Women are not Men

Yeah, I know, that's not news for most of you :)  But I still find a lot of average folks, not just manufacturers, who haven't exactly cottoned to this idea yet. Women are not just smaller, weaker versions of men... we're actually built differently (besides the obvious bits and bobs!).

Men, in general, tend to be taller, have longer arms and legs, bigger hands, more upper body strength, more upper body control, and rely strongly on strength advantage. Men are usually successful at tasks that require using brute force. Men are more prone to acute wrenching injuries because they are less flexible.

Women, in general, tend to be shorter (except Big Sis!), have shorter arms and legs, smaller hands, more lower body strength, more lower body control, and rely strong on leverage advantage. Women are usually successful at tasks that require patience and dexterity. Women are more prone to chronic repetitive stress injuries because they are more flexible.

Midnight Sun

Thought I'd share a screenshot of the daylight info posted on Weather Underground for us today. Always great to see the phrase "Sun does not rise" without it being a reference to Armageddon  LOL

Checking In

Just a quick check in to let you all know we're still alive and kicking :)

Spring rains have finally hit us, none too early since fire season started with a bang this year. So far, nothing out our way to worry about. Knock on wood! We're glad for the rain, but our trail and yard had just finally started to dry out from breakup :(

We're now back to working on our cabin instead of dealing with other random stuff. Progress is, of course, slower than we'd like; but there is light at the end of the tunnel if we can just keep moving! Drywalling the gambrel ceiling is proving most difficult, especially since nothing is perfectly square or plumb and a lot of the rafters are just slightly warped/bowed/twisted enough to force us to drive the screws in sideways to attach the panels. But we do have the lower rafters covered and the end walls up, so today we'll be tackling the upper rafters.

We've decided to move in after finishing the upstairs rather than waiting until we're totally done inside (I know, I know, we'll never really "finish" now after moving in). So I'll be taping, mudding and painting while G sands/planes the exposed joists downstairs and gets temp electrics sorted. Then we'll tackle the tongue & groove floor. Then we can move everything from the tent into the loft, sort something out with all the stuff that is currently stored downstairs and get started down there.

Hopefully drywall on the downstairs will go easier. Still debating whether we should do all the flooring upstairs and down in one go to avoid pet prints in the poly downstairs, and so we can have the stairs in properly before we move in. I was trying to get the walls and ceilings all done first so that I didn't have to worry so much about spilling on a finished floor, but now that we have stuff stored in the cabin I have to use dropclothes anyway.

Sometimes the hardest part of DIY out here is deciding what order to do things in to be most effective, especially when the schedule keeps slipping.

Sled Dog?

Now what was I supposed to do with this thing again?

Poor Ripley, she's so confused, the heat must really be getting to her :)

Maiming of the Shrew

Or maybe it was a vole... hard to tell after the carnage. But in any case, our little Charlie appears to be quite the mighty hunter.

"What's the big deal?" you might ask, since cats nab rodents all the time. Well, we've had Charlie for several years now and, to the best of our knowledge, she has always been a strictly indoor kitty. She's at least 8 years old, probably closer to 10, and only has one fang left. And to top it off, she never ever puts her dainty feet on the yucky dirt, so she must have snatched this sucker as it ran out from under the deck. Pretty impressive for a first-timer!

Some folks might have been squicked if their pet brought a kill into the house, but like any good bush pet parent, we simply praised her for her catch, and kept Ripley away until Charlie had figured out how to "open the can" and eat her fill of the tasty morsel.

Guess we don't have to worry about whether she'll transition to a homemade raw diet, huh?

Women's Work Jeans

• Why is it that manufacturers haven't figured out that women do work that's just as hard and heavy as men?
• Why can't we find heavy (14+ oz) denim work jeans? Why are women's jeans only 11 oz denim?
• Why are the pockets in women's jeans so short? Why don't they go down to the top of the thigh like men's so they're actually useful?
• Why can I find a plethora of women's work slacks (lightweight BTW), but not work jeans?
• Why do manufacturers think all women wear pink? Or want stretch-elastic waists? Or low-rise and "fashionable"?
•  Why do we have to pay more for size 2/4 when they're almost half the material of a size 12?
• Why do we have to buy men's/boy's rugged jeans that don't fit properly in the waist if they fit in the hips?
• Why do manufacturers who do make a few bits of working gear for women think only large women do real work?

All I want are a couple pairs of heavyweight denim work jeans, with useful pockets, in a size 2-6 (depending on how many layers of long-johns I have on beneath). I want some room in the seat and thighs because I actually have some muscle and do a lot of bending and stooping. I want a normal waist that I can tuck a shirt into and it stays tucked, and one that doesn't gap too terribly or fall down when I have my Gerber knife, Leatherman multi-tool and H&K 9mm on my belt. I don't want cutesy pink camo, or kiwi or mango or floral... these are work clothes, they're going to get muddy and grimy, because I'm working not going on a date. And by working, I'm not talking about a little light gardening or milking a goat in the parlor. I need jeans that will stand up to construction, hauling firewood, clearing trail, digging trenches, butchering game and spreading manure as well as tending a large garden and herding livestock.

I might be just a tiny "poptart" but I pull my weight (and then some!) and I need clothes that can stand up to it!   (and, yes, someone did just call me a "poptart" recently LOL)

Word of the Day: Mumpsimus

For your vocabulary expansion and conversational pleasure, may I present...

Mumpsimus: a stubborn person who insists on making an error in spite of being shown that it is wrong