Snow For Sale!

Snow, snow go away.......
Come again some other day!
(Not for a long time, though.)

Here is Husband in the tractor blowing the powdery white stuff out of the way so his brother can begin a long trip home to Montana. He came to Iowa on Amtrak last week to take part in the divvying-up of Father-in-Law's earthly possessions. He's returning to Montana in his dad's pickup, which he purchased.

I couldn't hold back the tears when this brother-in-law left this morning; he lives so far away and it was hard to say good-bye. He has a very long drive ahead of him in this extremely cold weather. Seeing the pickup disappear down the driveway for the last time was difficult, too, because the vehicle is so identified with Father-in-Law. The pairing of a farmer-----even an old, retired one-----and his pickup, is a special match; they were steady, faithful companions.

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This afternoon it was deemed safe for a daughter-in-law to enter Father-in-Law's house, so I spent time helping Husband load out some of the remaining items......mostly junk, at this point. Now, my house is becoming filled with piles of miscellaneous.......towels, rugs, Christmas wrap, tins, kitchen items, baskets, books, knicknacks, etc. All the flotsam and jetsam of someone else's life is now mine, as if I didn't have enough of my own already! But, I'll dutifully go through all the piles and boxes to see what might be of use, or generously shared later as a gag gift!! Seriously, there are some special items that I hope to eventually give away to the little grandchildren and great-grands as a remembrance of Grandpa.

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Husband has held up well through the last several days of commotion and disruption of his normal daily work schedule. Its obvious he's exhausted, though. Last evening his eyes were glazed over as he struggled to stay awake after chores to eat supper and visit with his brother. He also admitted to me that he's sad to see his dad's pickup depart. Not that he wanted to have it, but like I said earlier, its so closely identified with its former longtime owner.