Regular programming

Wow, this week sped by, and it is February already. We're less than 11 months away from Christmas. Okay, that was my weak attempt at humour for the morning. Let's move on, shall we?

Last Sunday was filled with phone calls from my daughter, my son, and a friend and a long visit here with another friend. There was curling happening too, so it was a full day! The friend who came to visit, is the one whose mom passed away just after Christmas. I remember when my parents passed, I needed to just talk to someone and go through all the moments. So we sat, and she did most of the talking. There were tears but also some laughter. C is/was very close to her mother and they spent a great deal of time together. As expected, she is feeling quite lost. I totally understand it - I saw her yesterday and we've made arrangements to get together again next week. 

I left Regina about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, in absolutely brutally cold weather. It was about -27C(-17F), but the wind chill made it feel closer to -40C/F. When I arrived, D and I unloaded the vehicle quickly, plugged it in, and headed indoors for the day. The hug from Eli was worth the drive!

We spent that day just puttering around the house. I got some knitting done while watching videos with Eli, and D and I did some tidying of her dining room table. It tends to be a dumping ground. In the photo, Eli was relaxing on my mat with Stanley after D and I did our stretching exercises together.

Tuesday morning, my car would not start and we had errands planned. I called CAA and after a quick boost we were headed out. We picked up her groceries (ordered on-line), and dropped D off at one of the stores nearby while Eli and I drove around to warm up the car. We got back and sat in the car while she shopped, and I noticed that just sitting with the car running in that cold, that the temperature of the engine was actually dropping. Our last stop was McD's to pick up lunch and then we were headed home.

I was ready for a quick nap, as Eli had slept with me the night before. D worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep with the noise but she needn't have been concerned. Forty five minutes later I woke up feeling refreshed. That afternoon she made dough for doughnuts in her air fryer and before dinner, she and I fried them up using her cast iron skillet. Yum!

Wednesday morning, about 8 a.m. I started the car with no issues. I let it warm up and had it packed and ready to go within 15 minutes. Lots of hugs before I left. My follow-up mammogram was scheduled for noon, so I stopped at home to unload and relax for a bit. The scan went well, no need for an ultrasound, so I'm feeling assured that whatever they thought they saw back in July and August was nothing to worry about. Definitely a relief!

The next day was another cold day, so I stayed at home and got caught up on some housework. Oh, and watched curling as well. The men's provincial Tankard began Wednesday evening and continues until tomorrow. With three draws a day (except Sunday), I've had to plan out my chores around the curling schedule. I do sit and cross stitch while I watch during the afternoon, so I'm somewhat productive. :)

Hence, grocery shopping on Friday didn't happen until after the first draw. There were some decent sales out there to be had - 10 pounds of potatoes for $4.99 was one, and I filled the holes in the pantry, fridge and freezer, all while staying within my alloted amount. I did splurge and pick up a jigsaw puzzle, on sale for $5.99. Patsy has inspired me to try another one - the Christmas attempt failed miserably. She zips through puzzles in a few days, I'm sure this will take me a few weeks.

Today, I'll be watching curling, doing some stitching and maybe some knitting. The weather has done a complete 180 - we're sitting at -4C(25F) this morning with a expected high of -2C(28F). Of course, there will be snow to add to the accumulation but I'll wait until Sunday to clear the driveway. No reason for either my son or I to go anywhere ...at least that I know of.  Oh, some wonderful news too from this week. C received his promotion on the 2nd. He's officially moved from one division to another. This momma is very proud.

Enough chatter from me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I do hope the weather is improving for all of us. While one of the groundhogs suggested just six more weeks of winter in parts of Canada, I highly doubt that will be true for here. But spring is closer than ever, whether it is weeks or still a few months away.