Today is so cold.
When I woke up my nose was hurting from how cold it was in the room and my breath was like a cloud. If it weren't for the electric blanket I sleep with, I'd probably have frozen to death! I woke up before 8 and managed to force myself out of the warm capsule of my bed (I know sleep on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed - it is awesome). I made breakfast and around 8:30 Muto-san got up and we ate.
It was freezing cold outside. I went outside to feed the chickens, and just walking to the chicken coop my toes were hurting. There were so many eggs. Probably the most I've collected at one time ever. The cold and all that chicken shivering must've made extra eggs pop out or something...Katsu had asked me also to give the chickens water if it had frozen. The seperate water dishes were dirty so I brought them back to the hose. I took a moment to get heat pads for the toes of my shoes and rubber gloves for my hands before washing the dishes. But, the hose was frozen solid. I went to the tap off the side of the main store house and washed them there. Katsu had been there in the morning so I figured he had fed the cat, but she was rubbing against me and kneeding me with her claws and whining. Of course, I loved it. A cats affection, even if the source is food and not really genuine love, is wonderful and I appreciated it very much. She followed me down the road a little while whenever I walked away, she stopped probably when she realized it had nothing to do with her. But she'd be waiting on my way back. What a good friend.
I knew I couldn't carry the dishs filled with water to the coop so I carried them alone then brought a bucket of water to pour into them afterwards. Cold cold cold. Then it started snowing a little. Cold cold cold. I washed the eggs with rubber gloves on. I counted them, 76. Just in the morning! And unlike the batches I've washed recently, these were all around the same size and very clean. After that I cleaned up the storage house a little...just simple tidying.
Muto-san planted a tree that Katsu, Ayumi and Hiro (his children) had given him for his birthday.
We just had pasta for lunch.
It is now evening... almost 11. In the afternoon there wasn't much work so I took a little walk towards where we went and cut sugi trees in the fall. I was trying to find some of the houses up there, because one of my great aunts lives somewhere around here... There was construction on the road and the snow was falling heavier so I turned around. I napped and watched the movies I'd made of the Orchestra Bahamas trip, Englad 2009 trip and Appalachian trail trip on my comptuer. At 4:30 I did the chickens again. All the water was gone - I was shocked. Luckily there were hardly any eggs, so I quickly took another bucket of water and only spent about 15 minutes washing the eggs in the cold water. Hitomi-san came and dried them for me, 106 eggs for the day.
Muto-san had recieved a hakusai cabbage from the other pig farm boss on Friday, so we decided to eat nabe for dinner. Hakusai, carrots, daikon, chicken meat balls, tofu and shiitake. And a shiny bowl of white rice on the side. Muto-san said if you put a little bit of vinegar in the rice cooker before it is cooked, it makes the rice extra shiny. I think so too now.
I was stuffed, but all healthy fresh vegetables (everything but tofu and meat balls is from this garden or friend's garden - amazing).
I took a bath for the first time here in Kikuchi...it was just too cold without it today. Then watched "Stranger than Fiction" with Will Ferrel. I'd never seen it before...it was interesting.
Tomorrow is a new day, but just as cold as today.
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