Doldrums

 Having a difficult time getting my umph back. Despite the day warming up a lot, I couldn't get my legs to walk any further than the bird feeder today. Forget the mailbox, the mail can wait.

M. headed off on service calls but wasn't long turning back. He didn't get very far when the sky opened with freezing rain and then heavy heavy snow. He got the tractor out and opened the lane, had a bite to eat and went for a nap. 

That;s the kind of day it was. Best spent hibernating.

Well I did manage to do two loads of laundry, change my bed and wash my hair. Better than nothing, right?

Sunday adventure

 That blistering cold finally left through the night. We didn't get as warm as forecast today though. We only saw -9C.

M. and I were feeling a bit of cabin fever so we made a plan to visit quite a big nursery in the big town. Imagine our surprise to find it closed! The parking lot wasn't even ploughed! I hope that isn't a bad sign of another business leaving.

We meandered on and landed in at Canadian Tire. This is a big Canadian chain that sells everything from automotive anything to coffee to garden supplies to outer wear. They experimented with selling some basic groceries in some locations for awhile, but abandoned that pretty quick. We picked up pet food, new flush mechanism for our upstairs toilet and furnace filters.

Next stop was the grocery store for milk. We dropped over $70 there!!

So much for just going for a drive to wander through a nursery!

Friday morning

 Okay winter, have it your way. But we want spring back on Monday!

Snowbanks on the side streets in the town are down right dangerous

There are people who embrace winter.

Some ice fishermen are real diehards. Look at this fellow with no protection in the wind and cold

These folks haul their cabin out on to the lake. There are hatches in the floor that they fish through. And don't forget the wood burner for heat. Some of these huts are quite nice.

And some folks improvise

This fellow has done some landscaping with pine boughs. He has quite a large skating rink cleared to the side too. 

The last time I went ice fishing. many moons ago! I was wearing a full on snowsuit with a heavy sweater over that, and the blanket over all.  I don't think I lasted an hour.

Happy February

 It's a grand day! A new month and my friend Jeannie's 85th birthday.

After a dismal day yesterday, my fibromyalgia jumped up and bit me HARD, it was nice to wake up refreshed and feeling energetic.

The laundry is all caught up, I made a beef curry for dinner and dealt with a lot of ancient paper work that needed to be burned. I've spent the best part of the afternoon outdoors. Did a lot of shovelling, filled the bird feeder, reset one of the trail cameras, took out a bit of garbage (whoops, I thought it was Thursday). The ash bucket got dumped on to the lane. Cool wood ashes are fantastic for keeping it ice free, by the way. The minerals in the ash go back into the ground where they started from. 

I'll likely be doing some moaning and groaning by bedtime, but hey, I'm feeling quite great right now! 

It was very cold last night, but warmed up considerably today. Tonight is looking very moderate, as is tomorrow, but as darkness draws in, the temperature is going to plummet. We are going to warm up to zero Celcius on Sunday, but it's looking like we might get some snow. The rest of the week is looking pretty promising though. Looks like January was our "winter", time to move on. On another more positive note, my garden club posted a list of things we should be starting from seed this month. Wonderful!!! I think my reading material this evening will be the seed catalogues.

(Look at how much "other" stuff I get done when I'm forbidden to knit for awhile!!!)

Look at the snowbanks around the place!

A new week

 I bit the bullet and took a naproxen for my elbow pain this morning. It knocked the pain right out. As much as I am just itching to knit, that's a no go for awhile.

My foot care nurse came by this morning. That was a treat. They give me troubles in the winter.

This getting old ain't for sissies is the end of all that.

This afternoon I took a run to the town to pick up some perishables. It's getting REALLY cold for the rest of the week so I'm happy to be tucking in. There is some sewing to be done and wonderful books to read. My mouth has healed nicely so I'm back to enjoying my afternoon tea and toast beside the wood burner. After that it's head down for a nap.

When did I turn into my grandmother?!!!!!!

Sunday Ruminations

 It's snowing again. I don't think it's going to amount to a big dump, but it will be enough to have some folks grumbling. The gal on the weather network channel was saying we are in a "normal January pattern" this week.  A bit of snow and a lot of REALLY COLD temperatures. January really spoiled us so far, being unseasonably warm.

We went visiting yesterday. M. had to check out Dad's snowblower that didn't want to roll. Ice maybe? It's working now. So we had a little visit then headed off to visit my best pal Marley. 

Do you have a "best pal" whose been just that for a very long time? Marley and I go way, way back to  Petawawa days, whats that, thirty or so years? I knew of her and her sister, but we weren't tight friends though. After her divorce she moved to Ottawa and we didn't see each other. Then, through another of their relatives, we ended up really close friends. When she decided to come back to the Valley, she came to my house for a few months while she did some house hunting. These days she and I are happy to call each other SisterFriend.  I think as women we all need that kind of long term relationship. Marley is an artist. Her, new to her, little house is like a gallery with her work (and her daughters!) hanging in every room. She was happy to finally have a space where she can have her paintings out of storage and where she can see them and love them. Her sewing machine was set up so of course she had to show me the quilts she is making to while away the winter.  I'm going to sort out my stash and send a lot her way. I'm winding down my quilting stuff. Going to finish the pieces I have started and close up that shop.

My right arm is still really sore today. A few years back I had both carpal tunnel surgeries. I've come to the conclusion that I've developed the elbow version of carpal tunnel occlusion. I just forget the name of it, but my late husband had to have surgery for it on his dominant hand. There is pain in the joint itself, then a sensation sort of like sciatica down the arm. (Justed looked it up, it's called cubital tunnel syndrome). They don't usually recommend surgery for this one so I might have to call my physio therapist and see what they can do for me. (My late husband was a carpenter so his was very extreme)

Snow

 I expect a lot of you are seeing snow today. About 1PM a cousin who lives in New Jersey called me up on the telephone. She said she had never experienced such heavy snowfall in her life. Her husband was frantic on his cell phone trying to make arrangements with someone to plow their long rural lane. My sister in Peterborough said they are getting hammered too. It didn't start here until close to 3PM. When I kicked the poochie out for her bedtime pee, it looked to be about five inches. This is a big one!

Tomorrow I'm off to the dental clinic to have this nasty tooth business taken care of once and for all. 

Later: We got close to a foot. The wind is fierce out there.  

Leftovers

 I'm not a huge fan of leftovers. I grew up in a household where Mother cooked up a huge cauldron of potatoes on Sunday. They were recycled into various forms for a few days. I just hated the taste of them.

There are only two adults in this household. Maybe once a month we will have mealtime guests, usually the old folks. M. had bought two fairly large hams in anticipation of a big group of relatives at Christmas. We know that didn't materialize. Saturday he decided we would do one of the hams. Dad was coming to get his brakes fixed on the car while B. and I visited.  It was a nice meal. I even baked a pie for the first time in I don't know how long.

Yesterday M. wasn't feeling too well and my mouth was not happy, so we weren't into eating ham and scallop potatoes. Today we had to do something about that. The ham is all cut off the bone. I'm going to make lentil soup with the bone broth for my dinner. M. is going to use all the juice from the ham roast to make his split pea soup. There you have it, I don't like split peas and he doesn't like lentils! 

For lunch, I chopped up the scallop potatoes, then heated it with some milk. When it was all nice and soft again I went at it with the hand blender. I put cheese and bacon in my potato soup, so the combination worked out well. Viola! Potato, cheese and bacon soup. 

The neighbour across the road phoned and said Grab the camera and Come Quick. I came around the corner of the house and saw these guys. I went indoors to take the photos. They weren't bothered at all. They chomped all the lower branches off a small maple tree then trotted back up the hill.

Six Days

 Today is number six on antibiotics. Today, my gum has decided to start swelling. Guess it's back to the dentist on Monday again.

Weather is staying very nice. Temperatures are hovering just under freezing or slightly above during the day. It was -10 last night but we can live with that. We drove to town in brilliant sunshine on new fallen snow. Groceries are done for at least another week, hopefully longer.

We had the old folks here for dinner this afternoon. M. was fixing Pops brakes while B. and I visited. 

Rather quiet week so far

 Nothing terribly exciting in my world this week.

Monday trip to the dentist.

Tuesday met up with dear daughter for coffee and a bit of a shop around.

Wednesday I wasn't feeling to well and mostly laid around.

Thursday! Today was a lovely day. Pup and I walked up to the neighbours and switched out the trail camera there.  Lots of people up and down his lane, a couple of deer in the night and his cats on the move. I swapped out the card on my "bird" camera. The squirrel is trying hard to get at the seed in the small bird feeder but it's a no go. At one point he was hanging off the top but managed to slide off.

He lands in the soft snow below. What a character.

I filled up the wood box and the bird feeders. It was nice to get outdoors today. Sitting around the house is just not my style. We are getting snow tonight. I wonder what morning will bring?

Beautiful Monday

 It was blistering cold when I headed into the dentist shortly after 7 this morning. The sky was a beautiful pink and orange. Just as I got to the town limits, the sun broke over a big field, (popular with snowmobilers).

My dentist visit was a bit frustrating. Yes, I have quite a big infection going on.  The frustrating part, no cavities. There is a tiny filling in the tooth that seems to be the root of the severe pain, but it is secure with no sign of decay around it. (These new xrays they use are something else. The dentist can zoom right into the heart of the matter and have a good look). So I'm on a week of antibiotics and then wait and see if the problem resolves itself or further action is necessary. He wanted me to go to Ottawa to see a specialist dentist, but that is impossible for me. We'll take the wait and see approach.   I blame my mother for my horrible teeth. Our teeth are formed when we are in utero after all. We were raised to take very good care of our teeth. We saw a dentist on a regular basis too. I damaged three of my front teeth in a skating accident when they were barely grown in, but that doesn't account for the rapid deterioration of the rest of my mouth!!

The princess pup and I walked up the hill at the neighbours and retrieved the trail camera. The neighbour remarked on all the tracks. 

Too bad the critters didn't walk in front of the trail camera!

It is beautiful out there today. It was a bit of a slog up the neighbours hill, but it was great to get out. The neighbourhood kids used to slide down this hill all winter back in the day. 

The neighbour saw my doggie romping around and came out for a chat. He likes when she comes for a visit, but we don't let her go across the road unless we take her. 

She is looking at the house hoping her friend comes out to see her. 

I'm off to throw the remains of the Sunday roast into a pot to make some beef barley soup. 

Have a good day and get outdoors if you can! What's all this crap about "Blue Monday" indeed!

Dam cold I tell 'ya!

 It was -23C when I rolled out this morning.

Here is another thermometer. The top reading is our deep freeze. The bottom is the tempeature in the room at the back of the couch. It's all in Celcius, remember. Ignore the time stamp, I never bother to set them on my devices. So there we go, the outdoor temperature and the deep freeze were equal. The basement temperature was 1 degree C.  I stuff the furnace and got it up to 3C. Our basement is like a big root cellar for most of the year. Yes it is insulated and there is wood burning furnace down there. 

I just came indoors from unclogging the big bird feeder (ice) and refilling the small one. The chickadees seem to favor the smaller one and empty it fast. 

We keep talking about going out and doing something today, but it's marching on in the afternoon and it doesn't appear to be happening. One of us stuffs the fire and plops back down, both bathrooms got cleaned up, the cats got cuddled. We aren't going any further than the basement wood room. haha. I just pulled the ingredients for a small pan of lasagna. I ate six figs and the chewing made my wonky tooth start screaming again. Appointment tomorrow 8 ish.

Yesterday we had Red River Cereal for breakfast. (Bob's Red Mill has a version called 8 Grain cereal). There was half a canning jar of pecans in the cupboard so I chopped up about half of that to put on our cereal. The cereal was good but it turned out the nuts were rancid, so we were spitting them out as we went along. YUCK! The last time I bought pecans the big bag was 14.99, yes, high enough, but now they are double that for the same size bag.  I probably won't be buying them for awhile. 

M. is phoning clients and setting up his service call schedule for tomorrow afternoon. I occasionally hear him giving pep talks to a friend trying to kick a stubborn addiction. He's a real cheer leader for support, this sweet guy. ❤

And that's my Sunday mistle for this week. Have a great day friends. 

(I'm going to try have a nap but will probably snuggle in the bed with my cat and read more of Louise Penney's second book - now that I'm addicted)

Just a bunch of winter photos

 The Princess Pup is pretty good in the snow, as long as I'm playing with her

My niece took this photo of the pupper catching a snowball, another of her favorite activities

Front yard buried

The big bird feeder buried. My feathered friends come flocking in in droves when I clear the snow off. Sometimes the squirrels show up and dig it out before I get there.

Back yard trees. We had one tree come down a week or so back. It's just out of frame to the right

When it's too cold to be outdoors, I sit in my rocking chair beside the woodstove and knit. This sweater is going to give me a nervous breakdown. I don't know why I torture myself like this.