Spring cleaning and fun at the pool

This week was much busier than the last...which has it's good and less than good points. But before I start in on a recitation of this week's happenings, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sunday's special event. I posted a photo on Wednesday, of Eli with his mom and his godmother M, taken after the confirmation service. He did very well during the very lengthy proceedings. We did not stay for lunch, though, as we were all ready to get home to relax and visit. After our lunch, D and M left to do a bit of bonding (shopping), as it has been some time since the two have been able to spend time without children in tow. M's children range in age from about 12-19, and the two met when they both worked at a call center in the city.

I did my first volunteer shift at the thrift store on Tuesday. I arrived late, not realizing that I should have been there about 11 a.m., rather than noon. I met several ladies including our team lead G. They were having coffee when I arrived so we sat and chatted for a bit. G gave me a tour of the various back rooms, and I got a sense of just how much stuff that gets donated. We could use a thrift store that is 2 or 3 times it is now (and that's after they moved into this larger space this winter/spring).

It also seems that many people have recently decided to go their closets and purge! I can't tell you how many bags we emptied but when I left at 4 p.m. there were 5 racks of clothing filled, along with shelves of shoes, two or three carts of kitchen ware, and mounds of books, DVDs, etc. AND that was the better stuff as we filled three or four large bags of garbage, and sent off a few more to be donated to the NTO's (next town over) Value Village.

Wednesday was quiet, and a needed rest day. Late in the afternoon, D received a package for a new piece of furniture for the kitchen. If you recall, I purchased a storage cabinet for the office/craft room a couple of weeks ago, and D decided we needed more storage in the kitchen. That late in the day was not the time to start putting it together.

Thursday morning, we got busy and had most of the cabinet put together by lunch time. Eli went back to school after lunch; we picked him up at 2 p.m. and went to NTO to do a bit of shopping and for his swimming lesson at 4:30 p.m. at the indoor pool. D receives Autism funding for Eli (and will until he is 12 years old), so she arranged for private swimming lessons. He had a blast with his teacher, while D and I sat and relaxed. 

There was rain and snow in the forecast, and when we'd left town the highway was wet. After a quick stop for a bite to eat, we headed home with snow falling quite heavily. The roads were slushy and wet most of the way home, and though it was around the freezing mark, the conditions weren't as bad as I thought it might be. In fact, by the time we were about 10 minutes from home, the highway was almost dry, and there was only about a centimeter of snow on the ground.

On Friday, D and I finished the cabinet, and began emptying and cleaning three cupboards, and reorganizing. We moved the pots and pans to the new cabinet. These were originally stored in a cabinet near the stove that ought to have had a lazy Susan but instead was simply an large open cabinet with a small shelf at the back. It meant we bent over and sometimes knelt to get the right piece. The cabinet solved that issue. 

The old cabinet now stores a couple of small appliances that we rarely use, as well as the baking pans (in those standing trays), bowls, and measuring cups. The cabinet that previously held to the Ninja creamy, blender, and handheld mixer now holds all of Eli's lunch kits and water bottles (and he has a lot!). Finally the cabinet that stored the bowls and measuring cups, now has the crockpot and bread machine, and still has room to be our snack cabinet. Moving these appliances from the pantry provides more space, though I've no intention in filling up the shelves! We have enough items in there to keep us well fed for some time.

Despite the snow and cooler weather, spring has arrived. There are a multitude of robins, Canada geese, and most recently a pair of flickers. The latter were on the big tree out back one morning. D and I stood at the window and watched. What fun! I did notice a pair of juncos one day but we don't feed the birds, so they didn't stick around. The robins, though, are quite happy to hang out in the yard. Spencer, is quite fascinated by them and watches out the window, chittering at them. Great cat television too.

I'm late posting today because I got caught up in Ancestry yesterday. It's a cool and cloudy day, with snow flurries, but the snow is melting as quickly as it falls. I'm off to catch up on blog reading, and have no plans for the rest of the day. :)

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Weather woes and a celebration

This will be a short post, as I haven't done a whole lot this week, and I didn't start writing until Friday. 

As you will have seen, the big event of the week was the snowstorm that settled in on Thursday, followed by a bit more snow on Friday. Total accumulation was about 35 cms (14 inches). My daughter spent much of Friday shovelling the sidewalk and the parking area. While we had nowhere to go for a couple of days, we do have something special planned on Sunday.

The photo of Eli on Wednesday is our boy dressed in his suit for his confirmation and first communion on Sunday. His paternal grandmother was instrumental in having him baptized in the Catholic church, and he attends a Catholic school. This ritual is part of growing up with close ties to the church. His godmother is expected to drive in from the city, and the four of us will attend the service. The snow won't have melted by then, but we'll walk to the church if need be.

Since the weather was horrid, I missed out on Knit and Natter on Thursday afternoon, and in fact, I spent most of the day in my pj's just watching out the bedroom window as the snow fell.

It was a bit of a shock after Wednesday, when our temperature reached a high of 10C (50F). I had ordered new rain gutter downspout extenders, and they arrived in the mail this week, so D and I spent some time setting up the rain barrels. We've been having some issues with the parging on the corner by the back door, and water is making it's way into the basement. At least this way, the snow melting off the roof will be diverted, and we'll have to come up with a way to waterproof the foundation.

And I did get a call from the thrift store and will do my first volunteer shift next Tuesday. I've been put on a team, and our months are April, July, October, and January. I explained to the caller that I won't be available in January and possibly the end of October, but otherwise am flexible. I do know they are short staffed over the summer as many of the locals spend time at their cottages and/or with family. The schedule works for me, as we have no plans to go anywhere this summer.

Beyond that, it's been a pretty quiet, normal week here at home. I've done some organizing in the pantry and cupboards, spent many hours reviewing hints on Ancestry, did some vacuuming, prepared a few meals, and hung out with the cats and my grandson. What I didn't do was knit. So my project is again, at a standstill. :)

Spencer and Saku aren't friends, but do tolerate one another at least for a short while.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

It was a good week!.

March, apparently, came in like a lamb, so of course had to leave like a lion. Monday brought about 15 cms/6 inches of snow. With my bum knee, D chose to do the shovelling on her own. She went out four times throughout the day, clearing as much as possible as it fell. I was very appreciative of her efforts. (And know Doug, it wasn't an April Fool's joke.)

Before much of the snow had fallen, we dropped Eli at school and then on to pick up a few groceries and her prescriptions at the pharmacy. On the way back to the house she snapped the first photo I posted this Wordless Wednesday. The highway between here and the next town over (NTO) was a mess according to the teachers who had travelled in that morning. Visibility was low and even here in town it wasn't great. 

Tuesday morning, though, we woke to sunshine. Just last week the photo I posted on Wednesday, the snow around the firepit had started to disappear. In this week's photo, it's nearly covered. Melting did occur throughout the day and continued the rest of the week and the fire pit is once again visible. 

When I'd picked up groceries last week, I'd bought a small 12 pound turkey on sale (Easter pricing I assume); at $2.49/lb. it was a good deal. On Tuesday I cooked it up and we got mounds of meat from that bird - two dinner plates full! After a turkey dinner that evening, D made up fried rice and turkey for the next evening, and we packed up several packages for lunch meat and other meals. I also boiled up the carcass for broth. I'm planning to make up some soup, but we'll also use some of it as a treat for the cats. They do like broth over their food too! #spoiled cats - not in the least. :p

After dropping Eli off after lunch, we headed over to the thrift and discount store. I have not heard anything about volunteering at the thrift store as yet, but I'm not in any hurry. D picked up some toddler jackets for her friend S, who is expecting her first boy in August. They range in size from 12-24 months, so it will be awhile before S can use them. But the jackets were barely worn, and at $3 for 4 pieces (a t-shirt was added), she couldn't go wrong. She also found a pair of dress boots for herself.

I certainly didn't need anything and for a change, I didn't buy anything. Since we had time before picking up Eli (he attends until 2 p.m.) we stopped at the local hardware store. Besides some garden seeds, I purchased a Christmas gift for Eli. He truly enjoys Lego, and there was a set marked down 40%. It will stay in the closet until the fall, when I'll wrap it up before I head south for the winter. 

Both D and I had gone through our clothing items and had a couple of bags to donate, along with some household items including two casual art pieces, a sun lamp, and a small vacuum. We decided to drive over to the NTO to Value Village on Wednesday. I also needed to buy a keyboard for my laptop as it has a bad habit of not allowing me to type w and s. Oddly, enough while I was writing this post, that sticky problem never happened. A quick stop at Dollarama (my daughter's favorite store) and at Walmart for a few sale items, we were on our way home in time to unload the car before Eli was finished school for the day. He stays for lunch on Wednesday as his "Big Brother" hangs out with him at lunch. N is currently in Grade 11 so the two will have another year before he heads off to university.

I spent Thursday morning prepping and doing a bit of cooking. Baked pasta with meat sauce was on the menu for dinner so I pre-cooked the pasta, and put together the meat sauce using spicy Italian sausage and some leftover tomato basil soup. An easy meal! I also mixed ground beef and pork together for hamburger patties for the freezer, and baked a meatloaf. In addition, I got the turkey broth into freezer bags, and a small jar for the fridge. 

The men's World curling continued through the week. Thursday was the last two round robin draws. The Canadian team had lost two games earlier in the week but were in the playoffs, in third place. To go ahead in the standings, they needed to win both games and get a little help from the Czechia, who would need a win over Scotland. The day ended with Canada in 3rd place, which meant they would play in the qualifier on Friday morning against Italy. 

It was a tight game, but Canada prevailed and went on to face Scotland in the semi-final in the afternoon. The teams were tied up after 5 ends with 5 to go. Matt Dunstone, the Canadian skip had not been playing his best and my nerves were on edge. But in the final ends he and the team came together and pulled ahead of Scotland. On to the gold medal game! They will face Niklas Edin of Sweden. Edin has won the championship seven times in his career, so will be a formidable opponent. In fact Canada lost to Sweden earlier in the week. I'll still be cheering....Go Canada Go! 

In between the draws, D (mostly) and I put together a new cabinet for our office/craft room. We both have a lot of craft material and equipment. Since we'd moved in, the printer had sat on top of an old end table the next door neighbour had given us. While it held the paper for the printer, it wasn't useful as storage and took up a fair amount of floor space. I had ordered the cabinet shortly after I returned, and it arrived on Thursday. After some false starts and a few blue words, we managed to put it together in a couple of hours...with a few breaks to separate corners.

That sparked a sorting and tidying frenzy. Several bags of donations were separated from the items we know we will use in the future. A number of items were also tossed in the garbage and the space in the cabinet was filled. I went back to watch the second game, while D kept on sorting her vinyl and paper scraps. I'm thrilled with the progress and hopeful that I'll be able to get at my sewing machine and catch up on some mending projects soon.

Today, I'll be watching both the bronze and gold medal games, while working on one of my knitting projects. It is nearing completion and I hope to have a photo next week of the finished project. D and Eli are planning a trip to the local theater for "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie". 

Finally, while there is potentially more snow in the forecast for later this week, we are definitely seeing melting. Hooray!

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

Snow overload

It was a quiet, busy week. I know that is conflicting but it is true. The snow started around 9 a.m. on Wednesday and did not let up until late the next day.

This was the radar about noon on Tuesday. The storm extended west as far as Edmonton, Alberta and east to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm pretty certain I've shared this saying before...Manitoba sucks and Alberta blows. An Alberta Clipper is a fast moving low-pressure storm that forms east of the Rocky Mountains. It usually follows Chinook winds that bring warm temperatures. We had above freezing temps overnight on Monday into Tuesday but that didn't last long.

As a result, my daughter and I decided to pick up some extra groceries, fresh fruit, bread, and dairy to ensure we wouldn't need to go out for the next few days. While we were expecting a reprieve from the snow on Thursday, there was more in the forecast for Friday. (Have I made a note yet, that I really, really dislike winter?)

By noon, the school had announced the cancellation of the Christmas concert. In anticipation of the cancellation, the principal had arranged for the children to attend the nearby church and the program was video-ed (they don't tape things anymore do they?). A link was sent out to the families to view at their pleasure.

D picked Eli up at school, as he wasn't feeling well. He spent the afternoon on the couch, and D and I shovelled three times between noon and 5 p.m. The weather app suggested there was about 19 cms. or 7.5 inches. We cleared about 10 inches, but some of that had blown in. The snow did not finish falling or blowing until well after midnight. (Here's the radar at 6 p.m. - the storm was moving, but not fast enough for me!)    

By 5:30 a.m., when my daughter and I went out to shovel, there was 50 cms/20 inches on the ground. The wind had blown it around, such that there were places at least knee-deep or more to get through. We managed to clear the walkways around the house but left the parking pad in back until it was light out. 

I won't bore you with the details, but my daughter spent over 3 hour shovelling, while I was out there for two. She was out there when the grader went through the back alley and he dipped a little way into our yard to help clear it. Nice guy! We wanted it done as more snow was in the forecast for Friday. Oh yippee!

The forecast suggested 10-15 cms (4-6 inches ). Mother Nature laughed and sent another 26 cms (10 inches). D shovelled before she left to take Eli to school.  I shovelled again while she was at the school for a meeting and again later in the afternoon.  The second shovel was precipitated by the sight of our elderly ( ie. older than me) neighbours out clearing their sidewalks. 

That should be it for snow the remainder of December. We've got a couple of miserable cold to get through and then temps will be seasonal. I'll be honest, as much as I'm enjoying my time with Eli and his mom, I'm counting down the days until I return to Yuma and the sun.

The fence behind me is 5 feet tall. The majority of the pile is from clearing the parking pad over the past few days!

The weekend will be quiet due to the cold weather. D has finished her baking though I may bake a small batch of shortbread, and there is curling to watch. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Painting continues and future travel plans

More painting happened this week. A couple of days in, I was thinking it would never end. The first coat was finished in the basement area by mid-day Tuesday. It could have been sooner, but I took a break Monday afternoon...to plan a trip.

D, Eli, and I had been talking for a few months about travelling to Nova Scotia this summer. Eli is old enough now, at 8 years old, to remember most of the trip. We had meant to book for 8 days, 7 nights, but somehow I managed to book flights for 9 days, 8 nights. Probably a good thing as our days will be full! We'll be staying in Halifax for a couple of days, then travel to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg before spending another night in Halifax. From there, we're off to Baddeck, with a couple of stops along the way. From Baddeck we'll travel to Sydney for one night. A one night stop in Antigonish, will have us back in Halifax on Canada Day, before we fly home the next day. There are museums, parks, gardens, and historical sites to visit. The day of our flights home, we've nothing planned, and we have late flight. We'll have time to pack and some playtime at a park before we drop off our rental car at the airport. 

Eli will miss a couple of days of school, but it is the end of the school year so won't be missing much. D has been working with him on his phonics for his French language and discovered this week, he is ahead of his classmates! Sadly, there was an issue with his in-class teacher and he hasn't been able attend class for a couple of months. He is working with a resource teacher (one-on-one) on his other subjects, but it has been left to D to provide the French language skills he needs. She attended French Immersion from kindergarten to Grade 12, and has her Education degree. As a result, she's well able to help Eli with his school work.

We're all looking forward to the trip. I did a road trip to the Maritimes with friends back in 2016. This will be different travelling experience. I suspect, though, like that trip, I'll be doing the majority of the driving. I do like feeling in control. :)

The photos on Wednesday is the work I completed on Tuesday. The first coat of paint was on the walls, and I was tired. I had taken part of the morning off to go thrifting. I found a couple of pretty decorative cushions and a 2 cup glass measuring cup ...with the markings on it. So many times the thrift store measuring cups have had the markings missing - I don't know if they were washed off, or if they were simply so poorly made. My daughter measures things using a coffee cup; I'm not that talented. But my best buy was a pair of brand new blue jeans (still had the waist tag on them) for under $7. 

The painting party continued over the next few days. I did have an accident on Wednesday morning. There is/was a water fountain for the cat and I managed to knock it over and when I got back from the bathroom where I had taken it to dump, I found I'd also managed to tip over the paint can. There is now a large splotch in the carpet. I cleaned up as much as I could, and will use a carpet cleaner later to see if I can any more of it out. If not, the carpet is ancient, there is a cat and a dog in the house, so at some point I'm sure my son will want to replace it. 

By Thursday afternoon, I had finished the second coat throughout the basement. I noted, as it dried, a few spots that needed to be touched up but decided I needed an afternoon off. Since I'm on nobody's schedule but my own, I chose to do just that. After a much needed shower, I went out to do a wee bit of shopping. I can't say I found anything special, but came home with a pair of pillows and bath mats. 

Friday morning, I made a few touch ups before I tackled the stairwell. There were some holes to patch that needed to be left to dry before sanding. I was able to continue painting other areas, though, while that happened. I'm not able to reach the full height of the walls at the top of the stairs, so will send my son up the ladder on the weekend. He's over 6 feet tall, about a foot taller than I am and should be able to do the edging along the ceiling.

By midday, I decided to call it quits. Can you tell I'm getting tired of painting? Oh, I'll power through and get the rest of the foyer and stairwell painted, but my bedroom is going to wait until my next visit. I plan clean the basement next week, and then I'll start packing the car to go back out to my daughter's. 

Instead, I spent much of the afternoon watching television and cross-stitching. Guess what I did, for part of it? Not painting, not stitching, but snow shovelling! We got about an inch of snow over a 24 hour period. While we could drive through it, the snow had piled up in front of the garage. My son likes to park in the garage over the weekend, while I like to have my car available (we have a narrow driveway). It only took 15-20 minutes, but it is the first time I've had a shovel in my hands since December. 

Later today, I'll continue the painting up on the landing and the stairwell. I'm using latex paint, and as it dries quickly, I'll try to get the second coat on in the afternoon. Then I can clean everything up and put my supplies away!

Meanwhile I'm watching the women's world curling from Korea. Canada is playing Scotland this morning and at the moment the game is tied up. I've got my tea and bagel with peanut butter to enjoy along with the curling. Go Canada go!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Wordy Wednesday

In lieu of a Saturday post, I'll do a short post today. Tomorrow I'm off on my trip to Bismarck - this time for real!

The snow we were promised came and came and came some more. It snowed for close to 24 hours, and in that time the weather channel suggested we had nearly 30 cms. (12 inches) of snow.  I would say we were closer to 20cm/8 in. We should have gone out and cleared snow Saturday evening, but instead waited until mid-morning on Sunday. It took nearly 2 hours for my daughter and I to clear the sidewalks: back, side and front (including city sidewalk), as well as the area behind the back fence and the garage. There had been a couple of vehicles; trucks, I assume, that had been down the alley. But my vehicle was covered, and the snow around it and behind it was deep.

It continued to snow until mid-afternoon, when I realized there was a bright orb in the sky to the southwest. What could that be? It's been a few days since we've seen the sun. Once we were sure it was sticking around, D and I went out again and cleared the snow that had fallen in the meantime.

The town plows were out sometime overnight to start the street clearing (I heard nothing). It expect it will take a day or two to get to the alleys. Sadly, at least a couple of our neighbours are idiots. One attempted to blow the snow across the alley to the vacant property but, of course, much of the snow ended up in the alley. In the other direction, another neighbour made a mess weaving his way through the snow and apparently spinning his tires. 

I drove Eli to school on Monday morning, as D's car would not have had the height to make it through. We chose to go towards the snow blower mess and I bottomed out in the SUV. That spot is flattened now. We decided to try the other direction on the way back from the school, and it was even a bigger mess. 

Tuesday morning, the alley had yet to be cleared, so I again drove Eli to school, and then D to the bank before heading to the city. The highways were clear, but it was very foggy for about half of the trip. I saw a couple vehicles in the ditch and one fender bender in the city. The city street were definitely not as clear, however sanding trucks had been out so the intersections weren't bad. I think having a heavier vehicle is a benefit too.

I ran a few errands, stopped at the doctor's office to drop off and pick up some paperwork for D, the bank to pick up cash for my trip, and at the mall for a haircut. I use cash because it is the easiest way to stay within my spending budget. The haircut was desperately needed as I hadn't had a cut since September. While there are a couple of salons in our small town, getting an appointment is quite difficult and often requires a wait of several weeks. No thanks!

Back at the house, I discovered C had only got half of the driveway cleared after this latest snowfall. After a bite of lunch, I went out and did the rest. A downfall of the neighbour having install the fence, the snow now blows across the area behind the house and up against the fence. This blocks access to the garage. Not good when the temperatures are forecast to be in the range of -25C to -30C (-13F to -22F) later this week. Thankfully there is no snow in the forecast, so we'll both be parking in the garage. 

Today, I've got some housework to do. No, the vacuum has not moved since I left over a month ago. I'm running a load of laundry, and will pop out to pick up a few groceries. Since I'm in the city, I'll make a run to Value Village as well. In particular, I'm looking for a small ottoman or a stool to put by the door into our porch at D's. We both would like something to sit on as we put on our winter boots. An ottoman would be best, as we'd have storage for the mitts, toques (beanies) and scarves we use most often.

To my readers from the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! To everyone else, have a great weekend.

Winter has arrived!

For those who did not see my edited post - my Black Friday shopping trip is happening this upcoming week, not last. I'm not sure why I had the dates mixed up, but thankfully reader Cheryl let me know in the comments. So I wasn't a week early waiting for the bus in the Walmart parking lot. :) 

The wordless Wednesday photo was taken on Sunday evening after the first snowfall. The sky was much brighter than my phone camera captured. Winter storm warnings were issued as well, and we were expecting up to 15-20 cms (6-8 in) of snow overnight Monday into Tuesday. I'm not sure if it was the winds, but we were fortunate and the storm skirted us. While we got a bit of freezing rain, by morning the temperatures were at or slightly above freezing. As a result, the streets were wet not icy. In the meantime, my son got a pile of snow in the city.

We walked, again, this week at the community center. On Monday, the hockey team were exercising, and the cardiac center was also open. As a result the track was busier than we've seen thus far. After walking, we went to the local Canadian Tire to pick up another shovel - we only have one. With the expected snow, a second one would come in handy.

Wednesday was cold, about -8C (18F) with the windchill sitting around -20C (-4F). Though we'd had some snow overnight, most of the accumulation was the result of the wind blowing from the west. D shovelled out the walkways before we hopped in the SUV for the short drive to the school. Good thing, as the drifts at the end of the alley were quite deep and her little car would have had a time getting through the drifts. By late afternoon, the city had plows out cleared most of the streets and at the alley entrances. Of course, then it started to snow again.

I spent much of the morning working on the gingerbread ornaments, crocheting the edging and adding a small amount of stuffing. There was curling to watch so I was definitely in my happy place. Meanwhile, D was working on her Cricuit creating cards for the Elf on the Shelf. I am so grateful this fad didn't exist when my kids were young. So far, the Elf has been found in various places, hanging from a lamp, a garland strant, in the bathroom, and more recently, in a jar. One cannot touch the elf; the jar meant he could go to the dentist's appointment Eli had on Thursday.

That appointment was to remove the spacer that was put in to keep his teeth from shifting when he lost a tooth before the next one was ready. Did I ever tell you how his first appliance went missing? A child, that would be Eli, removed it and flushed it down the toilet. As can be imagined his mom freaked out because it cost $300 to replace. He sent me a message asking if I'd pay for it. :) Of course, I told him I would. His tooth finally erupted but the trip was for naught, as it had not erupted enough for the dentist to remove the spacer. 

While they were away, I ran out to the grocery stores. More items than I had intended made their way into the cart. In my defence, when grocery items are sale here, it's best to buy. Again, I found some items at prices that were more reminiscent of pre-Covid pricing. Others, not so much but necessary purchases. After putting things away, I went out the cleared the sidewalks out to the front of the house. Our next door neighbour was kind enough to use their snowblower to clear the front side walk last night.

D and I spent Friday morning winterizing a few of the windows and starting our Christmas baking. The bathroom window, as well as the small window at the top of the stairs are definitely leaking cold air. We used a kit we bought at the dollar store and it seems to help. D made a shortbread base for her homemade Twix bars (I call this a caramel toffee bar), and I made a batch of shortbread after lunch. My taste test of my cookies told me I haven't forgotten how to make them. :)

While the cookies baked, I watched curling and worked on finishing off the gingerbread men. When both cookies and the ornaments were finished I pulled out the pattern for Christmas gnomes. The first one is on the hook. These will be for my nephew and niece, though if I like them well enough, I may make two more for my brother and SIL. The nice thing about these is, I can customize them for each person.

Today, D and I will do a little more decorating, more baking, and I'll watch curling and crochet when I can. The snow is supposed to start this evening, and get heavier overnight. Perhaps as much as 12-20cm (4.75 - 7.75 inches) my mid-day on Sunday. I've got my fingers crossed it will be the lesser amount. It is also going to colder. That's winter in Saskatchewan for you.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Stormy weather, sunny skies ahead

The weather has been up and down with miserable cold weather starting Monday overnight and lasting until Wednesday overnight. It was -26C (-15F) when I woke both mornings, with windchills into the high -30C's. Let's just say it was cold. We also got snow on Monday so I was out shovelling the darn stuff, not once but twice as it wouldn't let up. We didn't get as much as other areas of the province, but ended up with about 4 inches on the ground. 

Then the weather gods smiled on us and the temperature started climbing on Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m. it was up to -14C (7F). By morning it was warmer still, and our afternoon high reached slightly above freezing. Weird and wacky weather indeed. The downspout on the front of the house has a leak at the elbow and the melting has dripped onto the cottoneaster hedge making a pretty pattern on the branches.

I met my friend and travel agent for coffee/tea on Monday morning - we had a lovely visit catching up on one another's lives. We realized the last time we got together was last summer! Hopefully we can manage another visit in May or June, she is incredibly busy with her travel agency and her family. When I left the shop, the snow was coming down and the streets were quite icy. I did stop in at Value Village where I managed to find a green t-shirt for my cruise. We'll be onboard on March 17th so I wanted something for St. Patrick's Day. 

With the nasty weather on Tuesday, I stayed home and mostly indoors and did lots of housework. In between tasks I managed to arrange movers for April. We take possession on the 10th, my stuff will move from the city on the 11th, and then D's move will happen the following day. D will start moving boxes over on possession date and I'll assist the next day. The movers are planning to be here in the city at 9:00 a.m. and we should be at the house and hopefully unloaded shortly after noon. I have about 50 boxes, some garden items, and only two pieces of furniture that are going with me. The majority of the boxes are already packed and stored in the garage - though some boxes will need to be re-packed/taped shut. I know what I'm doing when I return from my cruise. :)

Stitch and chat was Wednesday and Io and I were joined by another lady, W. Small world, Io and W knew each other already through the church they both once attended. Neither knew the other would be there that afternoon.

I did some running around on Thursday morning, getting some additional cat food, litter, and a few groceries. There is lots of food in the pantry and fridge for my son and I'm well stocked on cat food as well. C will need to pick up a few things, I'm sure, like bread and milk. But I also know full well, that there will be pizza and subs ordered too. 

Thursday was also the day for the home inspection. All went reasonably well, there are some repairs needed, particularly on the exterior of the home. Most of those repairs relate to ensuring that water is not able to infiltrate the house (moving some downspouts, repairing flashing around the chimney and properly nailing down the ridge cap). It appears the shingles were replaced within the last year and some of the work wasn't completely finished. The eavestroughs need clearing - something we do on our own. The inspector also pointed out where windows and doors need the silcone replaced and recommended replacing the front door of the porch. The last item was something we'd already decided needed to be done. All in all, things went well and the more expensive items like the furnace and water heater are in good shape. With this information we lifted the conditions on Friday, ahead of schedule.

The men's Brier (Canadian curling championship) started on Friday evening. It is being held here in the city, though I've decided to watch from home.  I spent the day doing laundry, prepping income tax returns, and chatting with Rob the realtor. In the meantime, D went shopping (locally) and found a great deal on a dishwasher. She called me, I gave the store my credit card number and they'll hold the appliance until we move in. That's one of the nice things about dealing with a store in a small town. For certian, The Brick or Leon's would never have permitted us to store it with them.

Today we're expecting a storm originating south of the border. Accumulation amounts range from about 6 inches here in the city to double that where D and Eli live. She's already decided, should the forecast be correct, that Monday will be a snow day for them. She'll take her time shovelling out in the back, as the city will need to clear the alleyways before she can get out anyway.

The countdown to my cruise continues. I am to fly out on Wednesday morning, though with more snow expected on Tuesday, I might be delayed (fingers crossed I will not). Since I've given myself leeway - the cruise doesn't sail until Saturday, I'm sure I'll get there in plenty of time. I'm pretty much packed, just a last few items to go in the bags. Before I leave though, I have one more thing to take care of - the car goes into the shop to have the side mirror replaced. I won't be recommending this business any time soon as it has taken two weeks for them to paint the mirror so that it can be installed!

Have a great week ahead everyone! If you're in the path of this or any other storm, stay safe.

P.S. One more thing, today is our Eli's 7th birthday! How did that happen?

A long time coming

Well, we made the move from one house to the other successfully. I am forever grateful that the move was complete before the snow that arrived with a vengeance on Tuesday morning. The movers arrived on Monday by 8:45 a.m. and had dropped everything at the new house shortly after 12. They were fast and efficient and having the boxes in the garage was a good thing. We had them drop the boxes and bins in the new garage, though my organization didn't work quite as well on this end. The charge wasn't much more than I paid 13 years ago, when the three of us (D, C and I) moved into that house. Of course, there was quite a bit less now than then. But either way I was happy. M

We did some unpacking (mostly items from our vehicles and a few necessary boxes with dishes/glassware, towels, and bedding) and C went off later in the afternoon to pick-up the mattresses and bed frames. Of course, there had to be another hiccup with the Brick. Though he had the invoice, his last name is the same as mine, AND he had his identification with him, the fourteen year olds who rule the warehouse initially argued with him as I wasn't there. He had borrowed a friend's truck - she came back with him, and we had dinner together and visited for about an hour or so. We didn't get the bed frames put together so the mattresses were simply put into their respective bedrooms and made up. By 9 p.m. I was done and had crawled into bed.

Awake at 3:30 a.m., I stayed in bed until nearly 6 before heading upstairs. Poor C heard all the noises through the night (fridge, furnace, etc.) while I slept through it all. Then he heard me as I moved around upstairs. I may have to offer him my ear plugs. :)

By 7a.m. Tuesday,I was on my way over to the old house. I packed up the food from the fridge and freezer, and loaded it with the packaged food items that hadn't been moved the day before. I'd thoroughly cleaned the fridge a week or so ago, so it didn't take much to ensure it was cleaned. For some reason, I didn't think to eat before I left here, so was happy to find a piece of pizza in the fridge and a banana on the counter. It made a good breakfast!

I wandered around the house and made sure nothing was left behind. There was a box left in the garage with small propane bottles - I'm assuming the movers wouldn't/couldn't move those- a night light, a mat, a some cleaning supplies and my carbon monoxide detector. Just after I finished packing the car, the cleaners arrived. We did a walk through and while they got to work indoors, I swept up debris in the garage.

By this time, the snow was coming down in earnest! My realtor arrived around 10 to do a quick walk through and mentioned that traffic was moving slowly. Not long after he left that the garbage haulers arrived. and filled their trailer. My work there was done, so I found a spot to sit out of the way until the cleaners finished up about 12:15. They did a great job and I hope that having the house cleaned will make up for the fact that the driveway didn't get cleared! We got close to 5 inches in just a few hours.

The route that I take from the east side of the city to our new neighbourhood has a train crossing. We've been stopped a couple of times since we first saw the house. It happened again on Tuesday. I groaned when I saw the train actually stopped on the tracks...it was a wait of over 10 minutes before it started moving again. 

Wednesday started early again at 3:30, when the noise from the water softener woke me. I caught up on some news, read blogs, and then managed to doze off until just after 6 a.m. I heard C moving around upstairs. I'd parked behind him on the single driveway so I got dressed. YUCK, more snow on the driveway! I moved my car out in front and he took off for work while I cleared the couple of inches that had fallen over night.

Then I tackled the pile of boxes in the garage. I took four boxes at a time into the house and made four or five trips in total. In addition, I organized the boxes that will remain in storage in the garage. The kitchen and bathroom boxes have pretty much been emptied and everything in its new place. I may not remember where I put things for awhile though!

The fellow who leased the garage from the old owner, came by to remove a few items left in the garage. I think he'd hoped we'd keep them, but they were heavy metal tables, and old desk, chair, and a filing cabinet. Nothing we need nor want. (As a result I wasn't able to get to Stitch and Chat that afternoon.)

Meanwhile I received an email from the lawyer indicating the sale was complete and the cheque would be deposited to my bank account that afternoon. When I had a chance to check it at 3, the money was there. BUT, the bank had put a 7 day hold on a lawyer's trust cheque, or at least 90% of it. I was able to move some of the funds over to pay off the line of credit, and to put a bit in savings, but the balance was sitting there looking pretty but inaccessible.

I had an appointment downtown on Thursday so made a stop at the bank branch to discuss this with someone there. At first, there didn't seem to be anything they could/would do, but when I explained I had a small loan (from the renovations) to pay off, and I would be asking them to pay the interest for the extra week, they acquiesced to my request to release more of the funds. I walked over to the other institution to drop off a cheque, then headed to my appointment. While I couldn't make the deposits that day, arrangements have been made to move the funds when they are released next week. 

From the appointment, I went to do a bit of grocery shopping on this end of the city. I've never lived in this area so it was a bit of treasure hunt walking around the stores. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. No unpacking...I was still tired from the day before.

Friday I tackled more unpacking, though most of it stayed in it's boxes in the store room downstairs. These include extra glassware, some small appliances, and extra bedding. There simply isn't enough room in the kitchen for anything else, and to be honest, most of it isn't really needed. I vacuumed the basement, used the dry mop on the walls to get rid of cat hair and cobwebs, and washed the bathroom floor and the back door landing. In the afternoon I did a quick run to Walmart to get a new rug for the landing - the old one shredded when I pulled it up to wash the flooring. It was stuck down...I'm wondering how long it has been since that floor was cleaned! (I could say that about much of the house, to be honest). 

On a happier note, curling is being broadcast this week (Thurs-Sun) so I've been able to watch several games, with more to go. It's been nice to take a break, from unpacking and cleaning, to curl up on the couch with Saku, and watch the draws. There will be more of that today, but we have some things to get done today too. The bed frames need to be assembled, the rest of the boxes of clothing and bedding need to be brought indoors, and I want to get the living room vacuumed and floor washed. I haven't been able to do that just yet. Those boxes contain the unassembled bed frames. Far too heavy for me to lift!

I'll be taking a moment this morning too, to remember those who fought for our countries in the world wars to allow us to live in peace. In particular, I am thinking of my uncles Wilf and Bob, who went overseas in WWII. Neither came home unscathed, though they did make it back. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Time ticks on by

Yes, we got snow this week. I was so hoping that it would wait until mid-November, but the winter weather has arrived in earnest. After the snow fell, the cold followed, and we reached a low temp of -12C (10F) on Tuesday overnight. Thankfully, it has warmed up some, but both day and night time temperatures haven't been above freezing. More snow fell on Thursday but just enough to dust the sidewalks and driveway. No shovelling was required.

More packing was done over the week, and Wednesday was especially exciting as both C and I met with the lawyer to complete the final paperwork for the purchase (his) and sale (mine) of the properties. I can tell you, there is a whole lot less paperwork involved with the sale of a property, than there is for a purchase. I'm sure C felt as if he was signing his life away...and I suppose in some ways he was, at least for the next 25 years. :)

With this upcoming move, I've cut the ties with cable television - my son doesn't want it, and since I won't be here all the time, it made sense. I had called in to SaskTel to disconnect and decided to end the cable on the last day of the this billing, which was Tuesday Oct 24. In my conversation with the rep, I got the impression that it would be cut sometime in the morning...and I assumed that meant after 8 a.m. I was quite surprised when I turned on the television to watch the news, that it had actually ended at 4:30 in the morning (the screen of the channel I'd been watching when I turned off the television that night showed the time). I just received my bill from the company that provided the cable, as well as my internet and cutting the cable has saved me nearly $50 a month, but will be partially offset by a couple of streaming services. 

When I was out at my daughter's on the weekend, she had given me her fire-stick and had pre-loaded several apps on it for me. In anticipation of the change on the 24th, my son set the fire-stick up to recognize our WiFi, so it was easy enough to switch that first morning. However, finding the news was a little more difficult. When I talked to D, I got her to give me a list of programming for each of the apps. I'm not sure when or even if I'll be ever be able to remember what is found where. But, since most of what I watch is available for streaming, it won't matter as I can watch it when I want.

We're sharing the cost of the current apps, and I've signed up for Sportsnet (Now/plus?) for $20 per month. I'm sure most of you knew I couldn't possibly live without sports. I went with a monthly subscription, because I can foresee cancelling it for a period of each year, when the sports I enjoy most are in hiatus. I enjoy baseball and curling, and football occasionally though our local team has played so poorly over the last few years, I haven't watched very many games. 

On Thursday, I did some laundry and housecleaning before heading out to run some errands. I picked up cat litter at Pet Valu (senior's day), cat food and few groceries at Walmart, dropped off the equipment for return to the cable company at the drug store post office, and picked up my new glasses. The streets were still a bit icy, and I took care as I drove. 

Friday, was a packing and cleaning day. I'm cleaning the interior of cabinets and drawers as I pack, and keeping the bare minimum of items needed in the cupboards. There are a few boxes that remain open for those last minute items.  I'm pretty certain I have sufficient boxes to finish the packing process, and groceries from the fridge will go into shopping bags, while I brought back the cooler from D's for moving the frozen food.

I did get some sad news this week as my godmother passed away on Monday. She was a month shy of her 99th birthday.  While there is sadness, there is also gratitude that she lived such a long and, for the most part, a healthy life. Sadly, she had serious fall four or five years ago and her physical and mental health were impacted. Her daughter told me she hasn't recognized family members for a few years now, and she rarely spoke. Throughout her life, Gladys was a force to be reckoned with: for over 33 years she operated a florist shop in my home town, was very active in the Anglican church, and was constantly on the go. A number of years before she retired, she purchased a house in Victoria, B.C. and spent time there when she could. Her husband, Vern refused to go often, so she moved out there by herself for several months of the year when she sold the business. There too, she was active in her church and charitable activities, spent hours working in her gardens, and went walking in the neighbourhood. I visited her there in the fall of 2009 (I was there four days): we had dinner with a group of her friends one evening, spent a good portion of one day at Butchart gardens, drove to Chemainus to see a play, walked the sea wall, and ran errands. I often said I wished I had had half the energy she exhibited. More recently, we kept in touch via phone calls, but that ended when she moved to the nursing home. I am left with many happy memories and some funny stories. One, I'll share: As I've mentioned, Gladys was always on the go - she was an early to rise person as there were things to do and people to see each day. When she and Vern would come to the farm for dinner, they would stay for a visit after the meal was finished and dishes were done. As Dad and Vern talked farming, Gladys would settle into a chair and we kids would start watching to see how long she could stay awake. She would chat with Mom or voice an opinion about Vern's ideas, but soon her head would start nodding and her eyes would close. We'd start giggling and her head would come back up and she'd carry on as if nothing had happened at least for a few more minutes. She always insisted she wasn't sleeping and eventually Vern would get the hint and they'd head home. As my Dad would have said, she was a real character!

Today, I'm continue with cleaning and some packing. My goal is to have everything packed except what we'll need for the next 9 days before tomorrow evening. Next week, I'll focus on moving the boxes and tubs to the garage space where my car normally sits.  That way, the movers will only to enter the house to pick up the furniture, and can easily transfer the boxes to the truck. We'll have the movers put all the boxes in the garage there, and just move in the furniture into the house. I'll be organizing the boxes so that the first in will be the boxes most needed, since they will be the last out of the truck. It should save the movers time, and save me money. At least that's the idea.

Have wonderful weekend everyone, and stay warm and dry!

Winter of my discontent

Have I mentioned recently how much I dislike winter? It's only mid-December and I'm already tired of shovelling snow, bundling up in a parka, mitts, and toque just to take out the garbage, chapped lips and dry hands...  Well, you get the picture. We had a couple of reasonable winter days, meaning overcast, not too cold, and no snow.  However, on Wednesday, a Colorado low moved in from the southeast, and another storm came from the northwest. Here in the city we didn't get as much as other areas did, but there was another 3 inches on the ground when I got out of bed Thursday morning. I had shovelled the inch or so that accumulated by Wednesday afternoon when I returned home after the stitch and chat.

Alright whine over...nothing I can do (yet) or anyone else can do to keep this from happening. I did enjoy our stitch and chat this week; S has returned from Arizona and the lady (Io) I've been meeting with, while she was away was there too. Poor S, she arrived back in Regina the day that the windchill hit -48C. Things haven't improved much, as her car wouldn't start, the picture on her television has gone wonky, and some forms she had sent into to a provincial department were rejected because her cover page said 16 pages, and there were 17 attached because one page was duplicated. You'd think someone on the receiving end would be able to remove the duplicate, but apparently not, and she has to resubmit the documents.

She brought along a couple of knitting pattern books she no longer needs/wants and gave them to me. The patterns are lovely, meant for older children (8-16) and adults. I'm sure I'll be able to use them as Eli keeps growing. Funny that! S also brought a piece of knitting (a UFO) that was tucked away in her closet in Arizona. She had lost the pattern, but we were able to identify it as the moss stitch and with a Google search had the pattern figured out. Io was was finishing sewing buttons on kitchen towels, and then brought out her embroidery. She's making a set of tea towels that are likely to be gifted to her granddaughter.

I had my crocheting with me. I pulled a couple of balls of yarn from the stash and started working on a lap blanket. I'm not a fan of the colors but I need to use up the stash and they do look bright and cheerful together. 

The sugar cookies and red velvet mini-cupcakes were iced and decorated early one morning. Two of the sugar cookies broke as I was working on them, so they and a cupcake were that morning's breakfast. Breakfast of champions? Probably not. :) On the weekend, I had finished the peppermint sandwich cookies. They're tasty, but not nearly as good as my sugar cookies. I'm not sure what I did differently but man, oh man, are they good. 

I've finally caught up on my updates on Ancestry this week. I was thinking I might cancel my Newspapers.com subscription but received notice that they've added a number of additional newspapers from Scotland. I'm hoping I might find mention of some of my ancestors, though it is much like looking for a needle in a haystack with the last name of Stewart. Recently, I picked up a book "Online Genealogy", which I've skimmed and I think may help me identify other sources for searching. At the moment, my hopes are pinned on DNA testing. My adult children purchased the kit for me as a Christmas gift, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago. I've mailed it off and received an e-mail this week that it has arrived at the lab. Results are expected with 6-8 weeks. I'm hoping against hope that this information might be the key to finding the links to origins of various family members.

The other (and much more exciting) thing I worked on this week was preparing for my January cruise. My travel agent L and I had a chat Thursday morning and went through her checklist of things for me to remember and consider. She is truly amazing and is so detailed oriented. L was concerned about my airline e-tickets as they have my first name and only my initial for the second name. This doesn't match my passport which has both full names. We went through the list of things to be saved to my phone and items I need or want to have in printed form as well. I was a bit ahead of her on that as I had the printouts and had updated the electronic documents before our call. 

I made a call to the airline and confirmed my full name is in their system, but the tickets will show only my first name and initial. To be certain, I asked the agent several times, and she confirmed it will not be an issue at the counter. My next call was to the hotel to confirm my reservation. I booked through Airmiles, a third party booking system, and wanted to be certain there was no hiccup. Several years ago, I had used Airmiles to book a New York hotel, only to learn on arrival that they had no reservation for me. I had to pay $400 room for the night. On returning home I contacted Airmiles and eventually learned that the booking had been made for February instead of September! They reimbursed me for the cost of the room, but I'll never book again without following up directly with the hotel to confirm.

I pulled out the suitcase and carry-on bag, and went through my summer and "cruise" clothes. Yes, I have certain items I only wear when I'm cruising. I'm hard on my everyday clothing, so I keep some nicer pieces for my trips. This is a 14 day cruise, with an added travel day at the beginning - I always fly in a day ahead, in case there are delays. I've learned to pack enough clothing for 7 days, along with a few nicer items for evening wear, not including the travel day clothing. The ship has a DIY laundromat that I'll use on a sea day. We have eight sea days and four ports and full day transiting the canal. I do enjoy sea days! One port that was initially on the itinerary, Nicaragua, was cancelled - no reason given, but I hadn't planned to get off the ship there anyway. It would been a long bus ride to the nearest city and none of the posted excursions looked particularly worth the travel time and money to me.

Friday, I ran out to pick up a few groceries to get us through the next few days, and more cat food and bird seed. The birds and the squirrels have been inhaling the seed and at least one rabbit is enjoying the feed too. He/she leaves behind evidence of their visit. It was out in the front yard the other day - looks pretty healthy doesn't it?

No curling streaming this week, though there is an event in Japan that I'll be keeping my eye on for the scores. I'm planning to relax this weekend, watch some sports, catch up on PVR'ed television, and continue crocheting the lap blanket. I better not have to shovel any more snow! Shouldn't have to, as the weather forecast is for more cold weather. I'll end this post as I started...I hate winter!

Have a good week ahead everyone.

A weather rollercoaster, a birthday, and a short visit

The storm blew in on Sunday afternoon bringing heavy wet snow and windy conditions. It must have warmed up slightly, as we had ice pellets most of the evening. By morning, there was a crust of snow and ice on the driveway. Neither the son nor I had any reason to go out so I left it, hoping it would melt. It didn't. 

We had a bit more snow overnight into Tuesday, and it remained cloudy and cold. I went out to feed the birds that morning and then went in to the dishes and watch the feeder. It doesn't take long for the word to spread - these photos were taken about a half hour after I was out. Not much later, a squirrel showed up for a feed as well. 

I like how the snow settles on the branches of the trees - though I didn't want it stay, just yet. And it didn't.  

My son didn't work on Tuesday either, he'd taken the two days off as he celebrated his 35th birthday on the 25th. His idea of celebration is sleeping late. Not so different from the weekends. :) I generally don't give gifts or cards for birthdays any longer, but do order in dinner of their choice. C chose pizza; I ordered from Dominos where I could get brownies for dessert. When the delivery I told him, "you even got cake!". If you can't tell birthdays aren't a real big deal. 

Wednesday I went for groceries and managed to stick to my list, except for a bag of seedless grapes, and the budget didn't take too big of a hit. At stitch and chat that afternoon there were just two of us. S had a call from one of the other ladies the night before and their household has been infected with Covid. S's neighbour didn't come either and she hadn't had her lunch yet. We chatted and got to know one another for a couple of hours. She was working on a knitted scarf while I working on knitting a Christmas tree. I'll share a photo next week.

Thursday was a catch up day on housework. While I was running a load of laundry, I even got some sanding done in the basement on the door casings. About time! My thought is to finish off the main room and laundry room next week, and then I'll turn my attention to the new room and my son's old bedroom.

On Friday morning I was out the door by 7:45 for my drive to D's. She dropped Eli off at school, and I arrived shortly after to pick her up. We drove into the next (larger) community for a bit.of shopping. Our first stop was Value Village where D found several t-shirts, a few pairs of sweat pants, and a Halloween silicone mold. She's using the latter to melt broken crayons into Halloween shapes. These will go into treat bags for Eli's class. 

Of course I had to look for yarn. And of course, I found several bags. I walked out with $20 of yarn to add to the stash. There was one skein I particularly wanted for a specific project. 

We made stops at Dollarama and Walmart before heading to her home for lunch. A bit of housework was accomplished before we sat down to watch some television and I did some knitting.  We picked up Eli from school about 3:30. He had no idea I was coming. He was happy, but not overly excited to see me. But by bedtime he was ready for some bedtime story reading. AND he slept in the twin bed with me all night...as a result I was awake many times during the night and by morning, he had pushed me nearly off the edge of bed. Time to get up anyway.

I helped D with a couple of things, watched the Home Alone movie with Eli, and did some knitting before driving home this morning. I didn't stop anywhere along the way to take photos but I can assure you that all the snow was gone. Only the shaded spot on my driveway (where I'd piled the snow earlier this week) still had snow on it. We're going to have a warm Halloween. I only have candy for 45 kids so I suspect I'll be turning the lights off early.

Speaking of which, there is football on the television, so I think I'll curl up on the couch and take a nap. Have a great week ahead everyone!

Snowed in

I'm writing this post from my daughter's home because we are snowed in. Wednesday was our Eli's 5th birthday, but he was in school this week, so I travelled up Thursday afternoon to spend some time with the birthday boy. In Regina, the snow started falling that evening and in less than 48 hours, 20 cms. (about 8 ins.) was on the ground. 

It didn't start snowing here (about 90 minutes away) until Friday morning and we got about 5 or 6 inches in total. Even so, by evening both my daughter and I had been out to shovel the walks and clear a bit of the back yard behind the garage where the cars are parked. It's much easier to clear a few inches at a time than to tackle the full snow fall all at once. However, the back alley is plugged with snow so there is no getting out until the city sends out the cleaning crew. The graders and trucks have been out throughout this morning but alleys will be among the last areas that get cleared. I just have to hope that there will be enough big-ass trucks going through that I can follow in their tracks out to the closest street tomorrow morning. (Her house is about mid-block).

I hadn't realized the storm was going to bring so much snow, but luckily I had tossed in some extra clothing, grabbed my laptop and camera, and my un-finished knitting. We took Eli to the indoor playground Friday morning, and I was able to finish sewing in the ends on the three pairs of mittens. I had some additional yarn and needles too, so started another mitten in the evening.

The curling started up again Friday evening, and I was to watch on my laptop. D doesn't have the same cable line-up as I have, though we might have cast it to her television through her I-Pad, it was just as easy to sit  with my knitting on the couch and watch the computer on the arm of the couch. The first game was terrific - our Saskatchewan team were playing the Alberta team and it was a see-saw game from start to finish. Unfortunately our Sask skip missed his shot to win the game in the 10th end, and Alberta was able to score in the extra end to seal the win.

In other news, earlier in the week, I had done some more research on Ancestry and uncovered another unknown (at least to me) piece of family history. I don't recall my mother every mentioning it, and as she was only a very young child at the time, I doubt she would known about this information either. 

Back in 1931, there were several political parties in Saskatchewan. Two of them were the Labour party and the Farmers Union; these parties merged into the Farmer-Labour party that year. The following year at a convention held in Regina, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was created as the party to lead the country in its recovery from the depression. Meanwhile, my great-grandfather was selected as a candidate for the Farmer-Labour party to run in the 1934 provincial election. He did not win a seat, in fact came in a distant third. I did find later references to his name in local municipal politics so it appears he turned his attention to local affairs after this attempt.

Using the newspaper archives site has useful too, to identify marriages and deaths. I've been able to add to the tree using this information. Yesterday I heard from a distant cousin who lives in the States, as I had added information for her mother. She was curious how we might be related - I was able to tell her 4X great grandfather and my 2X great grandfather were brothers. She was thrilled to hear we were related through her mother's side of the family too. 

Beyond that it was a quiet week at home - the flooring showed up mid-week, I did housework, and ran to the grocery store.  I initially had planned to pick up fresh fruit and veg for D, but there were a number of sale items that I grabbed for myself too. BOGO on chicken breasts, which is always a great deal was the one I was happiest about. 

Off to help my daughter file her tax return. There's another curling game at 2:30 local time so I want it done well before than.  Have a good week ahead everyone.