Winter returns, curling, and travel plans

The poorly parked vehicle in Wednesday's photo was a Lincoln, parked by an (older than me) lady. To be fair, the parking lot was fairly empty, but the way she parked amused me. I did wait until she was in the store before taking the photo.

Winter was forecast to return midweek with 5-10 cm (2-4 inches of snow), so I did some grocery shopping on Monday and a Costco run on Tuesday. There is a fellow in British Columbia who runs a blog, "Costco West Fan Blog"who sends out e-mails on Tuesday of sale and other interesting items he finds at the various Costco's near his home. He provides information on the pricing history as well. Furnace filters were the big draw as a package of 3 filters was only $39.99. Since Walmart charges $24-26 for just one it's worth the drive out to the other side of the city. These aren't for my son and I, the furnace here takes a different size, but I picked them up for my daughter. Of course, that wasn't all I purchased there - my son likes ramen noodles so I picked up a case of those, a case of tomato paste, and a case of pasta along with a few other items that caught my eye. 

On the way back to the house, I stopped at the Salvation Army thrift store. The place was busy which isn't the norm. I found a nice skort (skirt/short combo), a small purse and a book - all for a whopping $11. I'll use all of these items on my March cruise. I do have a travel purse - it's quite unattractive but has locks and anti-cut straps. I'll continue to use it for my travel days and excursions, but it will be nice to have something prettier for on the ship. 

It started to snow on Wednesday morning, and I made the decision to stay home rather than head over to Stitch and Chat. With the fresh snow, I knew the roads would likely be slippery and besides the Manitoba and Alberta provincial men's curling were being streamed on You-Tube. I'm quite content to curl up on the couch and watch the curling.

The snow had ended by Thursday morning, so between draws, I went out and shovelled the driveway. In total I think we got about 6 cms. (2.3 inches). We were forecast to get a bit more during the day but that didn't come to be. Even so, I didn't venture out to Mahjong but spent the afternoon watching the curling and playing on Ancestry. I'm continuing to add information from the 1931 census and updating current information as I find it. 

Friday, I managed to get a fair amount of housework done between ends and games. Laundry, vacuuming, and using the Green Machine to do some carpet cleaning were accomplished. One of my laundry loads was my bedding - is there anything better than climbing into a freshly made bed? 

I also went outdoors to clear off my car as it had been on the driveway through the snow. We haven't been using the garage as the opener has been acting up and it hasn't been cold enough to worry about the cars sitting out in the open. The door can be opened manually, but I find it difficult as I'm too short to reach the cord while pulling up on the door.

I'm heading out to my daughter's on Sunday for an overnight visit, so I parked on the street until my son arrived home from work. Today, I'll need to load the car with flattened moving boxes, the furnace filters, and other items I've gathered for her. While the move won't happen anytime soon, I'm hoping she'll start packing away some things that aren't needed - decorative items, craft items, and the like. She's been busy watching the realtor site and worrying there won't be anything that will work for us. One of Eli's teachers is a former realtor and has assured her that spring is when most properties get listed. I'm not worried, as we're really not in any rush. It would be nice to have a space where the boxes I currently have stored in the garage (mostly photos/art work, craft items, and family memories) can be unpacked. The goal is to spend a few months with each of my adult children in between my travels. 

In fact, I may have some plans for this winter but until they are confirmed I'll keep them to myself. Let's just say, I'll be someplace warm(er). My cruise, however, is coming up quickly - less than four weeks to go. I'll probably start my preparations next week. I have a basket of items that can be packed, towel clips, a beach bag, magnets, laundry pods, dryer sheets and a few other items. Then I'll need to go through the clothing I plan to take and try things on - there's no point in taking something that no longer fits. I like to pack lightly, or at least as lightly as I can, so there is a bit of color coordination happening too. No point in taking a top that can only be worn once. Also, I have daytime clothing - mostly capris and tees and a few nicer pieces for evening, skirts or palazzo pants and some pretty tops. The ship will have a couple of formal nights, but I don't do formal though I do make an effort to look presentable. It is fun to watch those who do! I'm certain some people have an extra suitcase just for those nights.

Can you tell I'm getting a wee bit excited? I've joined the Cruisecritic group, as well as the Facebook group for this particular cruise. We've got several events planned, a sail-away meet-up on embarkation day, a solo meet-up for our first sea day, and a meet and greet with fellow passengers and crew members on the second sea day. All of these events are a great way to meet fellow cruisers, especially those we've interacted with on-line.

I'm off to watch more curling before I head out to load up the car for tomorrow's drive. Since my son is still sleeping, I'll watch the curling on my laptop in the basement so I can work on a jigsaw puzzle too.

Have a great week ahead everyone!