Wordless Wednesday

 

Ups and downs

 A mostly routine week was had, with the exception of additional driving. My friend C (whose mom passed away in December) had her car break down on her last week on the highway. She waited nearly two hours for a tow truck, before she had it towed to a local garage for service. Sadly the work that needed to be done would have cost more than the (used) car had cost her on purchase. She called me on Saturday to ask if I could take her for groceries and to check out another vehicle. 

I found out she had taken an Uber to work both Thursday and Friday, and suggested I could help out by driving her to and from work for a week or so until she got another vehicle straightened out. She happily agreed and gave me money to fill the gas tank. We did look at the vehicle and while it was a cute little car, we agreed it needed to be checked out by her mechanic before she decided. That happened Tuesday, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely surprised to learn that it too, required a lot of work. So that was a no go.

By Friday, she had found another vehicle through a good friend, and she's hopeful this will pan out. In the meantime I'm prepared to drive her to and from work for a few days next week. However, this weekend she'll have to find another means of transportation as I have come down with a miserable cold. Testing indicates negative for Covid. 

I didn't start feeling poorly until Thursday afternoon, so did get to Stitch and Chat on Wednesday. We had the three current regulars, as well as a lovely young woman who is teaching herself to crochet. I'm not sure we were much help to her as we all hold our hooks and yarn differently but we did offer some suggestions. A is currently on maternity leave for the next couple of months, and as well as being a new mom, is taking university classes in Education. one of her courses challenges her to learn something new that she's always wanted to learn. She chose crochet. I don't think we frightened her away as she mentioned she would be back next week. 

Other than that it was a pretty quiet week, lots of curling to watch, the regular housework, and I continued the declutter of the craft room. The photo on Wednesday is the result of purchasing new see-through storage containers for some of the yarn. I do need to pick up three more, I think. I sorted the yarn by color, and it will make it much easier to find what I'm looking for with the clear containers. 

The weather has been quite cold in the morning and warming sufficiently through the afternoon to allow for some melting. As a result my street is full of ruts, none of which are down to the pavement just yet. Driving down the street at any speed is like riding a mechanical bull. Even at the slowest speed one is tossed back and forth. Of course at the end of the crescent is a lovely small lake in the afternoon, which freezes into a true mess by morning. I suspect there is a drain that needs to be opened, but I'm not going looking for it.  I'm glad to see the melting, as I did have a fall earlier in the week when I walked to the mailbox. I was almost back on the sidewalk when my feet went out from under me, I landed on my back and my head hit the sidewalk. Luckily I didn't land hard and except for a pulled muscle in my neck, I was fine. 

Our Canadian women won their game overnight - I had PVR'ed it and watched it this morning, and will be on the ice again in about 15 minutes. So I'll be settled on the couch watching and hoping they make it to the final. If not, I believethey'll be in the bronze medal game. Other than that I've no plans for the rest of the weekend. 

I'll leave you with two very different photos. The one on the left was taken on this date two years ago. My post on FB tells me, it was raining with snow on the forecast overnight, but a high of 14C (57F) the following day.

The next photo was taken today, no snow in the forecast but temperatures not expected to reach above the freezing mark for a week or ten days. 

I bet you can guess which view I'd prefer!  

Have a great week ahead everyone. 

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Running around

The photo on Wednesday was taken early one morning from my bedroom window. The rabbit was trying to get under the gate and out of the yard, and not having much luck. It wasn't trapped though, as there is a larger gap at the back of the yard where it can get under the fence and into the neighbour's yard. I was happy to see it is turning color, but winter is still hanging in here. We were supposed to be above freezing one day this week and it didn't happen. In fact, we had cold temperatures later in the week, with lows of -22C and -25C (-8 to -13F). 

Unlike the past couple of weeks, this week was a busy one. In fact, I was away from the house for periods of time on four days this week!  The driving started on Tuesday with grocery shopping. Like last week, I didn't need a lot, and shopped for the basics and a few sale items. 

I'd also managed to get some decluttering done on Monday, going through my closet and my dresser drawers and filled a bag with clothing I haven't worn in a long time, and items that don't fit well. I took the bag as well as several boxes of items I'd filled from the kitchen, and dropped them off at the thrift stores. The Salvation Army has been requesting donations of clothing so I went there first. Of course, I had to go shopping too - I picked up a cat food bowl for Saku and a book to read. Then it was off to Value Village to drop off the rest of the items. There I found yarn to make scrubbies, and a container of several birthday stamps. My daughter likes making cards, so I picked those up for her.  

I've also started my de-cluttering and tidying of the craft room, but I know it will take some time to get through it all. The two tables have been mostly cleared, and I've moved all of my UFO's into a single tub. It's clear I don't mind starting things, I'm not so good at finishing them! Perhaps to help hold myself accountable, I'm putting it out there that my plan is this: when I start a new project, I MUST finish a UFO as well. 

Wednesday was stitch and chat - there were just two of us there; R and I, the lady who had come a few weeks ago for the first time. The other regular texted she had something come up and couldn't make it. R mentioned she had thought a friend of hers might have attended but did not show, so we spent the two hours happily chatting.

On Thursday afternoon, I had my appointment with the bank to close the trust account and open the new one. Sheesh, what a process! It took nearly 45 minutes to get things dealt with. There were questions I wasn't expecting which didn't appear to relate to the opening of an account and, of course, an attempt was made to sell me other products. No thanks, I'm good. I've been banking with this institution since 1982 when I was hired at the branch in my hometown. My daughter was a baby, and we moved onto my parent's farm yard in a house trailer. During my tenure at that branch, there was a large construction project in the area and we had hundreds of new accounts opened as the employees came to deposit and cash their pay cheques. My memory suggests we opened accounts in no more than 20 minutes and that was pre-computer so everything was handwritten. (We did have "green-screen" computers but there was paper-work for everything we did.) I understand this appointment gave the bank an opportunity to update their information but seriously it took a ridiculous amount of time.

Friday morning, I took a drive out to visit my brother at the farm. I haven't seen him in person since before Christmas. He had a day off work and I decided a drive was in order before the spring thaw when the roads get quite messy. He texted me in the morning to wear my boots and bring my camera.

In summer he mows the hiking trails and in the winter he pulls a tire to pack down the snow. We left the yard and went for a short loop, and quickly learned I'm not very good at staying on the packed snow. I fell a few times when my foot sunk into the deeper snow beside the trail. I was grateful he was there to help me get up. (Do you remember the commercials, "I've fallen and can't get up?" That would be me.)

It was cold out (-18C or 0F), but I was bundled up and the sun actually felt warm. No wind to speak of, so it was nice to be out in the fresh air.

It's not easy to see in this photo but just ahead and to the right is a deer trail that climbs the hill. R says the view from the top is really nice...I'll take his word for it.

Another deer trail through the bush. 

Heading back into the farm yard, I saw the picnic table and said to R, "worldest largest bird feeder?" He said no, this is feed he's put out for the deer. They were cleaning out the bird feeder, so he set this out further from the house.

On the drive to his place, I stopped on the hill for a photo of the red-roofed church. The gravel roads were in good shape, but the ditches are definitely full of snow. Despite the cold, it was good to get outdoors and spend some time with my brother.

The Women's World Curling starts today,  and is being held in Sweden. The first draw is at noon (my time), and only the Canada games will be televised until the playoffs. I've looked at the schedule and some draws will be aired in the middle of the night. I'll have to PVR those games and watch them at a more reasonable hour. Even I'm not that big of fan that I'd get up at 2 a.m. to watch the live game. 

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone. I hope spring is well on its way, wherever you may be. I'd just ask you send some of my way, when you get a chance!

Friday Funny*

 

*Not entirely funny, but certainly true.

Wordless Wednesday!