Dec 7th 2023

Well fast forward to present day!

I still do not have a lot of things in my life that I truly desire, like one is seeing my family on the east coast, hugging my mom, dad, brother and the rest of my family! I miss them dearly everyday but I keep them alive in my heart and I hope they are doing well!

I have a new puppy that keeps me busy, his name is Cooter and he is a large breed mix dog, a heiz 57 I call him! He is only two months old and weighs 12 pounds.

It was really hard losing two of my senior dogs, one just this summer and I watched him take his last breath, it was so difficult! I thought I would not have it in my heart for another dog but its funny how the heart heals but never forgets! Always a reason to keep going. This little guy sure has brought me back some sun in my life! He makes my heart feel warm and that I am grateful I am still alive to enjoy every minute with him! right down to the smell of puppy breath and to the feel of baby teeth, ouch LOL My 15 year old large dog does not seem to agree although, I could not do it without him teaching the puppy and showing him the ropes of the homestead as a guardian.

While I have a coffee at my desk and work on some Christmas presents, Cooter sleeps next to me on an old sheep skin that Andrew had when I first met him. Now our new puppy gets to feel its warmth for the winter months next to the woodstove 18 years later. Crazy how time flies buy!

It was a cold night last night, went down to minus 12. So today I started up my chicken coop woodstove, lucky birds get to feel the warmth of wood heat in the bitter cold months as well, Its a lot of work keeping it going, but that is ok, I have a type of duck that once it dips below minus 15 degrees she starts to shiver and cant handle the cold, I do not lose eggs to freezing as well so its a win win I guess!

The bad thing about this time of year is that it gets a little harder to use the outhouse, a little colder on the touchy! But even at -40 it sure keeps going for us!

I started my first paid crochet project that I am doing for a friend! A hooded scarf. The colors are bright and it just makes my day to feel the project come together!

Gives me a small confidence booster that I am good enough and I can do this! I can be successful as long as I keep moving forward!

We have a few inches of snow now, really nice out so far and its been staying, not as much rain this year so that is a bonus, the North Rd that I travel on 25 km one way on an ice road but with little rain it stays nice once they grade it! becomes a highway! A highway with mostly fully loaded log trucks going 80 km an hour down this ice road, sometimes its so white knuckle!

That is the tuff part about living in Pinchi, the 25 km scary drive out to town, that I do twice a day driving my teenager to school cause we have no bus.

It sure has given my driving skills the confidence boost and at the same time has made my knees buckel!

Pinchi is so quiet, the odd time you will here a neighbor this time of year but when the snow starts adding up it acts like a noise insulator!

Its way more active in the summer months when people are driving up to the lakes and camping, then the traffic really picks up for hunting season in the fall and then this time of year it goes so quiet that its wonderful.

Hopefully they are not logging this way! That changes everything, the cabin vibrates when the fully loaded log trucks drive buy one after the other! Pinchi no longer, is quiet when they do! But I understand because logging is the main industry here in the mountains, its what pays the bills for us right now!

Its been awhile since I felt the depression, I wonder I am healed? Or is it that I just know what to do, now to keep my mind healthy?

Maybe its the talking about it that has been helping me?

11:00 am, time to take a break and go put wood in the chicken coop woodstove outside!

Better take my puppy out for a pee as well!

Life is ok today and I am so very grateful to be alive.