...

It's friday night... I'm in my jammies knitting on the couch listening to the cbc.... does anyone want to adopt me as their grandmother?

At the end of the sidewalk/ Thursday confessional

Sometimes I actually wake up early enough to shovel the entire block's sidewalk. I've mentioned it's a race to clear out my elderly neighbours' place, John and Bernice, to the south of me? A race against neighbour Greg who lives to the south of the elders. 

Who will get John and Bernice's sidewalk and driveway cleared first? I rarely win ... unless Greg is away... usually Greg has my entire sidewalk and driveway shoveled by the time I've opened my eyes.

Sometimes for fun or maybe for spite, I shovel the sidewalk of the Odd woman who lives beside meto the North. She hates it.

She only started hating it this winter, she's retired and wants to use the shoveling as "a way to get some exercise". Previous winters she would just glare at me from her front door while I shoveled her out... sometimes she'd open the door, then slam it shut if she saw me.

It's still snowing. It's snowing again.
In french these two sentences are the same.

Today I was shoveling my own driveway when the odd woman began yelling at me. "Do you let Greg shovel your sidewalk?"
Me: I love it when he shovels my sidewalk!
Odd: (yelling angrily) I keep telling him to stop but he does it, I want the exercise. Why does he do it? It's my sidewalk, he should just mind his own business.  Then there's farmer bob over there (gesturing madly to Darrell's house) making a mess! (Darrell has a plow and plows out the end of our driveways and creates a parking space on the road... the town plows have pretty much reduced us to a single lane) People can't even be considerate.

She alternates between yelling and mumbling rude things about the neighbours for a while. Each time I turn away to leave she calls out to me.

At this point I've got my back to her while I shovel because I can't handle how negative she is. She's rebuffed several of my attempts to remind her of the way people are being kind to each other on the street.  I make some comments about how nice it is to have neighbours who like to help each other.

She starts yelling more angrily.
Odd: they need to leave me alone! People putting their business where it doesn't belong.
Me: are you mad at me for something?
Odd: (still yelling) no I'm not.

She starts complaining again...(more yelling...  Bernice is now watching out her door and the woman who lives on the corner waves timidly to me as she pulls her car out of driveway)
Me: why are you yelling at me?

Odd: and then my door was frozen shut and farmer bob just watched me. Just watched me! I had to carry buckets of boiling water to get the ice off my car. And no one even offered to help. Everyone here is so rude and inconsiderate! Worst neighbours ever! Can't even be bothered to help me. My car was frozen shut for two days.

Me: why are you yelling at me? You keep saying you don't want help.

Odd: they shouldn't just sit there. I'm a single woman, someone's got to help me

Me: (very frustrated and loudly) you have to decide... you just yelled at me that you didn't want any help and that we're rude and inconsiderate for trying to help you and now you're yelling and complaining that no one helps you. You can't have it both ways.... you are being inconsiderate to people who are trying very hard to be kind to you.

I turn away and keep shoveling....

Odd starts singing a cheerful tune. She's won... She's made me as angry as she is.

I've made her day.

Thursday confessional? It still felt really good to tell her off.

This land is your land

My news feed today is filed with the stories of my friends' encounters with Pete Seeger.  I've had this sad half smile all day, reading how inspired they all were by him... reading the funny little ways he touched people's lives.

94 is a ripe old age.

What a wonderful gift he gave us. Music and change. Strength to be loud and sing for what we believe. Beautiful. 

I feel like I have so much to learn about/from this man. And I feel a little ashamed that I know so little about him personally. I know the sweeping things, what he stood for and who he influenced... I've sung his songs around a million campfires... but I feel like his is a story that should be known.... you know?

Snowdays

Power has been out for more than an hour... the roads are snow drifts.

I think we'll just stay put with a good book today.

Stank

Last weekend I escaped to the city with two of my girlfriends. It was a wonderful time away, lots of laughing and just a very sweet time with some lovelies.

While I was gone Rueben went to doggie daycare. I love sending him there ,he has a great time, and he comes back tired.

When I picked him up on Sunday he came to the door and it was obvious that he'd been playing hard. His ear fur was all covered in slobber and matted to the sides of his head... and he'd been sprayed with the dog-fabrize... a dog covered in perfume.  I took one look at him and the owner of the daycare sighed... "you've got to do something about that dog... I got a complaint". 

Yup. Months later and my dog still smells like skunk.

* it's only when he gets covered in slobber or soaking wet ... He plays too hard and the slobber activates the stink and then it gets all over the other dogs and then all the dogs smell like skunk.
Awesome.

Thursday morning confessional:

This week I actually used "Well, I'm having no luck facebook stalking him... so I'd better walk away before I get creepy"  in a message to some girlfriends in regards to a young man I keep running into around town.... then I spent another 4 minutes trying to find him.




no luck. In case you were wondering.

Thank you Mr. Duvet

I've become one of those people... I'm laying in my bed under my warm duvet while outside it's minus a million... The computer balanced, um... possibly unsafely, at the foot of my bed.

I'm watching Dawson's Creek in my bed with a bowl of cheesies.

Who have I become?!

Layers

For the fashion declined, like myself, there's this season's newest option... Wearing your hoodie backwards so the hood acts as a cowl at the front.
Awesome? Yes.
Comfortable? Yes.
The way I dressed this morning? Yes.

When I was young we looked at the thermometer outside the window to figure out what the day was going to be like... now I try to avoid the interwebs and the cries of fear "POLAR VORTEX" ... so much news information and fear. I can't stand it. That be said....  I'm afraid to go outside today.
It's so cold again.
And I know that I was talking about this last time it got cold... but... but..
There's a 42 degree difference between my backyard and my living room... That's like a 55 degree difference when you include the wind chill and my duvet.

I have a duvet.
Finally.
It's only taken me a gazillion years to get my own.

This weekend I headed "into the city" with some girl friends. We all needed a change of pace, and thanks to the wonders of hotel points, we had free rooms. We also had a gift certificate for the Keg. Throw in a trip to IKEA (where I caved and bought my duvet) a trip to the LCBO (complete with being carded)  and too many laughs... well, a trip to scarborough has never been so much fun.
Ha.
Who goes to Scarborough for a vacation?!

We did.

Thursday Morning Confessionals

I started doing something on Facebook about a month ago, "Thursday morning confessional". The whole thing is silly, but it feels good to tell a truth once a week that I might otherwise keep to myself... sort of a Post Secret feel.

This week's offering:

Thursday morning confessional: this week I bought a gingerbread house kit on sale for $1.99. I don't plan on building it before I eat it.

This little tidbit got 50 "likes". How weird is that?
I think I might post them here each week... just for fun.

Intervention time

yup, I've been spending too much time on that dating site again.

How do I know it's too much time?

I very nearly messaged a guy because his profile said "I'll take you to Rinos on my sled".


Post Script
Yes, he lived in BoDiddly... Yes I love chicken wings.
For the non-Canadian readers, by sled he meant his skidoo. For the non-Northumberlandites, Rinos is a pub on one of the nearby lakes.

Arctic Animals

It's only the 16th of January and I'm already so sick of walking like a penguin.

4 days before Christmas we were hit with a major ice storm. Usually things like that come and go with the fluctuations in temperature that we are blessed with here in Central/East Ontario- lake effect.

Not so this year.
Sure we had a warm spell yesterday and the ice started to melt... but it only STARTED to melt... the top layer becoming a puddle... but still ON TOP OF THE ICE. So, now that the temperatures have dropped, I have a hockey rink in my backyard. I could ask the zamboni driver to make a stop at my house as he drives around the block (because he still drives back and forth down the street to the rink) just to ... even out some of the potholes in the ice. 3 inches of ice in most of my backyard. SOLID.

And now it's "boyfriend snowing" out. Big fluffy romantic flakes. Masking the death that lies waiting to fell me to the ground, head gashed open... big dopey puppy bounding over my smashed body... "are we still going for a walk?!"

Big dopey puppy has been on backyard arrest for nearly 3 weeks- since the ice came. He doesn't understand why we're not walking... or why when we do... I walk like a penguin, ever so slowly. So now he's taken to escaping from the backyard- totally out of boredom. He's jumped the composter, and learned how to open the back gate (I've since tied it shut).  I got a call yesterday morning... "I think your dog escaped, he was playing in traffic so I brought him in my house". Of course he was playing in traffic. Thank goodness my phone number is on his tags. Every tried to buy your dog a treadmill? Don't try to do it in the months before or after New years.

I just miss walking down the street with confidence.
I'm sure my ligaments are getting shorter with each passing day, soon my stride will be perma-penguin.

Hear that?

If you've never worked with sound, it's ok. Just ask for some help from someone who has so you can grasp the basics.
A sound tech type person will always geek out at the opportunity to talk about their favourite craft.

I was asked last week to sing at a friend's church with a group of people. So nice... what a lovely boost to the confidence to be asked to do something like that. While there I had one of those moments involving sound equipment where I had to bite my tongue.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on sound systems.

Sound bounces off of things... moves around a room.. and acts differently in every set up.

While we were getting ready sunday morning, the man in charge of sound related things at the church plugged in some mics.
When there was feedback he replied "there shouldn't be feedback, we just tuned the whole thing up last week".

I just read what I wrote. Only sound techs are going to get it.... This makes me seem like a snob.
My ears hurt when the sound mix is bad. Please ask for help.. I'll always help you.

Freeze thaw repeat.

This morning when I went downtown to buy some eggs (the chickens are still on vacation) I was hit with something.

There's a difference of more than 40 degrees Celsius between the temperature I'm trying to keep in my house and the temperature I'm trying to keep out of my house.

And that's not taking into consideration the "wind chill factor".

This morning was one of those dry crunchy snow days. So cold that the snow squeaks when it's stepped on. So cold that the first breath punches you in the upper respiratory tract, leaving you fighting not to cough....for fear of the gasp for air that comes after that cough. So cold that any moisture inside your nasal cavity freezes as you breathe in, thaws as you breathe out, and the exhaled breath freezes your scarf into a solid piece of cardboard which then threatens to beat you in the face with the next gust of wind.

I didn't go out much today.

photo taken of my neighbour's yard two days after the ice storm. That birch tree is taller than the house, but the ice pulled it to the ground. Half of it has bounced back, and half has snapped. 

thud

One time this guy was staying at my house and he decided that he wanted to get something from the pantry. I told him to "be careful, the stairs were right there" and the next thing I heard was this horrible crash as he fell all the way down the stairs .... backwards.

I've never really understood when people have said they "ran into a door". 

Last night I totally ran into a door.

just a wee lad

The year is still so young.
How come it feels like eons since last night?

So, resolutions. You got em?

This year I resolve to:

-Enjoy the things I enjoy. as guilt free as possible.
-Try to speak up better on my own behalf.
-Figure out a way to make life financially feasible *

*note: I'm getting by just fine, and my financial adviser says that when I retire I'll actually be better off than I am now.  Maybe what I mean is, I want to find a healthy balance that doesn't leave me worrying.... ok... leading to...

-Worry less.
-Make out big time on New Year's eve 2015 with some handsome devil.



Maybe I need to think of these as intentions again, instead of resolutions. If only to lessen the pressure. Last time I was successful at a "resolution" was 5 years ago when I resolved to "eat more cheese". I've never been so successful with something as I was that year.

New things

A new year.
This was my 5th collage party. A night of beauty all around me. Beautiful people, amazing creations. 

I missed last year's party, but last year I was with 4 lovely women at the cottage... that was a beautiful time... so it didn't feel like I was "missing" anything.

This year I just didn't feel creative.  I came with a plan for one project, then sort of gave up after I halfheartedly finished it.
Every year I struggle to create something, and every year there's something not quite right with my results. .. not that there's a right or wrong where art is concerned, but I shouldn't be forcing it. I was missing the ladies from the cottage. Women who mean the world to me, but who can't be a part of this community for reasons I don't understand.

So. I'm starting the year off "meh".
It can only turn around from here right?
I believe the phrase has been "duck you 2013". Or something not so censored.