Playing games

The photo I posted on Wednesday was taken on Sunday afternoon.  With the temperature just around the freezing mark, we were getting rain. :( Not something I wanted to see knowing I was driving out to D's on Monday. Thankfully it didn't last long and while there were some icy patches on the highway the next day, there had been enough traffic through that it wasn't a bad drive at all. I did meet an oncoming "insert swear word here" on the highway passing several vehicles. He may have had just enough room to do so, but I pulled onto the shoulder just in case he hit a patch of ice. I also gave him a one fingered salute as he went by.  The really stupid thing is the highway has passing lanes every 15 kilometers (9 miles) in addition to other areas where passing is permitted.

We had a good visit with less cleaning involved than the last. D's car was at the garage, the part having just come in that morning, so we drove into the nearby larger community to pick up a few necessities. On Tuesday, D had the telephone appointment with the psychologist who will be completing Eli's assessment next week. Eli and I hung out together, watching cartoons, reading books, and playing tickle monster or freeze tag. Tickle monster requires me to catch him, pick him up and toss him onto the couch or bed and tickle him. He tries to hide, but since he always hides in the same place (under the bed covers or a blanket), he's not difficult to find. I try to make it more fun, by looking behind the door, in the bathtub, under the bed, etc. before I actually locate the lump in the covers. Freeze tag is something they play at school, but unlike any freeze tag I've played before, the stuffie that he carries is able to un-freeze him before I've even turned around. When I tell him I'm tired, he says "five more minutes, please?" 

After lunch we picked up D's car at the shop; she headed out to do a few errands while I went back to the house with Eli for a few more minutes of precious time with my favorite kid. One more game of tickle monster was played before she arrived home, and I packed up the car. The trip home was cold and windy but the roads were good. 

Wednesday started out much warmer (-4C/25F) and windy, with snow falling and blowing. I'm glad I came back the day before. I'm pretty sure the roads would have been messy. The clouds never cleared off, but the snow and wind stopped blowing so I headed out to do my grocery shopping.  Jackie, your idea of shopping on a two week cycle might just be what I need to keep within my grocery budget. I didn't even come close to spending double what I would have spent had I shopped both weeks. When I was updating my spreadsheet on Thursday I realized that a good portion of what I had spent was actually cat/bird food which I separate from groceries. I do have a bad habit of picking up items that aren't on my list but are on sale so if I don't shop as often, that should help with impulse buying.

Thursday, I had the company that owns my water heater in to do their annual maintenance.  Which apparently, I don't have to do anymore? When I called in for the appointment, they asked me what the issue was with the water heater - I said there wasn't one, it was just due for an annual inspection. They seemed confused. The appointment was for any time between 7 to 11 a.m. I knew darn well no one would be there by 7, so I didn't get out of bed until then. I got a fair amount of housework done before the fellow showed up at...10:30. We discovered the water heater had a small leak in the pipe coming into it - good thing I called - and he had to go back to the shop to get the piece he needed. He said he'd be back in an hour and showed up 2 hours later. Do you suppose he went for lunch? That's my guess.

When he arrived back at the house I asked how long he'd be as I had an appointment at 1 p.m. Oh boy, did he looks shocked...but he hustled through the appointment and was out the door with about 10 minutes to spare. Luckily the flooring place I was going to is a short drive away. Jason had e-mailed the day before to ask that I pick out the flooring for the basement. I had brought back a piece of laminate flooring left over at my daughter's place, of a color and pattern I liked. It looked good with the existing paint color and doors when I tried it here at home, so I took it with me when I went to the store, even though I was looking for luxury vinyl planking (LVP). Alison pulled several pieces for me and I settled on two different ones as possibles that were fairly close. I was able to bring them home with me to try them out.

At the second store, I found a couple of different ones, but there was no option of bringing home the samples. I decided on the way home, I'd choose between two I had. Luckily that worked out and I've found the flooring - my son choose the same one when I asked his opinion. Best of all, the product is currently on sale, and lower than the budget amount Jason had given me. I'll take whatever savings I can get because I'm sure there will be some surprises that will add to the costs as we go through this process.

Friday was a quiet day of housework, working on Ancestry, and waiting. Waiting for what, you ask? Hooray, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Canadian women's curling) was starting its broadcast. The event is scheduled for January 28 to February 6, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. So far Covid has caused a few hiccups as two curlers tested positive before departing their home provinces, and an on-air announcer tested positive after arrival. But they're taking every precaution, isolating as necessary and testing regularly.  

Normally, I avoid controversial subjects on my blog (one of the reasons I now have this one is I didn't on the last). But I'm quite concerned with the so-called Freedom Convoy that is headed for our nation's capital this weekend. Initially it was said that they were protesting the mandated vaccination of truck drivers crossing the border between Canada and the U.S. Since this policy has been put in place by both countries, and the industry was given three months notice it was coming, I'm not sure what they hope to accomplish. More recently the coordinators have changed their commentary and suggested they are "fighting for our freedoms". Since they are free to travel across Canada and have the freedom to protest (freedom of expression), I'm not exactly certain ewhat freedoms they are referring to. Those who are unvaccinated have the freedom not to be vaccinated, however that is a choice they are making and like any choice in life comes with consequences. Sadly, the rhetoric has ratcheted up and there are now calls for a "January 6th" type protest with trucks ramming the security fences around the Parliament buildings. Even worse, are the calls of death to our Prime Minister and media, with even a few individuals calling for civil war. Sadly, certain opposition politicians are stoking the flames of this anger too. And while I've no doubt that the majority of the attendees plan to protest peacefully, I also have no doubt that more vocal minority have other plans. Frankly, I think this has turned into a demonstration of hatred towards our P.M. Whether someone likes PMJT or not, he was duly elected last October in a minority government. We can argue whether our electoral system is broken or not but at this point, it is what we have. Enough said.

On a happier note, I had a bird fly into the front window on Friday morning (that's not the happy part). I checked and was certain it was dead, as it was lying face down in the snow with one wing extended out. I left it there until later since I don't like picking up a dead bird that is still warm. Imagine my surprise when I went back to the window several hours later to see it was gone. There was some excrement in the snow and no tracks to suggest a neighbourhood cat had carried it off, so I'm assuming it was able to recover. Is this a metaphor for our country? I hope so.

Today, the curling starts this afternoon, so I'm getting my chores out of the way this morning. I was just out to feed the birds - it's clear the weather is improving as they are eating less. I did see Hoover (the squirrel) out there yesterday and it didn't clean out the feeder either. Inside, there is some vacuuming to be done and the bathrooms need a good scrubbing. Time to get off my duff and get moving.

Have a great weekend everyone!