I am sat here, the girls off school this week, and thinking about what to do with my order from Woodcraft. I called customer support at the carrier, and they promised it would be out of Chicago this weekend. I called again, for good measure, and they promised it would be at my house by Tuesday, via a trip to Salt Lake City on Monday. It’s Monday, and according to tracking, it has still not left Chicago.
I miss the good old days when things took weeks to arrive, and it would be months before a fellow might question it. But nowadays with the Internet, and scanning and the like, I get to see too clearly into the operations of a carrier, and I get to have anxiety that someone may be about to call me from the Teamster’s Union and tell me that for a fee, my freight might get moving again. The modern age really seems to contribute more, rather than diminish anxiety.
Woodcraft may be a wonderful company on just about every level, but their logistical decision making has a lot to be desired. I don’t see myself ordering from them again. I have ordered parts for the lathe from another supplier and they have already arrived. I now have a fully expanded empty space in my shop.
Whatever!
A week on the dock in Chicago for something they could have shipped from a store two hours from my house? And what if it arrives and doesn’t work? Anxiety inducing!
The Billy goat in the pen next to the dog is calling. I think he has given up on the weeds in that pen, and wants hay, instead. I’ll have to feed him in a bit when I go out.
We have sold the female pigs this year, and Big Pig died. We also sold a goat. We need to sell the one calling from the pen right now, too. I have an old mare, if anyone is interested. Two old llamas could not likely make the trip if we were to move any reasonable distance. They could do with going on the auction block, as well.
Our chickens are laying well. I get upwards of nine eggs a day from the flock. One habitually lays double yoked eggs! They are huge! Her genetic anomaly suites me just fine!
It is cold enough here now to put a morning fire in most mornings and take the chill off the house. Or, it has been the past few days, anyway. I need to finish cutting up the firewood and stacking it. I have a dry mountain of it that needs this work. I need to cover it, too. The rain that finally fell on it soaked up the seasoned wood pretty good. That has not been too helpful these cold mornings.
The woodstove is almost fully serviced now, with a cleaning and a new gasket. I have a new set of vermiculite on order for the inside, top. I also have a heat activated fan on order, as well as the piping to get down to three inches in diameter, and bring in air from outside, rather than inside the house. That would stop it breathing through the draughts in the house, and allow the stove to instead push a heat envelope outwards against them.
I have a couple of things to finish up in the shop today, if there is time, or tomorrow. Missus wants a heddle jig for her looms. No problem there! That looks easy, and I know how to make it a part of the cart she had me make her recently. The only question is, do I make a new cross board, or use one of the two I already put on the cart to give her a table top surface on the top of the cart? More workspace is always good! I also have to put on a couple of dowels to give her the spots to hold bobbins on the cart. Seems easy enough, too! That, I can do in the house!
I better go out and feed the animals now. There are things to do today!