In other news, tonight V and I are going out- not that it will be that much fun, though. Tonight is my work 'Winter Get-together'- otherwise known as the schmooze and booze. But I won't be drinking- I slipped on the ice this afternoon and twisted my hip funny so I've taken some Advil and don't want to drink on top of it. Just as well- it's a cash bar and they always charge WAAAY too much for bad wine.
V and I went into town today and shoveled out the driveway, back patio and all the sidewalks at the house in town in preparation for an open house tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us. We're thinking about dropping the price a bit again but are hopeful that after the holidays people will start looking again, especially since the homebuyer's tax credit ends in April. I would really like to get that house sold and pay off some debt. We had the consultation with I12's orthodontist yesterday morning. We're looking at $4600 spread out over two and a half years which brings it to about $150 a month. Our insurance is really bad for orthodontics so we basically end up paying most of that. But his teeth are really bad- he is likely to have to have oral surgery since one of his upper canine teeth is coming in perpendicular to where it is supposed to be and she doesn't think it can be moved into position and will start causing all kinds of problems in his upper jaw. Ugh. Just what we needed, one out of braces, one in. K9 will most likely be next. His teeth aren't as bad as the older two, thank goodness!
Well, we've gotta go soon. Schmoozing starts at 6:30 and the catered dinner at 7. But really, last year, the food was pretty good for $5 per person.
Stay warm out there, It's already below zero here again. Someday it will warm up.
You forgot to tell us what color your apple trees are. I like crispy apples. I wish you luck on the open house! Hopefully lots of people will brave the cold and go see it. And, your Schmooze n Booze sounds like fun. Perhaps one wouldn't have hurt you!! Hope your hip is ok. Might not hurt till you get up in the morning. (hope not) Gosh, I remember the braces. Brien was in forever, but Kelly never had any. Thank goodness. Have a nice Sunday!!...debbie
ReplyDeleteWow, you have to pay for your dinner? Weird.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what kind of apples? I got the Stark catalog too, I just love looking through it. I usually buy my trees from a local nursery that offers a 1 year guarantee. I've ordered a few from the conservation district as well. I wish we had more room for fruit trees. 74 acres and all the trees are crammed in my front yard, go figure!
Ooo apple trees. I'm jealous.
ReplyDeleteIt is finally warming up here. Thank goodness, although I could definitely do without the atmospheric migraine that goes with a +30 degree jump in temps (Celsius)
Hope you have a good night regardless of where.
Debbie- Ok, Ok. We ordered three trees. A lovely green Granny Smith- I'm a little worried that we may be a bit far North since it ripens so late- but we'll see how it does. We are also getting a Sweet Sixteen and a Nova Spy. They are both red apples. The Spy is a cultivar of an old variety. It evidently takes longer than most to produce but it is exceptionally long lived and hardy. We're planting for our future. We may eventually add a few more but this is a start. We're also going to plant a cherry and eventually apricots and maybe plums (although we have wild plums along the fence)
ReplyDeleteJena- yeah, the department kicks in part of the cost and then they divide the rest of the cost per person based on how many are coming. As for the apples- our local nurseries all bring in the trees from elsewhere so they aren't really local. There is an orchard just a mile east of us, I'd like to see if they have any little trees they would be interested in selling.
Jenn- I would take any kind of warm up at this point. It was down to -9F when we came home that's what more than -20C or something like that if I remember my conversions. Anyway, after zero it's just COLD no matter the number.
Judy
I have heard good things about the Nova Spy so I am sure it will be worth it! Congrats on getting your tree order in. "Schmooze & Booze" ...... funny and how true! I remember work functions all too well, and I agree, those things are not really worth having a headache the next day!
ReplyDeleteWe've been considering purchasing persimmon trees or dwarf apples. We really only have enough room for one tree, though... So we have to find a species that doesn't need two to make fruit.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, we just keep debating back and forth what we want.
I was wondering what you thought about the dwarf trees. I do like the idea of them not growing more than 6 feet. I don't like the idea of climbing high on ladders and think these would provide enough fruit.
ReplyDeleteBre1313- I don't think I would ever personally plant a dwarf tree. Semi-dwarf yes- they get to about 15 feet. My parents have a rather large orchard and have had bad experiences with dwarf trees. They all needed support posts and ties and all that such stuff and were generally more trouble than they were worth. We've got enough space that we can plant larger trees but even if we didn't. I would have to think long and hard about planting dwarf trees just because my parents found them so much more work. If you have a small space and are willing to support them, go for it.
ReplyDeleteJudy
Sounds like fun - hope the open house went well!
ReplyDeleteKris