Weekends & Woodpiles

Its such an Autumn Alaskan thing.  Woodpiles created on weekends to warm our bodies and souls all winter long.

Our cousin rented a big wood splitter.  We worked our tails off Saturday for 6-8 hours on Saturday to saw, split, and stack our winter's wood.  We did NOT finish, but there is barely an hours worth of work left right now, which is HUGE!!!  I ran chain saw for quite a while before the big boys finally came out to join me.  Then we began the stacking of the small stuff and building up our stack that is drying in the garage.  At lunch, the wood splitter showed up here and the tough work started.

The big boys, J, Phil, and I got to work sawing, splitting and stacking our pile.  We had a good system going with everyone alternating jobs so we didn't get bored with tedious work.  J ran the splitter while someone helped hand and catch wood.  Two cut wood and the extra stacked or sharpened saws.  Eventually the pile was all cut and we all went to work splitting and stacking.

On Sunday, we did it all again, but at someone else's house.  I just love taking part in good community work to help others.  She recently lost her husband and has a small child.  My daughter babysat while my son worked his tail off stacking wood.  Dogs ran around everywhere playing in sawdust and I got to make some great baggies of fire starters.  If you fill paper baggies with wood scraps and bark, they light easy and can stay lit long enough to get the chips going and ultimately, your fire. I hate seeing wood scraps lying around going to waste.

I was VERY sore Sunday and Monday - then I slipped on a piece of wood and hurt my butt more.  Kinked up my neck - the muscles in my back got even more sore -   What a baby right?  So, just to prove I wasn't a baby, I got on the treadmill last night.  Of course, that worked.  Except for the big ol' bruise on my butt, I'm feeling pretty darn good!

 Today, I will be sneaking over to Phil and Haanah's to stack some wood while they are at work.  I should be able to get a little done once it warms up outside.  In fact, I've got to get moving because its already 10:00.


OH - hockey.  Jason's weekend - the team lost two and won two.  Sounds like he spent a lot of time in the penalty box.  The boy is of mediocre size, fast, but instead of teaching him hockey - they want him hitting and fighting.  He's 14 for cripe sake.  Oh, whatever.  He is happy he has a place on the team. . . even if it is as the bully.