Returning to POE

Tomorrow morning I'll be returning to my "place of employment", but I've been warned that this could be the last time you see that particular reference on this blog.  My counterparts have told me that we have a greatly expanded job-description as of the 1st, to the point where it truly will be more than honest to refer to it as "work".  Budget cuts have resulting in a "realignment" of duties and things that used to be done by others now must be done by me.  It will be interesting to see how things, and how I adapt to those changes.

Daisy spent the entire weekend being the "house dog" until about 3:00 this morning.  At three she woke me, needing to go out.  Instead of heading for the front door she trotted to the back, asking to be let out into the pen with her buddy Nels.  The weather had warmed by at least 15 degrees, and she was telling me it was warm enough for her to hang out with the other dogs, please.  I accommodated her wishes.

I was up again at six, jumping right into my day.  The last day of R&R is usually pretty hectic as I do the errands needed to prepare for my place of employment such as my haircut, picking up my medications from the pharmacy (better living through chemistry), taking the team over to Mike's place to board, and packing my bags.  Today all of those tasks went very smoothly, not a single glitch that I can recall. 

It is looking like the neighboring place may be sold soon.  A representative of a local real estate agent was plowing the drive when I got home from town, and I was curious (we tend to keep an eye on strangers), so went up to chat with him.  To those who don't frequently follow the blog, my nearest neighbor died last year, and her place has been sitting empty.  In any event, the estate is looking over a reasonable offer, and has sent a crew up to remove my late neighbor's personal property. 

The guy asked the value of a couple of old dog boxes on the property, so I took a few minutes to give them a good looking over.  They are not in very good shape, but I told him the value of the grates on the doors, hinges and other hardware would be worth a couple of hundred bucks each.  They'd be worth considerably more had they been more carefully stored, but such is life. 

He was grateful for my assistance, and showed his appreciation by plowing out my driveway before leaving the area.  That was very nice of him to do. 

Of course now I'm curious who my new neighbor is going to be.  I know that several local dog mushers were interested in the place after my neighbor's death.  She had installed a dry cabin with electricity on the 40 acre parcel, and had operated a mushing kennel on it, so some of the necessary infrastructure is in place.  For a while I had contemplated making an offer on it, but I already have a mortgage, and times are tight everywhere. 

That's a bit of a distraction.  For now I've done all I need to do for today.  In the morning I'll leap into the shower, shave my face, pack up my shaving kit, toss my bags in the car and head to work for a week.  Then I'll have one week off before returning to my normal two on / two off schedule.  By doing a short shift and short turnaround now, those working the opposite shift will be able to enjoy the holidays off this year, while I enjoy the extra overtime pay.