When life gives you lemons, it's time to pour some gin!

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john_francis

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What an oddly interesting six week stretch we're coming out of at our little Maritime homestead.

It's made me reflect upon that sage and wonderful Chinese curse "May You live in interesting times." Interesting doesn't denote "good times" or 'abundance times"; merely interesting. More in line with interesting like a train wreck, or the interest some folk take in trying to identify road kill.

I've been laid off from my job and denied benefits because of a fantastic loop hole. I've not accumulated the extra hours needed to claim the government stipend, c'est la vie. Apparently when one hasn't been in the workforce for a while you need twice the hours banked before they shell out.

No hard feeling on my part. I was happy to contribute to the communal pot with my payroll deductions even if the benefits are unobtainable for myself. I like to give and who better to give to then the wise and kindly souls that micro-govern my daily life. Certainly they know best whether I need money to live on or not.

Neatly on the heals of my new found extra time I found out I've got osteoarthritis. It was a delight to discover that there's a medical reason behind the nagging pains in my hips, shoulders, and small of my back. I thank the gods that it isn't a personal weakness in my character!

Before I could begin deeply reflecting upon the implications of this new facet of my physical well being I was summoned to civic duty as a juror and as I'm naturally lucky I was selected to serve out of a pool of 300 potential candidates. A mere hour and a half drive each way to the courts and back home. What a charming experience for a rural juror to sit in judgment of a person charged with attempted murder. I make no assumption of this persons innocence or guilt but the thought occurred to me that if some one is guilty of this type of crime they've failed twice. Once in the commission of the crime and again in not getting away. I'm sworn by oath and commanded by law not to reveal the conversations that transpired in the jury room but as it's public record I am able to put forward that the affair was a stabbing. Nasty stuff, very in close and personal.

Ah but who amongst us is without sin, eh? I hurt someones feelings once when I was a teenager and certainly regret it now. Perhaps, if the defendant did indeed do the diabolical deed they also muster feelings of remorse. I have no closure for the proceedings as the case was held over for reasons we were not informed about; and just like that we were dismissed. Free to go about our business once again. I haven't yet received my mileage allowance. My doubts about ever getting it are strong, to say the least.

Back to our little patch of heaven. My troublesome doe, Crystal, spontaneously aborted her last litter of kits and then expired herself several days latter despite our nursing efforts on her behalf. She gave us just shy of twenty rabbits but she was never a healthy animal, with exception to the fifteen minutes prior to our purchasing her. Not that I'm complaining. The life of a rabbit is capricious at best. The good folk on this site warned me when I voiced concerns and I was advised to cull her. So ends Crystal and her line.

The buyer that wished to pre-order an entire litter has reneged, surprise surprise surprise! I've managed to sell two kits in all this time. We may scale back even further.

Sharply on the heals of this I took ill with the flu. My lungs sound like an orchestra is preforming "The Barber of Seville" with crumpled brown paper bags and I seem to have trouble with a type of dizzy vertigo. On the bright side I've lost five pounds! Who knew that a wasting disease could be so helpful in weight loss? I suppose rather a lot of unfortunates in the third world could have shared this with me, so I mustn't grumble.

After all there's always a rainbow, well maybe not - but every cloud has a silver lining.......oh hell when things seem dim clutch the straw that seems the soundest!

Our surviving doe Gingersnap has given us this years final litter of five lovely kits. One appeared to be blind but by diligence and trial and error my wife was able to open it's eyes. It was a beautiful moment.

The hens are still producing a couple of eggs a day and I'm going to pickle up three dozen or so for the coming winter months. We use an Amish recipe that turns them a cheerful pink colour! Fancy that.

We've wood for the stove, quilts for the bed, and ten extra gallons of gasoline for the generator hidden away. The insurance is paid for a year on house and truck.

We've twenty pound or better of wild blueberries in the freezer and a couple of pound of wild cranberries as well. The fridge is full of the final garden vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, beets, turnip, carrot, and my personal favorites; cabbage and brussel sprouts. Tomatoes galore grace our larder and we've many pickled delights waiting till the Yule and beyond.

I've also got the makings for ten gallons of delicious nut brown ale, five gallons of a pale Canadian style lager, and eight gallons of hard cider that should be approached with a certain mature caution.

Imagine a five pound rabbit soaked for week in cider brine then spit roasted over wood coals till crispy on the outside and juicy tender inside! Served, of course; with our very own potatoes roasted a treat in olive oil nestled beside a mixed vegetable and balsamic vinegar casserole. Finish with a blueberry pie that could only be more homemade if I grew the wheat myself.

Interesting times indeed. Certainly things could get worse.....but I think it more likely things will get better.

Better every day!
 
Wow. Just wow.

Hang in there, John Francis! You are not alone. So many people on this forum are going through "interesting times" right now. Things are pretty "interesting" here too, not quite on your scale, but still!

I try to take comfort in the knowledge that with all our problems, we are still among the most fortunate people in the world. Millions upon millions will never know times as good as our worst ones.

I'm very glad you are able to take stock of the many good things in your life and still keep looking ahead with confidence. Thanks for posting. I drew a little extra strength today from your wry humour and positive attitude. :clover:
 
from all the stories on here, seems like many of us have had a particularily bad 2 months or so. You seem to have had a particularily bad time of it.

I hope things turn up for all of us very soon. That five pound rabbit sounds awful good, though! Your food sounds amazing, I can't wait till I am to the point of being able to put some food away for winter. :)
 
Your attitude in the face of frustrating circumstances is excellent--you made me smile even though you are upset, quite a gift. Thanks!

We are all just going to have to clutch at the straw that seems soundest for a bit, I think, but Maggie is right, we are still rich in a poor world. Hang on!
 
John Francis, we have had our share of dark times as well, as have many on this forum. I'm with everybody else -- your attitude and way of expressing what is going on is an encouragement to all of us. More trying times are likely coming, and I am glad we can all encourage each other here.

Thank you, John Francis, and I hope things turn around for you soon in a big way!
 

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