Not my Roots! Nope.

So I have to say that I have been developing  a quality that has managed to escape me most of my life, humility. It’s hard not to be humble when you invite friends over for dinner, mention a fallen tree and five minutes later the tree is brought down via a chainsaw and out of harm’s way. I don’t know about you but my dinners never involved tree removal before.

You see I was raised differently. Make no mistake; I have no regrets about my rearing. I learned a lot about politics, the Arts, Culture, History, and the like. Things domestic or home improvement related, not so much. I like to tell people that when it comes to Do it yourself tasks the only thing my parents taught me was how to write a check. And it came in handy, until I arrived in North Country.

Up here they are like Yankees on steroids. There is tremendous pride associated with repair, building, etc. In fact, it is so ingrained in them; most don’t understand how a mechanic, roofer, plumber, or an electrician makes a living.  I, of course, am doing my part to help feed these people. J Call me a giver.

I have been trying to immerse myself in the culture here. Before my arrival, the only power tools I worked with were corporate executives. LOL. Over the last year, I have wielded a chainsaw, split many a log both with a gas-powered log splitter and a maul. I have tilled a number of garden beds, ground wood shavings in a wood chipper, (very Fargo’esque), and removed feet of snow with my beloved tractor (She will probably be the sole focus of a future post, and deservedly so).  I even used a drill to install these LED candles that Lynn wanted in the windows for the holidays. It may not sound like much but for me it was huge. You have to start somewhere, right?

One hobby that I will be taking up is boating and fishing. My goodness there is a lot to learn. Navigating the mighty St. Lawrence, boat safety and maintenance, what bait or lure to use, etc. My humbling moment of the year took place shortly after I bought my little fishing boat ( 17 ft Triumph dual console for those that care); the 12 yr old daughter of a friend offered to teach me how to pilot the boat and fish the river. She already has her license. Really? That almost tops the time my four year old nephew laughed at me for putting a diaper on backwards on his two year old brother and proceeded to instruct on how to install it properly. Ugh.

And so I will come out this season guns a blazin, ready to tackle anything and everything that comes my way. As long as I don’t have to touch those fish. ;)