So…how does one spend Thanksgiving in Wuflu quarantine?

Why, by having one’s Son, who got his Wuflu immunity the old-fashioned way, come over and work with you on a few tasks.

For some unknown reason, a muscle in my right shoulder decided to cramp like all get out a couple of times in the last week. Boy, that hurts. Worse yet, it left me with what I can only describe as the same muscle being pulled and it being painful to lift my arms above my shoulders. Inconvenient when there is work to be done. Application of heat helped it out a lot, but I was still a little leary of being on the roof and trying to drag the things I needed to clean the chimney up. Ladders with leveling adjusters get heavy and awkward.

So Son comes riding to the rescue. We got the gear up and got the job done. I did most of it myself, explaining what I was doing and why.

It was enjoyable to do this, especially with him around. As he has fully matured, he’s changed a lot. Perhaps it’s as Mark Twain once said:

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

He handed me rod sections while I scrubbed. We talked and enjoyed the day and the nice weather. Eventually I wound up with a clean chimney.

Realistically, I could have taken a pass once I looked down the thing, but since we were there, why not go ahead and clean it out? Besides, I’m not getting any younger, and I may need him to do this for me at some point. Now he’s seen it done he should be able to handle it on his own. I can always shout instructions from the ground.

We don’t plan on burning much wood this year, barring extreme cold or power failures. We’ve done the math on heating the house, and it looks like, for an average winter in our part of NC, it’s a wash, cost-wise, between heating with wood (propane for the basement) or letting the heat pump do it and paying the electric bill. And it’s a lot less physical work to pay an electric bill, as long as the money holds out. I do, however, have about a winter’s worth of wood, split, stacked and under cover. Just in case, mind you.

So far, the plan is working out, as the basement is always a comfortable temperature without resorting to the big propane-gobbling heater. Since it’s always warm(ish), I tend to go down and use it more,

After this, I helped him by being his extra set of hands while he changed oil in his Challenger. It never fails, you always forget something when working on your back under a car. Then he spent time with Mrs. Freeholder watching football while I fed the birds and blowed off the deck and driveway.

After the game, he had to go home. Orders are good at his employer, so Friday was a working day. Believe me, this is a blessing in these times.

We had the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey and dressing, green bean casserole and so on. No wait, that’s Sunday, if Mrs. Freeholder’s recover happens on her schedule. For our Thanksgiving dinner I had a meatloaf sandwich and she had peanut butter crackers. I’m not complaining. I’m sure there were people out there who had worse-or nothing at all. Besides, I remember my first Thanksgiving in the Army. Even though we were fed well, that Thanksgiving sucked. Holidays did get better from there, however.

I hope you and your family had as enjoyable Thanksgiving as I did. It may have been different, but it’s one we’re going to remember.