Getting back to real life

While I spent much of the day on New Year's watching football and a movie (!), the rest of the week has been spent doing housework. Who would have thought in 2020, we wouldn't have a robot maid like the Jetsons that would keep the house clean and tidy?  I guess I'm my own Rosie.  

Yes, I watched a movie and it was a waste of time.  Inglorious Basterds was about an elite group of fighters in WWII, a young Jewish woman who escapes the Nazis, and a German actress who operates as an underground agent for the Allies.  Spoiler alert - I don't believe any of it is factual or if it is, Tarantino took licence with the characters and the plot.  For example, in the late stages of the movie, four senior Nazi officials supposedly die in a fire, but of course that didn't happen.  Would that they had, as it would may have ended the war much sooner.  

I did manage to get out for a walk though.  With the temperature hovering at the freezing mark and little wind it was a lovely day to be out in the fresh air.  While it's not clear in the photo, some residents of the condo unit have cleared a skating rink on the pond.  Someone had to have played hockey as there were goals on either end.  I'd be too afraid to go out on the ice but I'm sure someone had fun!  I believe my fear is the result of my Dad losing control of our station wagon when I was about 7 or 8.  We ended up on the ice on the neighbour's slough.  Dad left us (three children) in the backseat while he walked to the house several hundred meters away.  I don't recall much but I do know I was afraid the car would break through the ice before he got back.  It didn't and Victor pulled us out with his tractor, but I've never entirely gotten over my fear. 

While it's been just a few days since New Year's Day but I feel like it's been much longer.  Not that I haven't been busy because I certainly have been.  More so, because I'm back to a more regular routine.  The cats ensure I'm awake no later than 7 a.m. and most days earlier.  Their internal alarm clocks are amazing, especially since, once they've eaten, they spend the rest of the day napping.  I'd be happy if they'd give me an extra half hour in the morning, but that's not happening.

Back to the housework.  In addition to the regular chores, I've started my de-cluttering; thus far the kitchen, the linen closet, and my bedroom dresser have been gone through, sorted, with some things ending up in the trash, others in the donation pile, and the rest tidied up and put away.  I just went through this exercise last February and March, and yet I'm still finding things to get rid of, though not nearly as much as last years round.  There are two small bags of clothing to be donated, as well as a few kitchen items.  Some ratty towels have been relegated to the rag pile.  My goal is to finish the entire house by the end of January.  

C wasn't feeling well Friday evening, so our dinner was postponed.  We got together instead on Saturday evening. It's always a pleasant visit as we never run out of things to talk about.

Today I'm watching junior hockey.  Our Canadian team has made it into the gold medal game, hooray!  They'll be playing Russia, a team that  beat us earlier in the tournament 6-0.  Yikes!  But since a change in goaltender Canada has won every game.  So perhaps they've found the winning formula.  Currently, the Sweden and Finland are playing in the bronze medal game. Both are very good teams and a interesting game to watch.  I have to say, watching the juniors is more exciting than the NHL.  These kids play hard!
Finally, before I forget, I thought I'd share my experience using the Instant Pot as a slow cooker.  Jackie mentioned in the comments that it doesn't work well, and she was definitely right.  While the chili did cook, after 6 hours it wasn't very hot so I switched to a pressure cooker and gave it 4 minutes.  Much better!  What I did like was how quickly it cleaned up.  With the slow cooker I almost always end up with the chili cooked onto the sides of the pot, it just poured right out of the inner pot of the Instant Pot.  

Have a great week everyone!

Some whining and a bit of gratitude

If you are hearing whining in the distance, it's just me.  We had more snow, followed by the cold, more snow, and more cold.  This is November, dammit not January or February!  Apparently Mother Nature doesn't care what I think.  Wednesday morning was the worst as I awoke to -21C (-6F) with windchills approaching -30C.  I had thought I'd shovel the driveway but it was still so cold when I went out to feed the birds, I decided to head back indoors and have a shower instead.  

We had more snow on Tuesday afternoon, and I had shovelled before my son got home from work.  There must have been 2-3 inches of the fluffy stuff at that time.  It continued to snow lightly, so there was maybe a 1/2 inch or so left on the driveway that I cleared up on Wednesday before I went to the weekly stitch and chat at the library.  

Friday was a reasonably decent weather day, but that brought snow on Saturday.  I shovelled twice that day to try to keep the driveway clear.  By evening it had stopped but there was a cold wind so we've got a couple of days of freezing to get through before things improve.  Ok, enough whining!  I grateful to have a warm and comfortable home where I can shelter from the weather.

This week, I went through the items I've purchased (or made) for Christmas gifts and finalized my list.  I was very happy to realize I'm almost done.  Just a couple of gift cards; one for my nephew K and one for L, my esthetician.  I'll pick those up later this month, K's when I fill up at the gas station and L's at the grocery store.  When I added up the total, I was even more excited to realize I've stayed within my budget and it will all be paid for in advance of Christmas.  I don't need Christmas cards or wrapping paper as I have lots of that left over from last year.  (I know it seems early but as most of you know, I dislike crowds with a passion, so shopping around Christmas time is a non-starter for me).  

I also started the list of Christmas baking ideas.  I'm sure it will change over time but there are a few things I generally make every year.  Shortbread and mini cheesecakes are definitely on that list and I was fortunate to find butter and cream cheese on sale at Costco a few weeks ago. Since I have more time to spend on these activities I'm thinking I may try my hand at more finicky type baking.  Nanaimo bars, perhaps?

C and I postponed our regular Friday night dinner to Saturday, after we went to see the movie Midway.  The movie was incredible: the special effects amazing and the story was told without a lot of gore (which is sort of suprising given the topic).  While the impact on Pearl Harbor is well-known and I visited there several years ago, I must admit I didn't know anything about Midway.  The US navy had fewer men, fewer ships, and fewer aircraft, than the Japanese.  Through the efforts of the code-breakers and the belief of their results by the man in charge, they were able to surprise the Japanese at Midway and secure the Pacific.  The sheer bravery of those young (and some old) men to fly into the face of the guns on the aircraft carriers, while being chased through the skies by the Japanese war planes.  I'm sure there were at least a few on both sides shot down by friendly fire.  The movie was a spectacle, real life must have been excruciating.  While this movie focused on the one battle in the one war, I'm grateful to all those who served to ensure our security and freedom.

It reminds me that I really have little to complain about.  Now I'm off to watch the finals of the curling, and the CFL playoff games.  Eight hours of sports isn't for everyone but I'm a happy girl.

Have a great week everyone!

Weekly wrap-up

Another week of Fridays (everyday) has flown by.  The weather has been lovely so I've spent a great deal of time outdoors, either on the back deck or the front patio.  Who knows how much longer I'll have those spaces?  Nope, still no offers but we continue to have showing fairly frequently.  Sooner or later, someone is going to be interested enough to make an offer.

Besides being lazy, I've been re-reading a book I read many, many years ago.  Five Smooth Stones was written by Ann Fairbairn, and originally published in 1966.  The story line follows a young black man, orphaned at birth,raised by his paternal grandparents, and mentored by a "Viking" professor in the city of New Orleans. An accident when he was yet a small child leaves him with a limp.  His grandfather and his mentor push him hard to learn and eventually he attends a small university in one of the Northern states before studying law at Harvard.  While in university he meets and falls in love with a white woman and the novel examines the relationship between the two, the impact on their family and friends, as well as the racial tensions that existed at the time  in the United States.  There are marvelous characters in this book, not just David and Sara, but his grandfather Joseph, the professor Bjarn Knudsen, their classmates, and others.  I had forgotten more of the story than I remembered, but it's still a great read.

On Thursday, C and I went to the theatre to see Yesterday, the movie about a young man who, after being involved in a bicycle meets bus accident...brought on by a world wide power outage, finds that no one else seems to remember the Beatles or various other more current items.  He is a struggling musician who finds fame and fortune using the songs of the Beatles though he's never entirely comfortable with doing so.  It is part love story, part fantasy (who could forget the Beatles?), with the music wound throughout.  While a bit fluffy it was a far better movie than Rocketman, IMO.  I quite enjoyed it!

Friday was dinner with C at Denny's, and Saturday she and I, along with friend C, K, and T met to drive out to Moose Jaw for the Saskatchewan Air show.  It is held at the former military base, now flight training center and home of the Snowbirds the Canadian air demonstration squadron.  The last show was held 14 years ago, and was cancelled due in part to the significant costs of insurance.  The organizers obviously found a way to overcome those challenges and plan to hold the event every second year.  I've never been to one previously and was enthralled.

I don't have many photos as I did not take my camera with me. (There is a reason for that which I won't share at this time). So all of the photos I took were with my cellphone.  

There were a number of different aircraft, a bi-plane, two Harvards, a Spitfire, a P-40 Warhawk, a CF-18 Hornet, an F-16 Fighting Falcon (from the U.S.), an odd looking plane from Switzerland and several more that I've already forgotten.

One of my favorites was the Spitfire.  Watching it and the Warhawk fly through the sky was amazing.  These are the aircraft that were used in World War II.  There aren't many left and to see one that was in such pristine condition was incredible.

My other favorites (of which there are no photos) were the CF-18, the F-16 and of course the Snowbirds.  I think I spent much of my time looking up at the sky in amazement at the agility and precision of these aircraft.  Each of the flights was narrated and at times, we were able to hear the pilots over the radio.  They certainly enjoy their time in the air!

Harvard aerial show - the pilots were two brothers from Edmonton, AB.

It was a hot afternoon, with temperatures near 29C (84F), but there was enough of a breeze to keep relatively cool, while keeping hydrated with lots of water, and sunburn free with SPF 60.  There were clouds too, but no rain though just 75 km. away in Regina, there was a downpour.  Good, because I didn't have to water my containers yesterday.  

We stopped at Applebee's on the way into Regina for dinner before heading home.  That evening the Saskatchewan Roughriders played the Calgary Stampeders.  The game was not great for us, as we lost 37-10 but it was a relaxing way to end the day as I curled up in bed with the cats to watch the last two quarters.

While we were on our way to Moose Jaw, my agent contacted me to ask for a showing.  I called my son, woke him up, and asked him to ensure the cats were out of the house by 1:30 p.m.  I was concerned as the house wasn't as tidy as I like it to be prior to a showing, but when I came home I noted my son had taken care of the worst of it.  He really is a good guy!  He parked down the street and said the group was in the house for nearly 30 minutes.  But no offer has come of it.  

Yesterday was a quiet day, I did do a bit of housecleaning, more reading and hanging out on the deck, and simply enjoying my Sunday.  I did talk to my brother while he was driving back from Alberta where he participated in the Sinister 7, a 160 km. (100 mi.) Ultra marathon which can be run by solos (are they nuts?) or groups up to 7 individuals.  R ran legs 3 and 4, which totalled 54 km (34 mi) up and down the mountains.  As he ran down from the top of leg 3, a storm hit the top with rain, hail, thunder and lightning. I'm glad he was already on his way down!  He enjoyed himself immensely though I'm certain he was pretty sore.  He told me next year, he'll likely run an early and then a late leg as running the two were pretty wearing on him.  The race started at 7 a.m. on Saturday and their team finished about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.  There is a limit of 30 hours for teams or individuals to finish the race so they did pretty well.

My agent also called to ask for a showing today at 6:40 p.m.  So today has been a heavy duty cleaning day.  Thus far, I've done my laundry, vacuumed the upstairs, washed the living room floor, cleaned the toilets/sinks in both bathrooms, cleaned the mirrors throughout the house, and Febreezed the furniture in the sun room and living room.  Next up I have to vacuum the basement, clean the toilet and sink in C's bathroom, clean cat litter (which will be the first task), sweep up the pine cones on the driveway, dead head and water my containers, and take out the garbage.  I'm sure there will be other tasks that I'll find as I'm doing the rest of the list.  Serves me right for being lazy last week.  :)

Have a great week everyone!