Random thing #1: I chopped a chunk out of my knuckle with a hatchet. Funny, I can't remember if it was last night or this morning. I was trying to make a small piece of wood into lots of smaller pieces of wood. We've been heating with wood this winter. Not exclusively, we also use electric space heaters here and there, but we're trying to use the fireplace insert to do the general heating. Superman, one of his good friends, and Twitch have been working independently and cooperatively to gather much wood. Right now, thanks to the good friend, we have a very large stack of wood on our back patio. It's almost all pine. Pine burns fast and hot. It's good for starting fires, but hardwoods are much better for maintaining a fire. We have pine. The fireplace insert is a good one, and it burns everything completely and efficiently. We have to feed it more often if only using pine.
I got off track again.
Superman left me this weekend to go play with Light and some of her friends (including a few lesbians!!! :) ) at a conference in Atlanta. He's the one, of course, who takes care of the firewood and fires and warming the house and other useful things like that. He brought in a big stack of wood before he left Friday evening. It has been unusually cold here in South Carolina, as it has been in much of the nation, so having a good supply of firewood is a good idea. We hadn't built a fire Friday morning, as no one was here to need it. After Superman left, Diva and I went out to run a few errands, and when we came home it was really cold in here! So I proceeded to lay out a fire. The thing about that is we didn't have any good small tinder pieces to lay a good base. We had a decent bit of kindling and other fuel wood, but you need both kindling & tinder* to build a good fire.
Superman keeps a hatchet beside his tinder bucket. When he left me alone the week before Christmas I was chopping kindling into tinder and accidentally dropped the hatchet. Without thinking, I grabbed for it as it fell. I caught it, which was not such a good idea because I caught the blade with my left palm and cut a big gash in the side of it there .** Actually, it wasn't too bad, just a cut, but was sore for a couple of days.
So he leaves me with Diva this weekend, and it's colder now than it was before Christmas. We need a fire, and I need tinder. There I am, using the hatchet, and by golly if it didn't slip again! I was holding the stick of wood in my left hand and the hatchet in my right (being right-handed as I am). I'm not a very good aim with that sort of thing. No sight, you know.
I should have been wearing the work glove on my left hand, but I wasn't. The hatchet glanced off the side of the stick and slipped right onto the knuckle of my index finger. It shaved off a piece of the skin. Stung like an s.o.b., especially when I washed it off. I put ointment and a bandage on it, and it's not so bad now. I think I'll survive.
Random thing #2: I can lay a really good fire when I put my mind to it.
Random thing #3: I had a lovely visit with Monkey this afternoon. Monkey is Light's roommate at college. She was in town today and came by to interview me for a class she's taking. She needed to get a birth story. I find it amusing that her mother wasn't willing to tell her about her own birth story. The class is about child and family development and such, or something like that. I really can't remember exactly what she told me, though I did ask. She needed to know my experience giving birth, how that affected my sexual relationship, and how it affected my perception of myself as a woman (or something like that). I love to tell stories! Perhaps you noticed. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. She seemed to have a good time, too. She's a precious young woman and I am blessed to know her.
Recurring theme that I mention occasionally but never really explore #1: Just exactly how do I feel about being a woman? What is my perception of myself as a woman? Why in the hell am I a woman??? It's a very big topic, and a sore one at that. It needs its own post, or series of posts. I always say that, but never write that post. Let's nutshell it: I don't feel like I embody the concept of "woman" very well. "Woman" doesn't fit me. I don't like it much.
Random thing # next: My classes begin on Monday. I have already started reading the first chapter in my social psychology book. I looked at the class website and the prof has the first assignment posted. It isn't due until Thursday, but heck, I'll get an early start on it. I'll have a few other things to do by then, I'm sure. I want to do well this semester. I want my 4.0 back, dammit. Anyway, back to social psych; it's a strange discipline. I'm not sure about it. I've only just begun, of course. Part of what I've read sounds like so much b.s. From a different angle, though, it might make sense. We shall see.
Random thing # after that: Cats!! Cats are funny. I have a couple, you know. Thursday night it was wet and icy. We had a very slight bit of snow flurry, then we got some sleet. There wasn't much precipitation at all, really, but it was cold and nasty. Samhain, our sleek black cat, wanted to go outside. He's the only one who goes out. Scheherazade is a totally indoor cat, though she's not always happy about it. So anyway, Samhain wanted to go out. He was in the bedroom with Superman, who opened our bedroom window to let him out. It's a common route of ingress and egress for Samhain. He hopped up on the windowsill and stopped, sniffing and watching, then turned around and jumped back into the room.
Superman came out to the living room and Samhain followed, and went to the back door. Superman opened the back door for him, but Samhain wasn't pleased with what he saw. He gave Superman that look that says "What's this? You've made it wet and nasty through this door, too. What's wrong with you?" He then turns and runs to to the foyer, up to our front door. So Superman followed and opened that door for the cat. This time Samhain looked up at him with disgust. "We are not amused," he seemed to say. Every exit available for the cat led into cold, wet darkness. He obviously blamed Superman for this sad state of affairs.
There are many other random things swimming around in my brain. A minute ago I thought of one I wanted to write here, but it swam away before I could catch it. It's late and I am tired. Before I leave you, though, I'll share with you what I've been listening to as I write.
*That's a cool site. It has nothing to do with starting fires. Go check it out.
** from 3:15 - 3:25
