I was interviewed yesterday by a reporter from the local county paper. I’ve been interviewed quite a few times before, but always about my books. This time, the story was about my blog. And of course, everything was as difficult as possible considering it had been snowing for the past few days and we had agreed to meet out at the new farm. My boonies country road was in freak out condition with mud, snow, and ice. After driving two miles an hour for two and a half miles, I got to the house. And looked up the driveway. Which looked pretty much like the road except, you know, steeper.
But being the determined, competent farmgirl that I am, I put it in 4WD and barrelled right up there.
Okay, so that is not what happened.
I parked, hiked up the driveway, raced into the house and said, “Steve! Quick! Go get my car and drive it up the driveway or the reporter is going to think I’m an idiot who is afraid to drive up my own driveway!”
Used to me by now, Steve-the-Builder didn’t even blink. Took my keys, went down the driveway, got my car and drove it up. He is so handy. I wonder if after the house is done, I can just keep him in the pantry and take him out when I need him????
Then I chilled for a few minutes and checked out the latest progress. Drywalling was going on. Things are looking good! The house should be ready to move into in a few weeks!
Left, Jim Cooper, the reporter. He actually drove up the driveway all by himself. I knew it! MEN! It’s annoying how competent they are all the time.
But ha! I am, like, ALMOST competent. I am pretending to be competent. He has no idea I had to get Steve-the-Builder to drive my car up the driveway. I have competence oozing out my pores. I am drunk with competence.
Then I sat down in this chair and the legs on the left side of the chair bent, twisted under, collapsed.
And yes, me, on my ASS, on the porch.
Competence, how I miss you, let me count the ways……
Then he asked me a bunch of questions and took my picture and I managed to not do anything even more stupid, like fall over the railing or something. Then he drove his car down the driveway on his competent man cloud.
And I ran into the house. “Steve! You have to drive my car down the driveway…..”
(P.S. Then I made dinner for 52 and if I posted 10 more pictures all about that then those of you on dial-up would want to kill me, so I’ll be back with another report about the rest of my day tomorrow! 
You can see what dinner ended with if you check the Daily Farm Photo at the top of the sidebar! And he’s even in the picture! Holding the plate! Or, you know, kinda just his fingers….)
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on February 15, 2008
7:36
am
7:40
am
So, does Mr. Jim Cooper Reporter write for a local newspaper? An on-line site? Are we going to find out what he publishes about your blog? Did he have snow tires on his vehicle? Do you? Probably you don’t get enough of the white stuff to warrant that, but if you had them, you’d get up your driveway!
BTW, the interior of your house is coming along very well — so exciting to have just a few more weeks before you get to move in. Hurrah!
-Kim
8:28
am
8:33
am
9:12
am
Those lava cakes look like ecstatic death, by the way.
9:15
am
10:07
am
Glad you had a happy Valentine’s Day! The dinner looks AWESOME!
:love:
10:39
am
10:47
am
11:37
am
OOOOOoooooo, I’m very excited that we got to see 52’s hands. you’re working us up for the big reveal, aren’t you? And just because I don’t add emoticons a lot here’s one for ya: :love:
And don’t underestimate “competence”. Do you think Steve the Builder could write a book??? I don’t think so.
11:43
am
11:54
am
12:38
pm
2:02
pm
I haven’t been to many blogs in the last 2 years. All my links are still on my other computer and I’m still trying to transfer them as well as a lot of programs over to this one.
I’m actually here because I wanted to see what my brother-in-law was talking about when he told me that I had written about him as being “grumpy” on a blog. He had googled the name of his farm, where he raises highland cattle, and found my entry going back close to a year and a half ago.
Anyway, I can relate to your story about bad roads and weather. My brother-in-law’s mother and I went to her granddaughter’s, my niece’s wedding on the same farm, well that was only part of the festivities, last weekend. It’s skiing country where they live and the weather for the 400+ mile round trip was anything but pleasant.
On the way northeast from home we encountered quite a lot of blowing snow but on the return trip, drifting with winds up to 36 mph brought many a whiteout condition. We were about half way home, had seen the remnants of two accidents within a 3-mile stretch, had had to detour because of one closed road when we came to another one where our journey south was blocked.
We were stranded in a town of about 2500. The only places open were two gas stations, a Tim Hortons donut shop and by 3 p.m. the Canadian legion hall. That’s where we landed for the night. Most of the people who came after us had been skiing near Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron. All in all we ended up being close to 150 people.
The townspeople supplied us with a supper of pizza, hot dogs, donuts, coffee and drinking boxes. Those who cared to imbibe something stronger had a larger choice. They also set up enough cots for all of us in the large room used for Bingo.
To say the very least, it was a most interesting experience. There were games, TV, DVDs, darts, shuffleboard and lots of interesting conversation.
It was an experience that restored spirits with the kindness of man to men, women and children. Even the 50-60 university students who descended on the hall in two buses around 7 p.m. couldn’t thank everybody enough.
Most people took advantage of the cots. I wasn’t one of them. I knew I wouldn’t sleep and tossing and turning, growing constantly stiffer is worse for me than staying up all night.
At 6:30 a.m. a policeman came to advise us that the road south at least was open. That was the one most of us were waiting for. Despite promises of a free breakfast of “eggs and coffee”, a lot of us took off immediately especially since it was beginning to snow quite heavily. We reached my home shortly before 11 a.m. but not before we had to take another detour.
It was certainly a day I will never forget. The country we had to drive through must have resembled your area in a lot of ways, though overall it was probably flatter.
Yes, winter driving can certainly be “interesting”. Besides the accidents, we saw numerous cars in ditches. I’m just glad we didn’t see any serious accidents. My friend preferred the roads less travelled to our super-highways. We had heard of accidents there before we set off and didn’t want to get into any of the pileups that had occurred on some of these highways during January to the tune of 30, 70 and over 100 cars in three accidents on the two highways that we would have taken. Miraculously, :thumbsup: not a single person was killed or even sustained life-threatening injuries in those accidents which totally flattened numerous cars. It’s impossible to comprehend how anyone could have gotten out of them alive.
BTW, I love your new farmhouse.
2:03
pm
2:16
pm
2:17
pm
You are “The Woman.” Quick thinker and got it going on. Good thing Steve-the-builder was there. LOL.
Wow … just a few more weeks. I bet you are so excited.
Tanya
2:41
pm
p.s. You still have unread emails although that’s quite understandable since I already don’t know how you do as much as you do :clock:
3:20
pm
3:25
pm
I hope they do put the article on their website. I want to see it!
3:44
pm
I bet you could have driven up that driveway!!
5:18
pm
:purr: I lurve your smileys.
6:37
pm
How do you manage to take so many pictures? Love your blog.
8:37
am
1:09
pm
It’s been a couple weeks since I started stalking your blog every day. I love it.
1:19
pm