Finally some answers

This must be a tremendous load off your mind, Beth.

What a day

My appointment in Gravenhurst with Eye Surgeon was this morning. And today may have been one of the worst stormy days so far. Wind gusts, squalls, white outs and sub zero temperatures made for a treacherous drive. My appt was for 11 am - an hour and 45 minute drive usually. We left the house at 7:30 so to give us time to crawl along the highway - and crawl we did for the first about 50 km behind a plow and sander and us going approx 40 to 50 Kms for most of that way not seeing a thing but blowing snow all around. Some brave ( or stupid) souls attempted to pass only causing poorer visibility - the big semi trucks were the worst offenders. We arrived at the Drs at 0945 so in spite of the poor drive we made it in fairly good time. I actually got into his office at 1130 am - this is a busy office! Surprise  - after all my worry and anxious moments and sleepless nights, he tells me that I am doing very well - no signs of new bleeds, no hole in right retina as the Opthamologist thought, and no intention of doing surgery on the cataract as my vision is still good, and I can still perform all functions of daily living without undue stress. So until this changes, he is not one to do surgery just because. Now, I left his office feeling relieved to hear his assessment of my condition ( after a very thorough examination I might add) It gave me a new perspective about things - mostly that I have been worrying more than I should have been about my eyes. That is not to say that I must not be aware of future signs of bleeding or detachments because they may happen and I must take immediate action. So time will tell I guess, and in meantime I shall carry on carrying on.......
The return drive was wicked - we had heard of highway closure around Huntsville. I was really on pins and needles and especially with dilated pupils, it made it all the worse. But slow as she goes won the day for us...just North of Huntsville the South bound lane was closed because of accidents and the traffic was lined up for mile after mile, but we going North seemed to sail along nicely and by the time we reached Sundridge, it was sunny and clear. Go figure!  Surely a day I would not want to repeat anytime soon. And I even got to shovel when we got home - what is a day without shovelling!
So I am tired and worn out and the bed looks awfully inviting tonight. I started The Beautiful Mystery by Louse Penny last night and although anxious to read some more, I may not last too long.
So with Pati's wonderful news and now, my positive news, all is well. Take care

Just to let you know

I had a phone call from the surgeon yesterday, assuring me that the pathology report had come back and that the lipoma was completely benign. Very nice of him to call me personally.

Apple Crisp

Today was busy doing all sorts of things but in the end nothing really to show for it. The crisper in the fridge refused to pull out and so I thought it was stuck with something that dripped and I was right. But because of the fridge location close to the wall, the door does not open wide enough for the crisper to be removed without having to take out the whole shelf. And to take out the whole shelf you have to remove all the stuff covering it. Long story short I cleaned the whole darn thing - not a chore I really like but obviously it was overdue haha I made a most delicious apple crisp and just had a big dish for dessert. I think apple crisp is my favourite especially warm and with a bit of ice cream melting on top.  I did not have it that way today, but cold and dry was every bit as good. Of course I shovelled this morning as the plow went by just before I was ready to head down to check the mail.  Looking at your art piece again Pati filled me with all sorts of creative ideas and  I found my book on Making Fabric Boxes, enjoying a few relaxing moments flipping through pages and wondering if I could ever do it. So beautiful. My friend Sue viewed it on your blog and wrote such flattering comments back to me including pictures of a special Celtic Abbey in Scotland where she said your work would look wonderful. Well, time to call it a day, take the dog out one last time and then off to bed to read. Hope you are managing to survive this weather. Take care

Remind me again why we live in Canada?

Snow, blowing snow, cold temperature and windchill.   Why would I want to live anywhere else?  Actually, I don't think I would.  Maybe at this time of year a week or two somewhere warm would be nice, but since Jim still refuses to get a passport I guess that will never happen.  Of course going on facebook and seeing the pictures that Kris and Sandi posted from St. Lucia, and the pictures Rodney & Kristy posted from Mexico did nothing to improve my mood.  I got another call-in early this morning from building security.  I drove to town at 80 km.  There was so much ground drift and the "fingers" of snow drifts across the highway.  One good thing about the fresh snow was that I could see there were no footprints up to the building so no real person inside.  The inside back door was open.  I don't know if the wind was strong enough that it came through the cracks under the porch door and blew it open, or if the mound of garbage bags the caretakers have piled in the porch collapsed and knocked it open.  Unless it is pushed shut it sometimes doesn't catch.  Today's call brings me up to over 7 days of overtime.  I am taking a week in March to use up some of it.   I am hoping to have all my "Spring" cleaning done by the end of March.  Of course, by taking so long to get it done, I will just have to start over at the beginning again anyway!  Jim just checked our lottery tickets.  We won our usual.   I think my plans for today involve a book and the couch.  I can watch the blowing snow through the window and be grateful I don't have to go back outside.

Arg-h-h-h!

I screwed up again.  I made up a post, and published it in the wrong blog.  I quickly deleted it, but should have copied it here, instead, before doing that.  I really didn't say much.  It snows, and snows, almost everyday. Tomorrow the wind is predicted to hit 70//hr, so we will be dealing the windchill as well. Yesterday the blowing snow created almost white out conditions all around the city, and there were travel advisories.  The book I have been reading was talking about "ground blizzards" and I wonder if that is what he meant.  As well there were the most interesting cloud formations.  Hard to describe, but almost flat layers with very blue sky between.  Close to the horizon it reminded me of the pictures we see of approaching desert sand storms--like a mass of low cloud moving in.  We even talked about whether it was cloud or blowing in snow.  And we are having trouble with the snow blower.  David says it just needs a tune up,but I worry.

Yesterday we had to run errands and then had an appointment at the bank. By the time the errands were run, we had almost an hour to kill before going to the bank.  We went shopping at Dollarama. We just cruised the aisles, and picked up almost anything that caught our eye.  Have you ever done this? It can be a bit of fun.  We picked up some pens that might be more comfortable to hold than the ones I've insisted on using for the past 30 years, gravy mix, a package of emery boards, a new cheese grater, some sunglasses--just small junk.  It has been awhile since I took a good look at the craft section.  I used to buy a lot of small stuff there, but there is very little available these days.  To bad.

At the bank we renewed our mortgage.  They had called us in four months early, as they were able to offer us a significant reduction in interest rate.  We are now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  If everything goes according to plan, we should have it paid off at least four years earlier than originally planned.  Sort of nice to think about that, even if what we pay now can be seen as very cheap rent.

Time for poker.

How is everyone?

Just waiting for the 6 pm news on TV and then a nice relaxing hot bath and then to bed to read. Was out this morning shovelling snow. Now that isn't exactly anything new but today as I was trying to shovel it away, it was coming down fast and furious, and eventually I realized I wasn't making any headway. So I feed the little birds, and blue jays, and black squirrels and came in. After the usual housework was more or less completed (housework is never completed is it?) I got out my fabric again and actually was able to cut out several pieces as outlined in pattern. I figure a little bit done on a consistent basis should result in success eventually right?  I will soon be ready to sew so better get busy and uncover my machine - amazing how it gets avalanched so quickly with other stuff. The other day in Rebuilt Resources I saw the perfect heavy wooden table to use in a "studio" and only $50.00- I wish I had space to set up a room dedicated to sewing. This table was large with ample space for cutting and laying out fabric, similar to your big table Pati. Alas, this will be an ongoing dream for me and in meantime I manage very well with what I have. Well, the weather just had a warning alert for our immediate area for strong gusty winds and blowing snow, and wind chills around -30 for tonight. Ugh.... time to turn up the heater in the basement, and get into bed and hide there haha  Take care

Another sort of lazy day?

Staying mostly inside these days to avoid the cold so days seem long and lazy. I did try to go the Insurance office this morning to change our car insurance to a different company. It appears that our present company will no longer cover comprehensive because we have had three glass claims in the last three years. The joys of living in rural Northern Ontario is the increased risk of stones and rocks cracking the windshield and I guess we have had our share - no way to avoid. The Broker said she had found another company who would cover (with an increase in premium of course.) so as I went to the office, off she drove in a hurry. A note on the door said Sorry Out on a Fire call. I guess this is another anomaly of small town living. She is also a Volunteer Fire Fighter so when the call comes in you close the door and leave, quickly. I can go back in the morning so all is not lost. I found two Christmas design hooked rug kits in the basement and started to work on one yesterday - a beautiful Red Cardinal which I love. It will be a wall hanging for Christmas decorating when I get it done. And today I pulled out some fabric and have a colour scheme in mind to cut out pieces to fashion the Great Grandmas Fan - I'll make a small hanging or table covering. I have to find something to cut out the pattern to use to cut the small fan pieces that get sewn together. I have plastic somewhere that is for that purpose but darned if I know where haha So that will keep me busy for a little while in between everything else I do. This morning Harry asked me to show him how to text on his cell phone. I am not used to his phone but managed to figure out how only to get a message saying network not available. Long story short, I called technical support at Bell Mobility and had a wonderful man patiently work through the issues with me. Something in program settings was changed finally and the message on phone was sent successfully( to the technician number he gave me to try) So all is well now as Harry has since sent a message to Mikes cell and received a reply. Seems nothing is easy anymore related to the latest technology, but eventually things get rectified with a little patience (and Beth haha)  Time to look for some plastic or something and try my luck with cutting out patterns. Wish I had an Accuquilt GO machine. I watched episode on The Quilt Show yesterday where they cut out all sorts of triangles and squares using this method. Neat! Take care.

thought it was about time

for you to be seeing about your eyes.  It's a bit of a mix blessing  knowing that it will be months before surgery, should it be feasible.  You get to anticipate all over again, and you get to shovel snow off the roof, whether you want to or not.

Had my physio assessment today at 7-Oaks.  They full approved of my plan to treat the arthritis conservatively, given that I'm in pretty good shape for the shape that I'm in.  I played a little dumb, and let them think that it was their treatment plan, but I'm encouraged/approved to use the pool as much as possible, and even the stationary exercise bike.  So, starting next week it's back to the grind---and loving it.

Not fit for man nor beast....

Awakening to another frigid day and apparently no relief in sight for a few days. Oh, to be a school kid again - second day in row this week that school buses have been cancelled because of cold weather. And in this area, most children are bused to school although the schools remain open most kids can't get there unless driven by parents. I was wanting to get out and clean the roof today but that may have to wait - it will be sunny with no winds but still might be too much.
Well, as result of my first Eye appointment yesterday I am now a bit more in the know about process. I did not see the Doctor but instead underwent an intensive bunch of tests and pictures and measurements etc. with the technicians.  All these results will be in the Doctors hands when I see him in person next Wednesday. He will give me a thorough examination and may want more tests done at that time, but will likely determine then if surgery will go ahead. I will also be able to consult with him re: the continued issues with tearing and bleeding of retina. Surgery is done at the Huntsville Hospital and he is limited to only 16 eyes a week (so who does the counting?) and they are already booked to the end of April. So I will definitely not be done until at least May or after - and I was preparing for, and panicking about the potential for next week! I guess that means I will be doing the shovelling throughout the rest of the winter after all haha So now we know.  Well, time of a coffee (another coffee that is - bad me!) and a bagel toasted, and then on with the day. Take care

Try again!

Obviously, yesterday was a bad day,and last evening spent indulging a a private pity party.  Yes, Beth, the cold sure makes a difference.  I've found that the Voltaren Emulgel helps, but you're best not to use it for more than about 3 weeks at a stretch.  It seems to "burn?" the skin a bit.  The problem is that I am working on a new Reliquary.  It is going very well, and may turn out to be one of my best.  In some places it is several layers thick and some of those layers are each 1/8" thick and covered with metallic paint.  The sewing machine can deal with it, given special heavy duty needles, but when it comes to beading, it is my poor hands all the way.  My co-ordination is just a little bit off, and even the thimble is causing trouble.  But after three days rest, I finished the beading today, and there is only a very little bit more hand sewing, and that is through just a couple of layers of silk.I have a bit of a deadline, but plan to post pictures as soon as I can get it finished.

Today I took two quilt tops to the long arm quilter. This is a big deal.  One of the tops has been waiting well over a year for me to get my act together and find the money to take it over. They are both utility quilts, so they were taken to the lady who does the more basic pantograph quilting,( as she did for you). In the past, others have been taken to a very highly respected free motion long arm quilter in Gladstone, who has an international reputation for her work, and now charges accordingly-- but beyond my budget.  Imagine my surprise when the lady today told me that she is now doing simple free motion work!  So one of my babies is getting some free motion spirals, and the other a very delicate and feminine pantograph--very in keeping with the colour scheme and design.

David made a batch of my modified Weight Watchers vegetable soup today.  There is no way I could have chopped all of the vegetables that go into it, so I am very grateful.  I enjoy the soup, but it can only be made using turkey stock--which means cooking a turkey. Quite  long process for a bowl of soup. Our casual search for out-dated food continues.  Today it was a jar of Miracle whip.  But we were safe, as there was another jar in the pantry. Whoops!  That one is out-dated too!!  So both are gone.  Did I tell you that awhile back we found a package of Kraft Dinner that was out-dated?  Never thought that could happen.

Okay, enough typing.  Sleep well everyone.

Take a rest

No problem Pati, and I suggest you take a rest and just try writing short little messages. I am thrilled to log on and see any message and don't mind at all if it is short - a friendly greeting to tell me you are still there! I would rather see a "hi", than nothing ! I am thinking about you and your aches and pains - I keep rubbing my fingers and wonder what is going on that they are sore for such an extended period but I guess it has to be this terrible weather. Down to - 25 again today but it IS sunny haha. Up to North Bay today and enjoyed a coffee at Mike and Erins - I am starting to look forward to these visits very much. He gave me three more books in the Stephen King Dark Tower series. I am only on book 3 so I better get at it! Supper time now so will sign off Take care  ps I am enjoying having my laptop he  he  he

sorry

I have just spent almost an hour writing a very log post and then had trouble publishing it.  As a result there is no posting from me today.  Unfortunately my hands and wrist are now so sore that I can't type any more.

Well here it is Sunday morning aleady

And I look out the window to see blowing winds and snow causing a flurry of almost whiteout at times. I took the dog to the lake early this morning and had some issues with the wind, and icy surfaces under the snow. The plows were out and when they scrap the roads it leaves a sheet of ice on which one must navigate carefully. But I figured I would be OK as help was at hand - three OPP vehicles were parked at the Hotel Coffee shop - I guess they were having their morning "briefing". They often gather there or at the corner restaurant for morning coffee. I wouldn't want to be them out on the highways today either. We were supposed to drive to Dunchurch today - it is a small town about 45 minutes west of Sundridge towards Parry Sound- to pick up a jar of Watkins Analgesic Balm for Harry. This particular cream is no longer being sold by Watkins but it is one that really works for Harry. We bought all that Harry's sister in law had in stock (she sells Watkins in Kirkland Lake) I called around this area and found only one dealer who had any in stock. She had one jar left  (this one in Dunchurch) so I asked her to keep it for pick up today. It may settle down by this afternoon and we could drive there but I won't hold my breath. Otherwise I will likely be shovelling again as soon as the plow does our street - I can hear it on the main road now. And I also have some ripe bananas that need to be used - I am a bit tired of muffins but really nothing else I can make with them - I love banana cake but then I am the one who eats it! Maybe we shouldn't buy so many bananas at a time. I have some patterns for quilting picked out from my books - I look for something that I can use scraps of fabric I have on hand and that are handy rather than have to purchase. There are boxes of fabric in the basement but I can't get at them right now. I found a pattern called Great Grandma's Fans and it interests me to try something different such as fans. I have really only made squares to date. The other one I am looking at is called Scrap Patch Paddlewheel Both will be small tablecloths or wall hanging size as that is really all I could attempt related to time and space. So who knows......I'll keep you informed of any progress. Must run and change the laundry over and then out the door to shovel. Take care

Neepawa

We had a blizzard this morning, freezing rain this afternoon and wind tonight.  The temperature reached +5 on our patio, and the snow was melting.  It's the -28 one day and +5 the next that is making us all sick.  I had my sleep assessment last night.  Hooked up to all sorts of things.  I slept in the spare room. Jim was too scared to join me.  He had to take the machine back to Brandon for me this morning in the snow storm.  Fortunately everything recorded okay so he didn't have to bring it back for another night.  I just finished a teleconference.  2 1/2 hours.  Oh well.  It is over now.  Work has been crazy.  It was only Sandy and myself on monday (she is our casual employee that has been working full time since we need her every day)  Tuesday I had to go to Brandon to get my training and my equipment for my sleep test.  We had to borrow someone from Brandon LTO so that we would have another person in the office besides the casual (she started Dec 27...not to up to snuff yet)  I got back about 2:30 and did some work.  Shirley will not be back until Friday at the earliest, but Elizabeth came in today.  I think I will take Friday off if there is no objection.  I am really burning out.   It just doesn't seem right that I am the only one that knows what needs to be done!  I have 2 tele-meetings tomorrow.  They call the meetings and then wonder why you aren't keeping up to date ...DUH!!  I had a pot of tea and a glass of wine for my meeting tonight.  I finished both and was looking for more wine..... I guess that tells you how the meeting went :)  I am scared to say it in writing,, but I have no commitments for the weekend. Could it possibly be that I have some free time???!!!  Heaven forbid!  I must have forgotten something.  Time to crash.  Hope you week goes well

Only in Winnipeg

Just before noon, the temperature was -10.  The weather forecast for the day was  "snow flurries this morning.  Temperature rising to +1 by noon, and +3 in the afternoon.  Afternoon rain and chances of a thunderstorm this evening.   They also used the word "volatile" which the disc-jockey translated as " we don't have clue what's going on"

Well, I don't think the temp got up that high, and I sure didn't see any thunder storm.  Needless to say, I didn't set foot outdoors, although David went out to bring the garbage and recycling bins into the yard.  spent most of the day in the studio, which was nice. Then I realized that I had pushed my wrists a little too far,and will probably have to spend the next few days at machine work. No excitement around here, although I have plans to visit the fabric store tomorrow.  I have arranged to have two quilt tops that have been hanging around here, machine quilted. ( Same lady as did your,Beth) I have to supply everything, so need to pickup some cheap batting somewhere, and it is on sale.  I figure the job will take about half of my $423.  The rest I'm saving until the end of March, when I get a chance to visit the vendors at the quilt show.  My favourite thread source will be there.

Now to shower without getting my left hip wet.

A few words before the day begins

Today I get my hair cut at 9 am. I really did try to let it grow but enough already! I am destined to have short hair that I can manage minimally. I was actually thinking about the upcoming eye appointments and Sx and realizing that to have short hair would be preferable.
I took the dog out for a little walk early and was presented with blowing heavy snow - so heavy I could not see much in front of me. Add the treacherous icy covering under the snowy ground and I feared again for falling so home I came. Our yard is treacherous as well with all the thawing and rain and now the freezing. Still hovering around the freezing point but should drop suddenly today (according to weather report) We went to Midland on Monday only to see that the store was closed. So we each had a Sub sandwich and headed back to Coldwater where we surprised our Friend Shirley - I was the surprised one. I knew she had been hospitalized several times over past few years. But there she sat on the chesterfield. Her Helping Hands worker answered the door. Shirley is very compromised with what I expect is maybe Respiratory issues and has trouble with activities of daily living although can manage personal care and nutrition still on her own quite well. I got her new phone number so now can communicate more frequently and let her know if we will visit (instead of the surprise on Monday) Yesterday we made another unexpected trip to Sturgeon Falls in the afternoon (west of North Bay) to pick up another Aerogarden machine that Harry bought off Kijiji. That makes three he has now.  Anyway, time to sign off and get ready for my hair appointment. Will try to write more later. Take care

Another weather challenge survived

The temps rose, and the rains came and the water rose and yet, I am still here to tell the tale haha
What a pain........and I did have to get the sump pump out for a bit but mostly just shovelled the water away. Then the temps started to drop again, and now we are near freezing point but with no precipitation, we are holding our own. I am so glad that I cleaned off a bit of the roof snow otherwise we may have had worse problems.
I went to Public Skating this afternoon for the first time this season. I did not stay on the ice too long but enough to enjoy a few dances around the rink. I walked over to the arena so knew that if I exerted myself too much and then had to walk home, I might have been in some trouble. As it is, I may very well have some sore muscles tomorrow.
Harry has bid on some auction items from the Midland Auctions on line and the cut off is at 8 pm tonight. So we may be driving to Midland tomorrow or Tuesday - a full day really as it is about 2 and half to three hours one way. He contacted them to see if they would like some consignment items for next auction so for last two days he has been filling boxes with some of his treasures to take when we go. We may stop into visit old friends who live in Coldwater which is on way to Midland. She used to live across the street here and she babysat the boys when they were young and I worked.  Have not seen her in years and years.
Time to feed the animals, and then I hope to watch another segment of The Quilt Show here on the laptop. Hope all is well with you folks. Take care

Good news from your perspective

Glad to read your news about Sx and now I hope that your sleeping will be eased somewhat, and that path report comes back with anticipated outcome. I was cleaning the roof today in anticipation of above freezing temps and drizzle and rain Friday and Saturday. The roller coaster ride is what bothers me the most - if only Winter would come and stay and then quietly leave in Spring - too much to ask I know. The cleaning of the roof is the easy part - then you have to shovel away all the hard packed snow that you have just shoveled off the roof onto the sidewalks and stairs and with no place to put the snow because you have already filled all the open areas. It is only January and already I have had it -funny how each year gets worse and worse - certainly not the fact that I am also a year older and a little less agile than the year before haha
I just finished watching #1401 on The Quilt Show and again thoroughly enjoyed. I watched it on the laptop and was able to view it with much more ease visually than the PC especially with my bifocals.
Harry has a touch of the flu and has been under the weather for two days now. It seems to be hitting people hard and many reported lab verified cases in the area. I had my flu vaccine in November and hoping that I shall miss out on any occurrences.
Cooked a turkey Tuesday and have had two days of leftovers now. I froze some already and think I shall soon finish the rest probably tomorrow - I made a really nice tasting casserole of my own made up recipe and I must say it was really rather delicious.
Have been watching Duck Dynasty on DVD - Mike gave us season one for Christmas and we bought season two and three. I enjoy it probably because it is so silly and yet down to earth believable stuff.
Question: how do you turn off the French eg when I press the question mark I get É, or when I try to hyphenate I am I get Ièm.  Otherwise I am enjoying the new laptop. Take care

Survived!

Up at 4:45, we made it to Grace by 6:15, and then played "hurry up and wait', until 8:30.  I was then taken to the surgical waiting area, where I met the doctors and nurses who would be in the OR.  It was a nice gesture that my surgeon met me at the door of the operating suite to greet me and tell me what would be happening while I was there.  After surgery to Recovery,where I again waited for about 2 hours, until they decided I could go back to the original area, where I waited until 1:00. Then I was asked if I could pee.  Can I pee?? You better believe I can pee!  I then had to pee while two nurses watched so they could be assured that, yes, I really did pee.  Only then did they call David to tell him to come and get me.  Finally home about 3:30, where, after sorting myself out, it was back to bed.  I found out that the reason they had been so anxious to take the thing out, was because they were concerned about the size of it.  Not a golf ball, but rather a quite large egg shaped thing, well encapsulated.  They are quite certain it is benign, but I have been promised a call after the Pathology results get back.  So now at least two weeks until I can get back to swimming.

So we had Chinese food for supper, and now I can look forward to going back to bed again, but without my little friend..

Kharma

I have been off my anti-inflamatories since Monday. and am finding out how much they do for me. As a result I am sore, tired and cranky. The shoulder strap on my new bathing suit broke, and one of the straps on my purse has broken.  The last couple of days have been a hassle, with getting over to Grace for a pre-surgical assessment, over to 7-Oaks for a respiratory assessment, and to my pool class both days , knowing that it will be more than a week before I can go again.  Lately I have felt that I was on a roller coaster with no way to get off.  I knew that going to pool class would impact on life style, but I had no idea how much.  And January is always a very long month in terms of the pension, so I've been keeping  a close eye on that.

Today, was my little quilt group.  Before Christmas, the ladies had told me that they would buy fabric over the holidays, and would be wanting to start their own quilt, but would be looking for my advice and assistance with that.  My commitment to the organization was finished at the end of December, and I had spoken with the President about it, saying that I didn't feel the group was truly viable and that , while I would attend when I could, I would no longer consider myself "in charge".  so yesterday evening I got a call from one of the ladies asking if I would be there this morning.  I told her yes, and asked if they had their projects.  "No, we didn't have chance to shop over the holidays"  I told her that I had nothing planned for them, but would see her in the morning.  Well, of course I then had to go downstairs and quickly put together a "hands on" project for today. So that took care of the morning.

Then we had to go out for pills and a bit of shopping.  I was exhausted, tired and cranky after that.  Finally we were home and there was mail--including a letter for me from the income tax department.  Does anyone like getting mail from the income tax department?  Well, it was a letter telling me that last year's taxes had be re-calculated and that they were enclosing a cheque for $423. SAY WHAT!!!  Mind you they had to include a note saying that $8.69 of that amount was interest and that I must be sure to claim that on my taxes for 2013

At that point I almost cried.  And how was your day?
  

Here I am again

Trying to figure out the laptop only this time it is a different one. Harry bought another one off Kijiji that already had Windows 7 and I am only now trying to access and get used to it. I have the blog saved as a favourite so I  should be able to access easier after this attempt. We have snow after snow again here but so far not frigid cold like you folks. I do not know how much confidence I have in security of this laptop. I will have to see about getting something set up. We currently have Kaspersky on the PC. I shall go for now and see if this publishes Ok It would be great if all this works out. This keyboard is missing the M key but touching the little knob seems to works fine. Take care

Too cold for me

I don't want to set foot outside today.  Bad enough that I have to go out tomorrow!  Poor David had to go out this morning to bring our recycling bin in from the curb.  It went out Wednesday evening for pick up Thursday, but wasn't emptied until sometime during the night, last night.  Those poor guys have been working around the clock since Thursday.  The workers riding hanging onto the backs of the trucks aren't well dressed at the best of times.  I imagine they are freezing these days.

I tried to take advantage of no outside appointments yesterday, and try to get some housework done.  David had been blowing snow in the morning and was too beat to help much, so I attempted the laundry, although I can't carry it upstairs.  Then I puttered tidying up the kitchen and the basement.  My cooking these days is accomplished in the simplest way possible.  I just don't have the physical or mental energy to put too much into it.  We had planned on roasting a chicken tonight, but when we checked the freezer there were NO chickens!  Who stole my chickens?  I was sure there were a couple left, but, alas, I guess we ate them all.  So today I'll have to spend a bit of time doing a rough inventory of the freezers.  We bought a bit of meat this month, but I've noticed that the beef has been creeping back into our diets.  Salt as well, so I'll have to monitor that a little more closely.

Today, David plans to make a batch of shortbread.  We have the supplies, and I guess he didn't get enough of it over Christmas, given that he gave most of it away.  Once that is done, we MUST attend to the kitchen floor, so that will fill the day quite nicely.  I'm hoping to get a few minutes in the studio while he is making the shortbread.  I do believe that the sewing is becoming an addiction, as I find myself getting a little anxious when I am away from it for two or three days in a row.  I guess there are worse addictions.

Keep warm ladies!

Baby, It's cold outside....

I thought that maybe if I sang a song I would feel warmer... I think I picked the wrong song.  We have a fire going, and I have my sweats and a blanket on me and I am still chilled.  I thought of having a shower when we got home, but I was too cold.  Tomorrow is supposed to be worse all day...... -46 wind chill during the day.  Jim was going to blow snow, but I think that might have to wait.  I am planning on having a cooking spree tomorrow.  Meatballs, and hamburger patties and stew and soup.  I will see how far I get.  We were going to have chicken wings tonight, but they had food at the legion again.  Homemade bread, ham, home made sausage,  beet buns (bread dough wrapped in beet leaves and cooked in a sauce... really good)  Pickles, and christmas pudding.   Obviously I wasn't hungry when we got home.  We were supposed to work meat draw last night, but with the storm, Carey & Garry offered to trade nights with us, so we stayed home when I got home from work.  I had to stop 3 times on the way home to let the window's defrost.  The snow was blowing in through the vents.  Rrain told me she couldn't even get out of her house 'cause the snow had blown in.  She said she was warm and had food, so all was good.  I agree with her.  I am not going to leave the house tomorrow (unless it is to bring in more wood for the fire.)   Keep safe and try to stay warm and dry!

I bit more of an explanation

I spent more time this afternoon fooling around with the laptop to try a few things. I managed to get onto Google, and then sign into the blog. I was able to write in the title space but then could not make the curser move to the message area. Could be my mistake, or the computer, but it did give a message error on page. I will keep trying. But I think I am actually making some headway???  Really slow though and I find I wait and wait for it to do anything - too used to this desk computer I guess?
Just waiting for the snow to arrive - apparently you folks have sent it my way.  It turned milder today but will be short lived as Sunday and Monday the deep freeze returns. Not much else new around here. Lazy day today with little to show for a whole day spent doing nothing. haha  Maybe tomorrow will be more productive. Take care

I am on my laptop but having a few clitches I'll work it out Give me time

Quiet at last

The last week has been quite tiring, with all of the social activities and trying to get to an aquacize class just about every day.  I'm finding that the class sort of knocks the stuffing out of the day.  Thy are either at 12:15 or 2:15.and you have to be there about an hour ahead to reserve a space in the class.  The pool is very small and the class limit is 15.  But they provide a very good workout, and are just about at my level.  One of the ladies told me that the first time she attended, she had to quit part way through as it was too much for her, but I've managed to finish every time so far.  Today was a challenge, as I was well ahead of time, so bought a medium mocha at Tim's before class.  Even though I had almost an hour before class, I foolishly spent the last 10 minutes in the whirlpool and thought I was either going to faint or throw up.  Lesson learned--no more mocha before class.  Somehow, or somewhere, I broke a toe either before or during class today.  Is Somebody trying to tell me something?  Next week will be jsut as busy, so I hope to get some studio time this weekend.

I have been showering both before and after class, then again in the evening.  This is nuts!  So I am making myself a terrycloth cover up, and I'm going to make it  a full shower and hair wash after class.  My skin just can't take all of the showering, especially in this cold weather.

Yesterday, the children joined us for dinner at the casino buffet.  We had a very pleasant meal and chat after.  Even though they weren't busy, the staff were starting to hint that it was time to move on after we'd only been there for almost two hours.  Go figure!  We didn't do anything exciting afterwards though.

I really haven't made resolutions in years. The timing of  this year's exercise classes are more a coincidence than intentional.  But every year ,any of the members of the quilting internet group I subscribe to pick a word toguide them through the coming year.  My word this year is "freedom".  I have refused to accept any commitments of any sort, and plan to follow my own star in the studio, doing whatever I want.  this lasted about two days.  I have accepted a challenge from my Ravenesque group, and have now accepted a challenge from another group that will require me to make a piece of art 2 1/2" by 31/2" every day for the next year.  today is the second of January and I am already two days behind.  Guess that means that I will have some focus if and when I get in the studio over the weekend--and that is one of the tings I had hoped to accomplish in accepting the challenge..

But for the moment, I'm off to bed.  It has been a long and demanding day, with no nap!

Is Christmas gone?

By all appearances here in this house  it is...I spent the day taking down the decorations and packing them all away. It looks very bare now but that is normal and I'll just get used to it.  Yesterday Harry bought an ice maker at Canadian Tire and today I set it up and now have three bags of ice cubes outside in my outdoors freezer. This makes sense actually only because we also bought six boxes of Kcups for our Keurig machine for Lemonade Iced Tea for only 4.99/box. You put ice cubes into a cup and then brew the Kcup - as the hot liquid goes into the cup the ice cubes melt and voila, you have iced tea. Doesn't take much to amuse me eh?
I saw the New Years in, although I was in bed. I was awake at midnight so sang Happy New Year and then went back to sleeping ( or trying to sleep!) I actually stayed up until after 10 pm because I went on line to the The Quilt Show and had a ball watching several episodes. I am glad you told me to watch to the end for an "after set" because I found this every bit as interesting. Several books are promoted in the course of watching a few sessions, and one would like to have all of them, but I am thinking of maybe trying at the Library first. I am enjoying the Show.
And no New Year Resolutions this year - the inspirational saying for the last day of December and the last day of the year said: I stand at the threshold of a new year. May God help me to be kind, fair, and wise in all my affairs. I thought that would be good enough for me to follow without being too grandiose or unrealistic. Here's hoping I can keep up my end of the bargain!
I had to give in and make a Doctors appointment Monday for my bladder issue - now on antibiotics and feeling better than I have over the last two weeks. My conservative treatment just didn't cut it this time, but I managed to go through barrels of cranberry juice and still have lots on hand just in case haha . Well, no trees lights to sit by tonight, so I think I'll find some reading and head to bed.
Wishing all a very wonderful year ahead, and may this blog continue to bring us together even more than as wonderfully felt by me so far. Thanks and Take care XX