The Studmuffin has been down hard with the flu-turned-pneumonia for three weeks now. He tried to keep doing the barn chores twice a day, but the effect of -20 degree on his lungs was spectacularly bad. So, I’ve been suiting up in his stead, dragging 75 pound bales of hay out to the ani-mules and manually hauling water from the hydrant to heated buckets. Pity me. Ok, pity the Studmuffin, too.

Two days ago, he finally went to the Doc (hence the pneumonia diagnosis) and got some really keen antibiotics and a narcotic cough suppressant. Now instead of just sitting on the couch, he sits on the couch and looks at all the pretty colors swirling through his field of vision.

I took today off and talked him into watching Pride and Predjudice. I figured 4 hours of a bonnet movie would get him moving. I figured wrong, and he seemed to actually enjoy it. So, I guess he’s not malingering, and I guess I’ll keep choring.

Take the Quiz here!

I enjoy Austen’s characters, the dialogue, the costumes and the manners of the era. Perhaps I really am Anne in spirit (and Persuasion is my favorite of the novels) — but Anne Elliot wouldn’t last a day on a goat ranch.