Some years back, the landfills in the small communities were closed down and are now operated closer to larger centres instead. Which means most of us have farther to drive to get rid of our household garbage, which they discourage us from burning in barrels out in our farmyards like we used to do when I was growing up.

On Fridays, residents from the rural municipality we live in are permitted to drop their bags of refuse off in the back of a garbage truck parked along the highway outside the hamlet of Kuroki. Each week, the garage door is left open for this one day only.

Everett and I were driving past Kuroki, so we took our garbage along and he loaded ours into the back of the garbage truck. I noticed this sign tacked up above the door; looks like someone's been dropping their garbage outside the door on the wrong day, so that magpies and crows can make a mess of it.

What Part of Friday Don't You Understand

Karen had invited me to help her and her sister-in-law Sam make perogies, so in spite of the 30-below temperature we headed out the driveway around 9 this morning. The girls had already started when we arrived. Everett got busy with his homework and I patted the dogs, washed my hands, and picked up a teaspoon.

Karen made the dough (for which I provided the flour, getting off easy compared to the other two) and rolled and cut it into small rounds.

Sam had brought mashed potatoes mixed with chopped onion and/or bacon, and we put a large teaspoonful into the centre of each piece of dough, stretched the dough over it, and pinched the edges carefully together.

Lined up in three layers on large trays, they were set on a table on the deck to freeze. We kept a close eye out for magpies and cats, but none appear to be venturing out of their shelters today, and who can blame them. It wasn't long before the perogies were frozen and could be bagged.

We stopped for a lunch of (among other things) delicious perogies with fried onions and sour cream, followed by dessert (Sam had come bearing a plate of dainties) and tea, and then went back to work. At 2:30 we ran out of the prepared potato mixture, cleaned up the kitchen and called it done. I brought 16 dozen perogies home to the deep freeze.

Karen's two house dogs have to go outside several times during the day, so this little suck was sporting a sweater: