Productivity

Okay, so it wasn't cleaning the house and making it Norman Rockwell perfect like I had planned, because finishing the stupid rotten Christmas cards took for-effing-ever, but I did get a ton of things done today.

1. Aforementioned cards, which took until way past noon and involved not only addressing cards and cutting wallet sized photos down from the four-on-a-page layout they come in, but also finding something halfway interesting to say on most of them, as we did not really have the kind of year you write about in a Cheery Holiday Letter.
2. Mailing same at post office (happily no real line to speak of, advantage of mailing them so late).
3. Purchasing last minute gifts for kids I will see tomorrow: Rubik's Cube and Polly Pocket items (both requested).
4. Feed store run: 2 bales of pine shavings, 7lbs of oyster shell, extremely chic blue plastic tarp, and very detailed tiny figure of a guinea pig for baby's stocking.
5. Securing chicken coop/run in extremely chic blue plastic tarp for waterproofing/heat retention purposes.
6. Filling chicken feed/water/oyster shell dispensers.
7. Cleaning out coop and laying down fresh shavings.
8. Exchanging rancid seed in birdfeeder for fresh seed which birds may actually wish to consume instead of stopping by once and fleeing in disgust.
9. Hanging suet cake in wire cage.
10. Hanging stained glass thingy (formerly top of windchime which fell apart) outside where it will be pretty in the sun, something I've meant to do for ages and it's a miracle it hasn't gotten broken in the meantime.

Okay, so it seems like the average semi-productive person's typical afternoon, but for me? It's like someone slipped me amphetamines or something. Seriously, I had to find rope and bungee cords, cram myself into tight quarters around a smelly chicken hut in the cold wet yard, scoop damp stinking chicken-guano shavings out of coop, etc., instead of sitting here in utter comfort in front of lovely glowing screen of happiness. Was I possessed by spirit of some kind of barnyard Martha Stewart type or what? We may never know...

At any rate, house interior is a total shambles but chickens and outdoor songbirds are well cared for and I can sleep secure in my position of Avian Savior of Household.