Clear The Deck

Well, at least it is relatively warm tonight! We are able to keep the house comfortable with two firings of the masonry heater. The price we pay for this warmer weather is MORE SNOW.

Today the highways became bare, for the first time in ages. We have had one afternoon and evening of bare and wet roads, which will be covered with snow again by tomorrow morning.

Yesterday afternoon I heard men shouting at the neighbour’s house. When I looked out the window to see what the hoopla was about, there was a young man on their second story roof, brandishing a snow scoop. He would begin at the peak and push the snow down and over the edge of the roof. It looked pretty dangerous to me. One slip and he would fall two stories. Maybe falling two stories onto a very high snow bank isn’t considered an issue. I would not like to try it.

Now the neighbours are ready to let the current snowfall warning do its worst! Attila hasn’t had a chance to “clear the deck” yet, so he will have a very busy Saturday ahead of him.

We are looking forward to our Midwinter celebration. The Christmas Tree, a Fraser Fir, has been an enchanting companion since early December. It has just been in the last few days that it has begun to look a bit brown at the top, more brown than green I would say. So it is time that we remove the decorations and prepare it for our celebratory bonfire. It is something we could not do at the little house in the city, have a bonfire. But then, the winter would not be weighing so heavily upon us there, as the climate is significantly milder.

For our Midwinter celebration we decided to indulge in a homemade pizza. We have all the ingredients on hand, and now all we need is hydro service to make our plans come true.

Last Sunday Attila roasted a turkey for my birthday celebration. Tonight we had our last leftover turkey dinner, with potatoes, dressing, squash, and brussels sprouts. Six fantastic meals for two! Now the turkey carcass will go into the soup pot, and by next week we will enjoy several meals of turkey soup.

Food seems to be what we turn to when the weather says “NO!”, to everything else we might enjoy. Attila loves to cook, I love to bake. We both find food preparation a source of pleasure. And we both love to eat!

This week the final bills from the holiday season arrived in the mail. At first glance I was convinced we would be juggling funds, but we squeaked through, and managed to pay the whole lot. What a relief! Of course, there isn’t anything left in the bank account. But who cares, winter has us cozied up to the roaring fire, so we weren’t going anywhere anyway, there is lots of food, and the company is perfect. “And so say all of us”, says Mist.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

SNOWFALL WARNING IN EFFECT
-8°C
Date: 7:00 PM EST Friday 31 January 2014
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.0 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -8.4°C
Dewpoint: -10.5°C
Humidity: 85%
Wind: calm

Quote

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
Sir Winston Churchill
1874 – 1965
[Who knew!]

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WendyNC

I think you and Mist have the right of it, with your positive attitudes!

Bex

I’ve always loved the way the Brits have had a love affair going with pigs. I’m not sure I’d relish having one around here though… they get so darn BIG! But they are the cutest little things when they are young…

Tom McCubbin

I gather that Mist is a pig. How cute! Sorry to hear about the persistent snow. Those same kid of holiday bills seem to be falling out west too.