midlife crisis: an update

i told you previously about husband's midlife crisis. and now there's been enough developments that i thought it was time for an update. the roof is on, the electricity was hooked up this week and yesterday, the saw itself arrived.

the part i'm not entirely clear on is why the building had to be quite so large when most of the saw is outside. of course, when it's not in use, it is inside the building, protected from the rain. husband says he'll move the rest of his workshop out there, so i'm thinking it's a good thing.

husband was like a little boy on christmas morning, tho' he looks quite serious here, as he tests it out on a log.

one of his buddies from down the road brought several logs over for him to practice on. he's got to get the hang of it and get it calibrated. sadly, i missed getting a shot of all of the men, standing around, gazing lovingly upon the saw.

here's the back side of it - not as fetching as the front. it's also much heavier than it looks - 285 kilos - it required heavy machinery to lift it into place. the guy operating the heavy machinery, when asked how much we owed him, said, "just let me come by and watch you saw one day." "it's a deal," said husband. that's what's nice about living in the countryside.

i think it's fitting that husband got a swedish saw, since he's half swedish.

another boy toy arrived this week - a new old tractor. you might recall our other tractor, where i asked you to help us name it. i never followed through on the naming ceremony because basically after driving over here, that tractor never started again. that was a bit of a letdown.

but husband is currently outside, scooping dirt around as i write this, so this one works. and it also needs a name - all suggestions are welcome!

i think his midlife crisis is coming along quite nicely.

name that tractor

if you have a tractor, you really have a farm, right? and if your tractor has a big scoop thingie on the front, that's really good, right? and if you also got two barn kitties, then you're well on your way to living in the country. and if you gave the neighbor down the road permission to put his cows in your pasture this summer, then you can call yourself a farmer, right? can you see i need reassurance here? because it's quite an old tractor - a massey ferguson. it's a bit temperamental - husband had trouble starting it and then getting it in gear and he's normally pretty good at things like that. but now he's learned how (the previous owner had to come over twice this morning) and it's all good. the kitties, on the other hand, might not be so happy about their new digs, but they'll adjust, i'm sure.

now, s/he just needs a name...any suggestions?

husband did manage to get it running and pull it into the carport the other way, so that little chimney thingie wasn't in the way. and he also managed not to hit his head.

oh, and there will be a prize for whoever suggests the name we ultimately choose to call our new old tractor - the best name (as judged entirely subjectively by husband and sabin) will win. i don't yet know what, but undoubtedly something handmade. the cats, they came with names - tiger and woods, so we don't need names for them.  now if i could just remember which one is tiger and which one woods...