Ruminations, outdoor chores

Happy Sunday! It is a beautiful day here :) Happy Spring! The sun is shining, and the sky is bright blue. It is an amazing day.
We spent a few days up at the cabin where DH is remodeling and working so hard. He spent most of the time replacing the pipes that were leaking. A lot of them leaked because the people before, didn't shut off the water, and then it got below freezing, breaking some pipes along with it. When we first went up there on Wednesday, there was a lot of snow on the ground. It had just snowed and in some places it was several inches deep. But by the time we left the snow had almost all melted. It was so pretty though, in places, where there was snow in the crook of a tree, next to the bright green moss, it was very striking. Also Bruin helped. We did indoors work until the weather warmed up and then we spent a day outside, cleaning up. A couple trees had fallen down so DH cut them up and I hauled the logs over to the woodpile. There was also a swampy area in the woods where somebody had dumped some trash and some old gardening containers. So we picked them out of the mud. Bruin helped pick up old bottles and cups which he would bring to me and I would put them in the trash bag. It was so adorable.
The internet connection up there was a little sketchy so I wasn't always able to log on.
I was able to design the kitchen. Right now the entire kitchen is totally torn apart.
We spent a lot of time clearing brush, as well, from the area along side the garage. There were some wild bushes growing that were also covered in a vine and so it was a mess. I saw a couple of large spiders but I was wearing my gardening gloves and a fleece. I saw a lot of ravens flying around, some of them were flying pretty low. We also saw more deer than I have seen all year. The deer are very thick up north. Also many birds visit the feeder. We refill the feeders about every 10 days. The woods are filled with songbirds.
I didn't walk down to the lake this time like I usually do. I kept thinking I should take a nature hike, then I got busy doing something else. This time I even brought a leash for Bruin. There are some pretty nice places to walk around there.
We also went to the local pub and watched the Wild. They lost one, and won another, and then they are also playing today. We know about 4 people in town, and one of them is our insurance agent. She also came to the pub by herself and sat by us and we visited the entire time. She was very nice, and was telling us about some of the local things. She said, Saturday was Prom and her son is a senior so he was very excited getting ready for the Prom. I have a lot of good memories of when Nick and his girlfriend Beth went to the Prom two years ago when they were seniors. Such a special and wonderful time for them! Nick and Beth are STILL together! They have been together for 5 years! No plans in the near future on moving in together or anything, she has roommates, and Nick is still living at home.
Nick was so nice to look after the house, the chickens, and the cats, while we were away, and he worked, too. He works nights. He says that there are a lot of changes happening, that some of the people he's been working with are now quitting. I know that he doesn't like change. At the same time, he will be getting a lot more hours.
I also signed up for another writing class that will be on Tuesday evenings, it's in Stillwater, which is a bit of a drive. This is being taught by my old friend who I have known for years, and will probably be some of the same ladies who were in our writing group before I moved. Because of the familiarity I'm not too nervous about it -- yet :)
I mentioned last week my dad came over for a visit. He and I visit quite frequently. I would say we have a challenging relationship. He wasn't Father of the Year or anything when we were kids. He was always this sardonic figurehead, breadwinner, had anger issues, hot-tempered, socially awkward, treated our mother like shit. Went to church, made us go to church, every single Sunday. Made our mother operate a recording machine to record him singing in the choir. Afterwards in the relative privacy of our car he'd scream at her for doing it wrong. She'd just sit and take it, and then she'd do it the next week, and the next. Now my brother won't even go to church because that's the way he sees Christians acting, one face in public, one face in private = no thanks. No matter what you say not all churches or not all Christians are that way, he has a sour taste from it he won't shake. It's okay. 
After my mom died, 2 weeks after her funeral, my dad started going out on dates with other women. I was only 14 years old. I was old enough to be left at home alone, but I was very lonely. I feel sometimes the teenage years are the most crucial time for a parent to be there for their children, and that is what I did with Nick, too, and he was grateful, we had a very open and honest relationship. I remember when he and his girlfriend first approached me about talking about issues like birth control. I was very understanding, and I talked to them openly about issues, and they always said they appreciated how I was able to listen, and not to be judgmental. And they survived, without any teen pregnancies lol :)
So I was unhappy with the way my father was very critical, and controlling, yet unavailable, and neglectful. He was punitive, and demanding. His marriages to other women did not last, not until he met my current stepmother, whom he has been married to now for almost 20 years, which is longer than he was married to my mother.
When he visited me he wanted to talk to me about the Dan Buettner book he read, about the Blue Zones. I like the Blue Zone idea, what Buettner did was take a look at where people live to be over 100 years old. He just made observations, about lifestyle, diet, things like that. So my dad said, he wasn't sure if he wanted to read it because he didn't agree with Buettner's politics. I should have said, well, then, don't read it. But I did not understand this thing people do, where they qualify something, likes or dislikes, or base their decisions or qualifications, on what political party someone belongs to. Then they will either affirm it, or say it's shit. I can't believe this is what people actually do, but I guess, if they have no way of knowing or trusting their own opinions or ability, they could look to what political party someone is with, to give them the permission to like or dislike or think or act, like they can't do it on their own, so they need a crutch of the brain. The end result was kind of distasteful. Because here he read about the Blue Zones, taking what concepts he thought were of value, and then morphed it into his own little brand of Napoleonism. I mean, like taking something beautiful, and modifying it to what a dictator would do with it. It's like a monster.
Anyways people wonder why I miss my mother after all these years. You never stop missing your mother, but it is especially difficult, when you feel like a complete orphan.
Well, this is a long entry, but I have been ruminating on a lot of topics, which brings me to the conclusion, I will draw no conclusions. My goal is to walk a little over an hour each day. Think with a free mind. You have the power!