch for what’s coming! Blessings and peace to all-Traveler, the CBW and all things wild and wonderful
PS, forgot to tell you I am almost finished turning the Clan Falconer series into one large omnibus-I’ve got book 4 to add to it and it will be done! Then order a cover, set it out, I am thinking March, and you can have them all in one set for half what they cost as separate books. Watch for The Falconcrest Chronicles Omnibus coming soon!