klutz

I am in klutz mode.

In the past 24 hours I have banged my bean on the car and stubbed 3 different fingers on 3 separate occasions.  In addition to that, I've given myself several paper cuts, dropped almost everything I have dared to touch in the kitchen at home and tripped over my own feet several times.  I think I reefed my back/hip shoveling on Monday.  This morning I dropped a towel into the bathtub while the shower was still running.

These are not things I normally do.

The klutz stuff has made feel grumpy and generally agitated and somewhat argumentative.  Kind of like PMS but not so edgy.  Argh, no fun at all!!

Not sure what the cause is.  Whatever it is can stop.  Now please!? The weather has been pretty nasty here for the past few days, lots of snow, horrible traveling conditions back and forth to work... maybe that's what's thrown me off.  I love the snow, it's beautiful, I just don't like the worry and stress of traveling in snow storms every day. 

I keep telling myself it'll get better tomorrow, hopefully, one of these days, I'll be right!

first snow and clementines

We awoke to a winter wonderland this morning (as you can see by this photo I snapped with my phone this morning, there wasn't a lot on the ground).  I was sort of surprised by it but not as surprised at the dogs were.  As we were falling asleep last night, I could hear the beginning of freezing rain.  I hate freezing rain.  I fear ice in a big way.  I've often said that I don't fear death but I do fear falling on the ice and breaking a bone.  Big time.

Fortunately, through the night at some point, it had snowed.  Snow is my friend in the middle of an ice storm because it makes traction.  I'm less likely to fall ass over elbow with some snow on the ground!  It was actually quite beautiful in the backyard.  There were snow covered ice drips everywhere and it was raining when I let the dogs out.  Gracie was keen to go out but looked at me with a glare that said, "um, hello! Can't you do something about that?"  I knocked the layer of ice off of the doggie door for her and in the end she went out but she wasn't pleased about it.  Well, not the first time anyway.  When she realized that going out in the snow/rain meant getting rubbed with a fluffy towel everytime she came in, it became a bit of a game all morning.

I'm not exactly sad to see the snow (althought it's almost gone now).  I'm hoping that the mini freeze we experienced will help kill some of the nasty germs that are floating around.  Mark is just getting over a doozy of a cold which I've been able to so far (touch wood) avoid - for the most part.  The particular version of the cold he had started with an ache in his neck and stayed in his head.  He had a horrible cough and I've never in all of my life seen someone produce so much mucous.  Every night for 2 weeks he was up in the night, coughing up goo.  I didn't want that.  I was afraid that if I did, I'd end up with bronchitis again (which is what normally happens to me when I have a cold.

So far, lots of hand washing and extra doses of citrus fruit seem to be working for me.  Admittedly, yesterday, I felt really crappy all day.  I had a headache and was generally miserable and really thought I'd wake up this morning sick.  Lucky for me, I didn't. I just don't want to get sick.  No one ever does, I know, but things are really busy right now and I don't want to have to slow down for a cold.

Now, with any luck, I won't turn into a clementine orange.  How many do you have to actually eat before that happens anyway?

winter lights and paw prints

winter lights and paw prints
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I guess all of the snow we didn't get in November had decided to visit us all at once. It feels like it hasn't stopped snowing since Sunday morning but I actually know that this isn't true.

Winter. It's definitely here and it looks like it'll be here for a while. Good thing I gots me some new boots huh?? My old ones were literally falling apart so I splurged out on a new pair just before Christmas. They are really sturdy and warm but I'm having a bit of a time adjusting to them because they are a little higher than my old one (they are like a hiking boot - I have big ass snow boots for shovelling in).

I've managed to survive the first two days of being back to work in spite of the fact that for some reason I got almost no sleep last night. I woke up every 40 minutes or so, either too hot or too cold or just plain old uncomfortable. I suspect I will sleep like the dead tonight, based on how I feel right now. I hate when I have nights like that because honestly, I really enjoy sleeping.

The one nice thing about this snowy cold snap is how happy it makes Sam. He LOVES the snow. Loves it! Last night, in a minus a million wind chill, he was sitting at the top of the steps on the deck, smiling his big joker grin while the snow swirled around him. If we didn't drag his butt into the house, I think he'd stay out there all day. Gracie is enjoying it more this year than last (she HATED going out in the cold last winter) but she does not dig it as much as the Sam man does.

So yeah, there truly is a silver lining to every snow cloud, right?

a blur in the snow

a blur in the snow
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Last fall, when I packed my spring/summer clothes away for the winter, I kept out some tshirts and a couple of pairs of capris. I did this because in the spring, it sometimes gets really warm and I'll have some clothes to wear before I have to haul everything out.

Tonight I was putting away some laundry and noticed two pairs of capris, on hangers in the closet. I thought about how nice it'll be when it's warm enough outside to wear sandals and capris again.

I left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen. Through the window in the door, I could see the dogs wrestling in the snow. That's right, snow. We had an honest to goodness, snow actually stuck to the ground, snowfall today.

This shouldn't surprise me. I live in Canada and it's only early April and this stuff happens but, all the same. On Sunday, I was on the deck in my bare feet and today, well... a picture is worth a million words.

got carrots?

got carrots?
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today is some kind of holiday for the school kiddos 'round here. I think it's a professional development day for the teachers so most of the folks I work with, who have school aged children are off today. lucky them, it's been another snowy day in paradise.

There are only 2 of us in our office today and earlier today, we were wondering why were here. It's almost impossible to get anyone on the phone today AND, to add insult to injury, our laneway has not seen a shovel in a couple of days. The snow was above my boots (I wore my low boots today because it wasn't supposed to be so snowy) when I got here at 7:30 a.m. Since then, we've had a few more inches of snow and the path to our door has about 7 inches of snow on it. Charming huh?

At one point this morning, we literally could not see across the street, I thought that our windows had fogged over. Of course, now the sun is shining again but still, we feel like we should be at home!

Been hearing good news for friends at York and in Ottawa this morning. Congratulations to all y'all for surviving these terrible strikes. Hopefully the students at York won't be losing their year. What a massive mess that turned into. The OC Transpo thing has been pretty horrible too. At least in our town, it's small enough (and the transit is shitty enough) that if they were to strike, it wouldn't be as crippling as it was for Ottawa. Hopefully, the buses will be back on the roads soon and things will get back to normal.

One last note before I get back to work, for those of you who may find yourself in K-town, and at a loose end on Valentine's Day, there is an awesome fund raising event taking place for our friends Kirsty & Scott Milne and their awesome boys (Tanner, Rhys & Kobe). Scott was in a hockey accident on Halloween and suffered a spinal cord injury. He's making remarkable progress in his recovery and truly is a super hero to all of us. If want to get your dance on, or bid on some fabulous auction items, join in the fun!

bert and ernie

It's storming here as I type this. Snow. Lots of it. It's everywhere!!

I think we're supposed to get close to 20 cm before it's all done. It's on days like this that I'm particularly grateful for our fab-o, snow plowing neighbour Tommy. He's awesome and he takes very good care of our driveway so we literally only have to shovel steps and porches and small laneways. The dogs must be happy with all of this snow too. Sam is probably sprawled out in the middle of the yard, rolling in it and eating it up. It's very cute.

Have you seen any of the new Conchords episodes yet? We saw the first one and have the second one in the DVR. I was a little disappointed that the song at the end was recycled but it was one I really liked so I quickly got over it. Thought I'd share this with you, it's a little interview from CNN with the lads. I had no idea that much of their inspiration came from bert & ernie.

snowed in

snowed in
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We have not yet ventured outside to start cleaning up the snow. There is an insane amount of snow on the ground here right now, crazy. You would never guess that we shovelled twice yesterday. Our van is like a frozen ice cube, stuck in the driveway. Eventually we'll get out shit together and get out to clean it up but at the moment, I'm not rushing. I don't think it'll be going anywhere without me.

The winds were so crazy last night that a bunch of snow somehow got in between the screen and the back door and we could hardly get it closed before we went to bed. I suppose it's not a horrible thing though, all of this snow. At least the kids have lots of the white stuff to play in for the start of March break, right?

crusty snow

moon rising
Originally uploaded by Julep67

A lot of snow melted today. The sun was out a fair bit but I didn't get a chance to get outside until 4 p.m. At some point this afternoon I noticed that there were muddy patches on the lawn in front of our building. It was encouraging to see although, I think that the grass is gone. A few weeks ago, the snow removal guys brought a plow up on the lawn to widen the walkway and they took some sod with it.

It's good to see the snow slowly melting but that crusty snow is harsh. If you fall into it, you can really cut yourself. Last winter I did just that. I was getting into the car and I lost my footing and fell into the snowbank along the side of our driveway. I scraped my shin and my wrist enough to draw blood. Nasty mean snow.

We stayed up a little later than normal last night to watch some of the Oscar broadcast. I love Jon Stewart that much you see. I will deprive myself of sleep for his jokes. It's sad in a way. I can't say that I was surprised by much of what I saw last night but I was a little disappointed by two particular awards. I really hoped that Julie Christie would have won for her role in "Away From Her." I have nothing against the lovely french woman who won for "la vie en rose" but I really thought that Julie was amazing. Ruby Dee was another disappointment for me. I love her so much and I thought that her performance in "American Gangster" was great. I also am a fan of Tilda Swinton but to be honest, "Michael Clayton" didn't do much for me. Oh well, I guess it makes up for her not winning one for "Orlando" all those years ago.

snow day

better butthead
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Today was not a snow day for me but all of the buses (school buses anyway) were cancelled here in town.

Earlier today, I spoke with a friend of mine on the phone. She lives in the country and normally drives her children to school (it's on her way to work). This morning, her husband's 10 minute drive to work took 45 minutes so she stayed home.

She called me at the office to see how the roads were in town. I could hear in her voice that she'd really rather have taken the kids to school. Her sons had been asked to clean up their rooms before they could go outside and play in the snow.

They were throwing such a fit in the background that I had to laugh. Her children are normally very well behaved so it was somewhat amusing and somewhat surprising. Sort of made me feel relieved that this wasn't something I have to deal with.

In the long run too, the freezing rain we were supposed to get (which is why the buses stayed off of the roads) never happened so they could have probably gone to school.

disbelief

disbelief
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We had another huge dumping of snow overnight last night.

I was a little surprised to see how deep it was when I got up this morning. You couldn't even tell that we'd been all dug out yesterday, it looked like we had been sitting around on duffs just watching it fall.

I got out early and did the front porch and our little walk way. It seemed to take me forever to get just that much done because the bottom half of the snow was really icy and frozen because of the freezing rain we'd received.

Our lovely neighbour plowed us out and Mark got the van out onto the road. Tommy (our plowing neighbour) did an amazing job on our house and he even got all of the snow away from our house and our next door neighbour's house. When it melts, it shouldn't be flowing into our basement now!

It was kind of cool actually, this morning, seeing everyone in the neighbourhood helping dig each other out. A crappy storm does seem to bring out the best in folks.

new year's snow storm

new year's snow storm
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Once again, we are buried under a thick blanket snow. At least the weather has been having the good sense to dump on us when there are holidays and weekends. Storms on non-traditional work days does help to keep the number of serious accidents down.

We had a quiet little new years here at home. I spent almost all day yesterday packing up christmas and doing housework. Mark worked all day and had planned to work early this morning (going out at 3 a.m. to catch the end of the party rush) but last night when we saw the weather forecast, he changed his mind.

I'm so glad that he didn't work. I don't know what the main roads are like but it's been snowing here all day (and the snowfall warning has been extended so goodness only knows how much longer it'll continue) and the plow has not been down our street yet. I've only seen one or two vehicles go up the street all day. Our driveway is in pretty good shape - our neighbour plowed it out early this afternoon. Tomorrow morning it shouldn't take us long to clean up the rest.

Last night, we watched some season 3 episodes of the Office and then saw Dick Clark and the whole ball drop shebang from New York. Dick looks good considering all he's been through but watching him was a little sad all the same.

Anyway, we're trying to get back on schedule tonight so I will be heading off to bed soon. Hope you all had a happy new year's eve and wish you the very very best for 2008!!

dumped!

christmas eve
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I was actually stunned for a couple of seconds this morning when I looked outside and saw all of the snow on the ground. I peeked out our bedroom window (which faces our neighbour's driveway) and was really surprised to see that his car was completely covered with several inches of the white stuff.

It was really mild yesterday and they were calling for flash freezing (the temperature was dropping and all of the puddles were expected to freeze) but I hadn't heard anything about so much snow accummulation.

Crazy!

It's looking like it will be a white christmas afterall I guess.

Mark was planning to work today but I don't know if he'll bother. You can tell that the plow has not been anywhere near us yet and the neighbourhood seems really quiet. I'm not sure that it would be worth his while to go out.

Later on today we're doing cookie deliveries but fortunately, they are pretty much contained to within the neighbourhood so we don't have too far to go and can do most of what we need to, on foot.

I must say, the snow has certainly helped me stay in a holiday mood this year. I hope it hangs around for a couple more days at least!

oozing snow

oozing snow
Originally uploaded by Julep67

everything in our neighbourhood has looked very pretty all week, since the snow storm.

There was a beautiful blanket of white everywhere, on the trees, on roof tops, on the street, it was gorgeous.

Unfortunately, the temperature is on the rise here and the snow is melting. There are drips everywhere and the snow is starting to turn into brown mush. Not exactly currier and ives.

If it really warms up, we may end up with a grey / brown christmas. I hope that's not the case, I was really enjoying the snow!

mutha uckers

I live in a small town.

On a normal day, it takes me about 5 minutes to get from my house to the office. If I stop off at the post office and the bank, you could add another 10 minutes to that time (if there is a line up at the post office). Tonight, this trip took almost 45 minutes.

Despite the fact that fellow who is responsible for the roads department here in our increasingly corrupt seeming town said that the plows were out all weekend, the first plow I saw was tonight. The roads in our town are absolute shit right now. They are frozen rutty messes. There is ice underneath packed snow. The snow removal on the sidewalks is a joke. I had to walk through knee deep slush to get from my vehicle to the shoppers tonight. bad bad bad.

It's going to be a really long winter if this is the level of service we can expect to receive from our illustrious road crews. I'm so happy to know that our taxes are shooting up next year. yay!! oh, btw, in case you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic.

At least, when all else fails, the Conchords can make me smile.

no way!

saturday storm
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

According to the environment Canada website, there is a minus 21 wind chill outside. I just came out from spending almost an hour outside and there is no way that it is that cold. Maybe down by the lake (where the airport is - where they monitor the conditions) it's that cold.

The sun is shining and everything is sparkly and pretty and fresh and it's a lovely day. The sun is making the snow and ice on the van melt actually.

We got dumped on yesterday in a big way. It stopped for a little while last evening so we made a quick run to the drug store and on the way home the winds kicked up. The drug store is less than 5 minutes from our house and I'm glad we didn't have to be out very long. Coming home, we had to drive through this really large intersection and the traffic lights were all messed up. Because of the blowing snow, you couldn't see very well so it was difficult to do the "four way stop" rules thing.

Late yesterday afternoon, while it was still snowing, I went out to try to get a jump on the shovelling. A friend of Mark's had been over for coffee earlier in the afternoon and you could not see his footprints in the driveway anymore. I got the porch, steps and walkway done and had the driveway about 1/3 finished when our wonderful neighbour, Tommy, showed up with in mini-plow. He did the bottom of the driveway for me. I was so happy. I managed to clean the van off and back it up into the clean spot of the drive way so I could shovel the top part. He hollered at me to pull it out onto the street and he did the top part too. We have great neighbours!

This morning there was a little cleaning up to do, mostly from the blowing snow last night. I dug out the deck too this morning because there was almost 2 feet of snow on it and we would have a tough time getting out the back door if we needed to do so in a hurry.

Now that we're all dug out, I'm not sure if we're actually going anywhere today. I'd like to maybe go no further than for a walk in the snow and spend the rest of the day watching movies. I have a whole bunch of things sitting here on my computer just waiting to be watched so it would be fun to get through some of them.

The other day, we saw "Jesus Camp." It scared the crap out of me, seriously. It was tough to watch because, in my opinion, the kids at that camp were being abused. It felt like child abuse to me. They were quite literally brain washing those kids and didn't seem to me that this is what being a Christian is supposed to be about. If I remember correctly, I'm pretty sure that worshipping a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush on an altar is breaking a commandment. It's scary but worth seeing I think.