I’m still absolutely loving the whole draw knife thing. Gene and I head over several times a week, and there’s something imminently satisfying about seeing a beautiful log taking shape under my hands. Plus, someone’s actually going to be living in a cabin made out of something I helped create!

As much as I love working with the wood, though, my favorite moment so far was when their draft horse Katie came over to check out the action. And by “check out”, I mean she straight snuck up on me. I almost screeched when Gene told me to turn around and she was like 16 inches from my face. I seriously don’t know how I used to be a detective. Katie is like 12 feet tall. Not sure how something that large making zero effort to be quiet got the drop on me. Shameful.

At any rate, I happened to catch a glimpse of my buffed up pythons the other day in the mirror, and it occurred to me that I’m getting paid to work out. Which pretty much makes me a professional athlete. I’m going to have to add that to my business cards… and start making some phone calls RE: endorsement deals. Between my air filter, nerd goggles and trendy t-shirts, I’ve got some primo ad space available.

I’ve even started eating like an athlete. Working out takes calories, so I make sure to pack snacks. Lots of snacks, because I do lots of work. My penchant for planning ahead paid off huge in the form of a happy accident! I had brought along some trail mix, which was mixed with my allergy-friendly $10 bag of chocolate chips. Then I forgot about it for a few days in a black truck. That’s parked in the sun. And it hit 70 the other day.

When Gene brought in the resulting bag of goo and asked me if perhaps I had forgotten something, I had the brilliant idea of smashing the mess into a large disk shape and shoving it in the fridge. And now, after 1+ years of not being able to eat candy bars because I’m allergic to so many of the ingredients, I FINALLY have a treat! I just break off a piece and chow down. It’s not quite the same experience as unwrapping a Snickers bar, but no complaints. It tastes amazing. I’m thinking I’ll market it as the “Andie Bar”, and sell it to loggers.

On a more somber note, we got some bad news today. Chunk had a small bump on his back hip that suddenly got huge, almost overnight, and today at the vet we found out there’s a 99% chance it’s a very aggressive cancer. So he’s scheduled for emergency surgery on Monday morning, since no vets in the area work weekends. I know a lot of you have been on the receiving end of some Chunk loving, whether you wanted it or not, so please send some positive thoughts his way. He’s a fine, big, strong kitty, and I’m a huge believer that the power of positive thinking makes a real difference. I’m sure he’ll be back in no time to drooling all over your shirt when you pet him, and stealing your chair when you pull it out from the kitchen table (because obviously you’re offering him a seat…)