walloped

So far this winter, thank goodness, the weather has been good to us.  Before I moved back into the city, there was only one day that was a little scary as far as winter driving went.  One day between November and mid-January?  I can't complain, and I won't.  Prior to this year, I had almost no winter driving experience.  Mark always drove when the weather was crappy, I know, I was spoiled.

This weekend, we got all of the cold weather (-26 on Saturday and -30 on Sunday) at once.  I had frozen pipes in my en suite and a frozen solid van.  Fortunately, by Monday, both had thawed out (with some help from me).  I really was caught off guard by the cold.  I knew it was coming and I did manage to fill up the van with gas and get groceries but beyond that, I wasn't thinking about it, I was distracted.

Over the weekend, I kept thinking about how on the 16th (yesterday), it was 6 months since Mark had died.  On Saturday I thought, "wow, it's been 6 months since we had to drive to Brockville for Mark to get his PICC put in."  On Sunday I thought, "wow, it has been 6 months since we spent our last evening together..."  Yesterday, I woke up and started getting ready for work.  A head cold I'd been fighting all weekend had developed early on Sunday evening and yesterday morning, it was not letting me out of the house.  We also had the first (only please?) big snow storm of the season.  In between naps I had to pull on Mark's giant snow boots and shovel the porch/steps and the deck (for the doggies).  I think that the fresh air probably helped me clear out my sinuses a bit, it didn't do much for my back but my head seemed better.

Between the cold/flu and the snow, I was distracted enough to keep on going yesterday and not get bogged down by the fact that it's been half of one year since Mark died.  I've had to do a lot of things in the past 6 months which include moving and getting the house ready for sale.  I've also had to keep the dogs on their routine and me on mine, working, seeing family and friends, trying to get back to normal, or making a new normal I suppose.  I've learned a lot of stupid things that I should have known years ago, like topping up the window washer fluid for example.

As far as my grief goes, I think I feel a little worse now than I did those first few weeks after he died.  I was a zombie those first few weeks, I was numb and didn't feel much beyond a deep sadness. I know that emotionally, I feel very raw.  I feel things very differently now than I did before.   I care less about little things and am not bothered by them.  Whenever anyone I knows has a death in their family, I almost freak out.  I feel so badly that they are going to have to experience this horrible pain that I'm going through and I don't want anyone else to have to.  I know that's not practical or rational but it's what it is.  Also, whenever someone I care about gets good news, I am so excited, like really excited.  Any and all good news is amazing to me, after having had to deal with a lot of bad news.

Another thing I have noticed is that I am kinder and more patient (I think so anyway) with folks I deal with, store clerks, people you see in the line-ups in the shops, drivers on the road, neighbours, etc.  It makes me feel better to do this.  If folks think I'm a crazy lady because I chat with them in the store, I don't really care.  I hope they start doing it too, it feels a lot better than being sad and angry and irritated.

The biggest thing that I've discovered since Mark died is how strong I am.  I always considered myself to be a strong person but I never realized exactly how strong until recently.   I'm quite proud of the fact that for the last six months, despite the fact that I cry myself to sleep almost every night, I still get up in the morning, feed the dogs, make coffee and start my day.  I continue to take each moment as it comes.

Recently, since I moved, I'm feeling more peaceful.  Moving back into that house where we were so happy was a good thing to do.  I know that Mark would be really happy to see the dogs enjoying the deck he built for them.  He'd particularly be proud of Gracie, she runs up and down the steps and in and out of the doggie door, chasing the squirrels and bossing Sammy around.

I have no idea what the next six months will bring but looking back to what I've been able to accomplish since August 16, I am confident that the decisions I've made have been the right ones to make for me and that Mark would have supported each and every one of them.

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!

Hair like Casey, Nose like Finnegan

Everyone is talking about the cold this week and I will admit, we've had to change some things around at home since the temperature dropped.

The biggest pain in the butt for me, I'm finding, is my hair. Seriously, if I wanted it to be straight, I could never make it happen with a flat iron or blow dryer for the life of me. This week though, with this cold, dry air, it's straight as a poker and sticking out all over the place. So much fun to look like Casey from Mr Dress-up. Cold skin and straight hair, not a great combination. Any advice you can offer on how to get my hair under control would be appreciated!!

Coldest Night of the Year

Was outside with the dogs a little earlier this evening.  The line, "now the sun is lurking just behind the Scarborough horizon..." was going through my head while I was encouraging them to stay out and do what needed to be done.  All the time, I just wanted to run back into the house.

Once I was back inside, warm and toasty, the line kept floating around in my head.  I found this, not an original video but the sound is good.

Stay warm folks, snuggle with the ones you love, and remember, spring is just around the corner!

#ygkice

YGK Ice Storm 2013
Originally uploaded by Julep67

So we had a little bit of freezing rain over the weekend. By a little bit, I mean, over 50 hours of the stuff.

It fell gradually, started on Friday morning, ended sometime on Sunday. On Saturday evening, I proposed a new drinking game to my friends on Facebook: “Okay kids, suggesting a drinking game for tonight: drink every time someone on the weather network says accretion!” Not sure how many actually participated but a low player turnout could be directly related to a lack of cable television, or even electricity at that point. Accretion was the word of the weekend.

Over the past few days, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the ice storm that hit Kingston in 1998. At that time, I lost my power for a week. I had friends staying with me for the first few days and once they left for warmer places, I packed up and moved in with my parents. This time, I kept an eye on power outages via the Hydro One app on my iPad. Fortunately, while there were problems all around us, we were warm and bright all weekend.

Seeing the photos coming out of Toronto this morning, it looks a lot like I remember Kingston looking in January 1998. A number of people I know gave birth to “Ice Storm Babies” in the summer/fall of 1998. Can’t help but wonder how many Ice Storm Babies will be born in Toronto later on in 2014.

There is still a buttload of ice on our trees and on the lines around our neighbourhood. I wouldn’t say we are out of the woods yet. Mark’s out at work today and I worry. He’s in a small car, driving folks around on side streets which likely haven’t seen a sander in days. I’m sending good thoughts his way and hoping that will help.

I’ll send them off to you all as well. Stay safe folks, keep warm and dry!

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?

frozen

snow covered led lights
Originally uploaded by Julep67

We're still living in a winter wonderland in these parts, over a week after the snow first fell. Now that the snow has finally stopped and the sun is shining, I don't mind it as much. It's bright and pretty and the roads are generally good so, yay winter.

Of course, the wind is an issue at times. Over the weekend, we took the dogs to the dog park and I don't know if we were there for 10 minutes before we ran for the van. The park is in an open field near our house and the day was really frigid. My glasses completed iced over within a few minutes of being there. When you can no longer see the poop in the snow (to pick up), it's time to go!

The week so far has been busy. Last week we sort of eased back into things and I'm glad I was here (many colleagues took it off) to have that ease-in period. The students returned to campus yesterday so things are moving a bit more when I have a chance to look out the window. Winter terms always feels shorter than fall term although I don't think it is. Maybe time just passes quickly as we look forward to spring. It'll be here in 67 days if you're counting!

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?

lazing gracie

lazing gracie
Originally uploaded by Julep67

I would love to be sprawled out on the floor at home right now.

Not that I am getting sick (because I refuse to) but everyone I talk to at work (on the phone - fortunately, they are up the hill in another building) is sick.

Before lunch, I was feeling really achey and cold and congested so I took some cold medicine I had in my desk drawer. I'm feeling a little spinny from the drugs now but not as achey.

After being sick for basically the whole fall with walking pneumonia, I will not get sick again.

it's not happening.

won't allow it.

nope!

take that, nasty germs!!

outted in winter

practically empty lot
Originally uploaded by Julep67

As I stood outside the office this morning, trying to unlock the door without removing my mittens, I could hear this really weird, loud beeping sound coming from inside. I was a little weirded out by it because we have an alarm system and I thought that maybe someone had broken in.

When I got inside, the emergency light was on in the stairwell and the alarm was all messed up. I realized that the power was out. It was still warm in the cottage so I figured it couldn't have been off for very long. I was the first person on main campus to report an outage to our physical plant folks (they are across the street from us and still had power). They told me that the city had no idea what happened but that it was widespread. I started phoning colleagues, and could feel the building cooling off. It was a bad feeling, it reminded me a lot of the ice storm of 1998. Fortunately, about 45 minutes after I arrived, the lights came back on. We were going to have to venture out into the freezing cold and find somewhere else on campus to work if that hadn't happened. It would have made for a very long day I think.

I saw a small piece on the local newspaper website about the blackout. Apparently, the city have no idea what caused it. That doesn't exactly make me have lots of confidence in our local utility. The temperature is supposed to drop to minus 32 tonight (it is minus 22 with the wind chill right now). That has to be causing a massive strain on everything but we should be able to rely upon this stuff when we need it the most. I think I'll keep an extra sweater by my bed tonight, just in case.

toasty

kitchen window
Originally uploaded by Julep67

Not that he needed much of it but I convinced Mark to stay home from work today. He was going to work a short shift but when we got up this morning the roads (well, our street) looked pretty bad. Given that we're due for another 15 to 20 cm of snow tomorrow, I would imagine that the city avoided some of the side streets because they'll just have to do them again on Sunday (you have to love city logic).

Because of the way the snow was drifting, when we were out in the back yard with the dogs ,it didn't seem like we got much but boy, the front porch was really filled in and so was the driveway. Lucky for us, our amazing neighbour Tommy cleaned it up for us. I have said it before but it bears repeating, we have the best neighbours in town. When we lived around the corner, our neighbours barely waved to each other. 'Round here (which is literally one stop sign away from our old house), folk actually help each other out. People also respect each other's privacy and maintain a certain distance but it's the type of place where you know if someone pulled a truck up into your driveway in the middle of the week and started unloading your house while you were at work, a neighbour would call the cops.

Today we were happy to stay home. Mark did some shoveling and I did laundry. Lots of laundry. I've been doing some housework and getting through my chore list so there were lots of things to wash that you don't have to do all of the time. It went really quickly for some odd reason (and I'm not complaining). We also snuck in a mini-marathon of Coronation Street episodes and a nap.

It's been a great day. Tomorrow I think I'll start my baking. I'd thought about doing it today but couldn't get into it. I'm trying a couple of new recipes this year and will definitely post photos of my attempts, if they turn out.

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.

fogged up

This morning I got up pretty early. Last night after work, we were both pretty zonked out and while we needed to get a few things at the grocery store, neither of us felt up to it. We decided it would be better to try to get our errands done early today, which we did.

It felt pretty good. By 1 p.m. we'd done errands and I had laundry finished up and Mark had a couple of chores crossed of off his list. By 1:45 though, we were ready for a nap. When we returned from the stores, I had a wicked headache. Not sure what caused it but I felt really bleary-eyed. Fortunately, the nap and some advil seemed to knock it out. yay pills.

We've been keeping a pretty low profile the past few days. On Thursday afternoon, at the cab stand office, Mark fell on the ice. Fortunately he didn't break anything but his shoulder was pretty sore. It's stuff like that which makes you feel like you've really had enough of winter already.

Not too sure what we're doing this evening. We've got a couple of movies that we'd like to watch so we may do that, or have a Vivienne Vyle marathon. Either way, for me, less is better than more.

snow fence

snow fence
Originally uploaded by Julep67

it's cold enough to freeze your winnebago!

I cannot get over how chilly it was today. It was a lovely bright sunny day, the snow was sparkly and the temperature was just this side of making the snot freeze in your nose. Not to obsess over the weather too much (because, you know, there is no such thing as climate change), it's supposed to go up to plus 13 next week. Minus 25 today, plus 13 on Tuesday. Insanity.

Mark went back to work today. I head back on Monday. Today I did some more decluttering. When I packed up the ornaments and tree and stuff, I'd forgotten to put all the wrapping stuff away. I now have a huge (organized) bag of wrapping paper, tissue, gift bags, ribbon, tags. It's all ready for next year. Our gifts are all put away now too.

Tomorrow morning I plan to get my laundry room sorted out (it's where I store all of this stuff - at the moment, it's just stacked up in the basement) and do a little more housework. I'd like to spend the next two days cleaning and have the weekend free to put my feet up. If the weather cooperates, I'd like to get a movie on Saturday. We've had a pair of passes that we picked up at the CAA last summer and it would be nice to use them to see either Juno or Charlie Wilson's War.

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!

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.

sunday

icy morning
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

hey folks.

the freezing rain we woke up to on Friday morning didn't last too long, fortunately. It melted rather quickly and caused a lot of mini-floods in the roads and streets of our town. because it's been so cold lately, the storm drains were frozen solid. all the melting ice and falling rain just sort of pooled in the streets for a while on Friday. fortunately, the sun came out in the afternoon. big chunks of ice rained down on the ground everytime the wind blew. it was neat to see.

it took us until about 9 a.m. to get out of the driveway so I was a little late getting into work. because all of the local schools were closed for the day, some folks didn't make it in at all.

the weekend has been quiet around here. I picked up a headcold last week that is still dragging me down. because it's all in my head, by the time I'm ready to go to sleep, my head is starting to fill up and it makes breathing tough. I get up frequenly in the night to blow my nose and get something to drink. it's not fun and it's been going on since Tuesday. it can stop anytime it likes.

today I need to get the laundry done but once that is done, I don't really need to do much of anything else. I might even squeeze a nap in if I feel like it. it's nice to have options.

zambonied

our porch, driveway and street, actually, for as far as you can see from our front door, looks like a skating rink.

it's raining right now. the effect of the water on the ice is not unlike that of a Zamboni on a rink.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that going out in that, before it melts, makes me very nervous.

I hate freezing rain.

curvy snow

curvy snow
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

we're having a groovy kind of winter, if the snow on our neighbour's roof is any indication.

Valentine's Day brought with it a huge ass snowstorm.

In this part of the world, we didn't get much of a dump of the white stuff as others did. I must say, we're always a little amused when Toronto gets a load. It's beyond amusing to wonder if they'll call in the Army again!

Mostly it's just been really cold here recently. I'm getting tired of it. Not so much the cold as the boots. I hate wearing boots because it feels like I spend most of my day getting in and out of them. Tying and untying shoes and boots...sometimes my sock goes with the boot and I feel like I'm back in Mrs Roach's kindergarten class again, hopping around on one socked foot, trying to avoid putting the naked foot on the melted-snow-puddle covered floor. My sock feels soggy in my shoe right now, just remembering that.

I'm also sick of dry skin. No matter how much I loofah or how much shea butter I use, I feel like a snake who is just about to shed his skin.

Dry skin and soggy socks. Those two things, coupled with the act of unlocking a deadbolt while wearing mittens are really what winter's all about for me this year. I'm looking forward to giving up all three. Anytime now!