Just a Little Fib and Christmas Prep

I just commented on Anne's blog that it wasn't snowing here in London, ON, Canada while in Alabama they received some snow!! But now I can see little white specs of snow in the air - at the rate it's coming down we might have an inch by Christmas! Christmas 2018, that is...

Oh, and thanks to Anne for organizing the Christmas card exchange. It got me off my duff and over to the post office to buy postage. Except I forgot to buy Canadian stamps. For those I'll go to the Variety store close by as they sell "regular" stamps. My sister said she paid $2.00 extra per pack of stamps because they were Christmas-themed! WTH!

If someone gets upset because I didn't use a Christmas-themed stamp for their card - TOO BAD!

On  second thought....these are SO 

DERN CUTE!!

Slowly but surely things are getting done. I dug out my Christmas baking recipes and next I'll make a list of what ingredients I need to buy. After purchasing two gift cards for my nephew and sister-in-law I am down to one person left to shop for. I don't usually get done shopping this early so feeling very accomplished :) Nothing is wrapped however, and it looks pretty empty under the tree. Lots of time, lots of time!

After my cash withdrawal last Monday of $120 I have $30 left. Normally I would plop that right into my snowflake box but because it's the Christmas season I'll keep it in my wallet for now. There are usually a number of extra and forgotten expenses to cover...meals out, extra groceries, another bottle of wine or two, hostess gifts and OOPS - haven't got the kitties anything yet!! :) Do you think they'd notice if I put fresh catnip into old toys??

Lily Pad is no sucker!!

How is your Christmas prep going?

Weather or Not

The weather is the big news around here this week and continuing throughout the weekend. A big rain "event" is beginning today with London in the middle of it. And even worse the threat of snow on Sunday as we endure the most significant cold "event" in May in recent history.

Sounds like a ton of fun! (Unread books on hand? Yup!) (Endless episodes of Shameless ready to watch on Netflix? Yup! And I'm NOT ashamed :)

Let me check my weather network (what I can see through my patio doors).....and yes....the rain has begun!

The only day we haven't had rain was yesterday so I took myself to Kilally Meadows...of course :) and what a glorious day it was. Though the river has overflowed its banks in several places from the last large rain "event". That's the term they're using these days on the Weather Network - it almost sounds like entertainment, and I suppose in a way it is. It's got me talking!

In the midst of the minor flooding photos I thought I'd include my favourite shot from yesterday - Mr. Osprey just dropped off a fish to Mrs. Osprey - it was a lucky shot - I had just focussed on the nest when he flew up into the air and off to search for more fish. Jeez, his wife sure eats a lot!

The river is off to the right below with some flooding submerging the trail here and there.

 This pond, caused by previous flooding, is about to become much bigger, perhaps a nice place for kayak practise?

 Some enterprising hiker gathered a few logs to use to get from one side of a new tributary to the other - thank you kind sir! or madam!

I enjoyed my day outside very much and am now prepared to spend the next couple of days inside. Spring weather has been rather whacko with shorts weather in February and snow predicted in May. At least there's always a topic to talk about with total strangers!

Oh, and here's why slo-pitch is a bit SLO to start!!

Foto Friday For the First Time in Forever!

Before I check my photos to see what was happening one year ago today I'm going to predict there will be snow. And cats. And maybe a creative project. Yes, I am pretty predictable! Okay, drum roll please..........................

.......I called it! Luna and Lily are curled up together on the futon in the TV room. Sadly, they no longer curl up together; instead they fight over my lap!

Awwwwwww.....!

Not a lot of snow... I thought there'd be more. On another sad note we are getting next to NO birds this winter at our feeders as they are able to feed themselves. So CAT TV is a bust so far this (non)winter.

Carvings from the workshop:
-a couple pieces that haven't been hand sanded to a glossy polish yet...

Should I put them together as a pair? That was my original plan...

Polished!

Which way to display it?

Instead I decided to use a shadow box to display this piece because it was a very thin slice of soapstone and I carved it in relief; ie it has a flat side. You can see my hands taking the photo :)

My life needs an injection of excitement! What should I do to spice things up a little?

Glorious Fall

I have to remember to start heading out of the forest a lot earlier these days! 

The weather has been mild until the sun starts to set around 5pm...

Lily, keeping my lap warm.....much appreciated now that the 

temperature has dropped down to around 0c.

...while Luna prefers to wrap herself around my neck, keeping one paw

on my shoulder...

 

...is it any wonder my crochet projects have a cat hair or two in them?

Yes Luna, I know you're there! Are my ears clean?

Luna, being exasperating!

You know you're not supposed to be on top of the cupboards!

I had to get the stepladder to reach her.

Lily keeping me warm...

Photos from my last visit to the forest...

You'd think it was summer!

It was around 12 or 13c, warm enough for short sleeves

while hiking.

The sun sets quickly though as we head towards the shortest day of the year.

The colours have faded but the beauty remains...

Time to get to the truck!

I found a plant still blooming in the forest at the end of November. It took me 

awhile to identify but finally learned that it is dead nettle.

It's called "dead" nettle because it doesn't cause a rash 

like it's UK cousin - stinging nettle. 

The first 3 photos are of the dead variety, which is a very good thing

as I was handling it with my bare hands.

The next 3 are photos I took last year when Annie and I hiked Hadrian's Wall. 

Three UK trips - 3 encounters with stinging nettle. 

Will I ever learn?

Don't touch!!!

My encounter the first year trip I took walking through the Cotswolds

was the worst experience as I fell in a clump of stinging nettle

while backing up to take a photo! 

The stinging lasted several days.

  They are so pretty!! You just want to reach out and caress them!

Or at least this bumbling naturalist does.

How is the weather where you are? Any snow yet?

Foto Friday

One year ago today in pictures....

IT SNOWED!! 
And we might get some snow tomorrow...boo...hiss...!

And because everything I do is so fascinating the kitties watched me while I took some "snow" photos.

The other exciting event from one year ago...using my super duper spiralizer to make zucchini spaghetti! Yum! (NO green outside but plenty of green inside!)

"Alfredo" sauce made from cashews - soooooo good!

This is a really great taste combination!

Topped off with fresh grated pepper - bon appetit!

Happy weekend everyone!! Got any spring-related plans?

Just Another Money Monday

Not a whole lot going on around here. Yesterday was a lovely sunny day with temps hovering at -24c when I got up.....BRRRRRRR!! I took the opportunity to clean another 8" of snow off of Dougie the Dodge and shuffled him around the parking lot once the snowplow finally showed up. Today, in Ontario, it's Family Day and unfortunately the sunshine was short lived and it is gently snowing once again.

So...what is my family doing today? Well...let's see...Luna is sleeping, Lily is sleeping, and Kazi is sleeping!! Hopefully things will get a little livelier a little later! For now I'll enjoy the peace of sleeping cats and daughter. I have my new to me $3 radio set to CBC so that is keeping me company.

We're already halfway through February!! How is the money/budget stacking up so far?

• after a week of NO Spend days (the one advantage of having 2 feet of snow drop over the past few days!!) my misc budget stands unchanged at $177. It should be about $290 but I used a chunk to pay for flight/medical insurance for my trip to Ireland. I did it as a challenge to myself to spend as little as possible this month - gee, thanks Mother Nature - it's hard to spend when you can't get out your front door! I have a few upcoming plans for spending in the next week or two (going out for dinner next Saturday, plus $10/weekly for yoga and $2/weekly for volleyball) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that $177 will be enough to get me to March! That's a bit of a stretch but I'm going to try! (I'll have to stay out of Michael's!! and stop buying yarn!!)
• I did buy some Valentine's goodies for Kazi but used cash - I think I still have about $30 in my wallet. (I'll try to save that for dining out)
• My mini-money fund (a container I throw my loonies and toonies in) stands at $130. Once I reach $150 I'm going to go exchange for some euros.
• I saved a bit on my utilities this month; set aside $75 for Union Gas and it was only $53, set aside $75 for London Hydro and it was $69. That helped pay for Turbo Tax and my wee Goodwill spree. 
• My misc $$ has been spent on: new album by Lucinda Williams on iTunes, $25 spent at Michaels on yarn & a Christmas gift, $11 at Walmart (batteries & light bulbs), $5 to go see "Brooklyn", $21 at Goodwill, and flight/medical insurance.
• Gas budget stands at $120 remaining out of a budget of $160, and the food budget stands at $156 remaining out a budget of $280. I have about a half a tank of gas and will go grocery shopping tomorrow. I will probably end up with a bit left in both of those budget lines and if so that will go to savings.
• I used money saved since Christmas to pay for my flight($709) and one of our BandB's($342 for 3 nights in Galway) so have no debt so far for my trip. 
• Thankfully this is the time of year when interest earned on RRSPs starts to appear so that will help out with upcoming trip expenses. AND it's the 15th so I can Netfile my tax return today - the $200 refund will go toward purchasing more euros. 
• I have purchased February's Christmas present - a crystal making kit from Michaels for my great-nephew but I have NOT made my charitable donation of $25 yet. I really am squeezing my misc budget this month!! I can do it, I know I can!
• Oh, I just remembered I'm going to see my favourite band next Sunday - Blue Rodeo - but I paid for the ticket in November so there will be no expense for that, except maybe parking.
• My other bills remain pretty much the same: Bell Mobility is $79 monthly, internet is $84 monthly, my insurance has renewed and is the same amount - $270 monthly and Kazi pays $175 of that for her car, hot water tank rental is $34, property taxes went up $6 monthly but the city budget isn't finalized yet so that may change, my condo fees went up by $7 and Netflix remains the same at $8 monthly. The two small increases were covered by my pension raise of $30. 
• I increased my monthly savings automatic transfer from $350 to $400. That will increase again once I start receiving CPP (Canada Pension Plan) hopefully to $900 a month. That'll pay for a few trips!! 
• RSPPs: I have two coming due this month and they are going into my RSP Savings Account. From there I can withdraw $5000 to go into my TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account). Of course the gov't takes 10% right off the top so I'll only receive $4500.  The RRSP interest I receive more than makes up for that otherwise it wouldn't be much of a tax shelter would it? Way back when I was contributing to my RRSPs the adage was "pay now or pay later" so I always contributed the maximum. Now I'm in the "pay later" phase though I am very thankful for all those wonderful refunds (of my own money!!) I received over the years. 

Well, wasn't that an exciting post! I wish you sunshine wherever you are and hope your Monday is a happy one. 

This is Getting Old

It is still snowing. Since my last post it hasn't stopped. I know I said I wanted a blizzard but I meant the one day type not the week long epic event!!

First day - about one foot.

Second day - about a foot and a half.

Today! For some reason the snow pile on top of the storage
box is getting wider instead of taller. Perhaps
because of the wind?

Just got a text from Kazi - she and a friend went to have breakfast at McDonalds and they got stuck in the parking lot. Oh, did I mention it's -22c? That doesn't have the wind chill added in either!

Last night I happened to glance out a window to see if it was still snowing. It was. But a beautiful scene evoked memories of one of my favourite books: do you know which one? Some of you who have seen this on facebook will know the answer. Hint: it's very magical!

Weather blah blah snow blah blah cold blah blah blah.

BEFORE all of this weather happened I made a little Goodwill thrift shop visit. I always keep a list going of things I want to purchase and I found two of them at the 2nd thrift shop I visited. I was looking for a radio - I know, who listens to the radio anymore? Well, I do, or rather, I want to. There are so many really really good programs on Canada's CBC radio station.  Yes, I could stream it through my laptop but that uses up a lot of gigs. Radios are hard to find these days, especially ones that you can move around from room to room as needed. AND I found a dandy one  - it's just a clock radio but it has really good speakers so the sound quality is excellent. $3.00.  It looks sort of like the one below except it has a speaker at each end.

Another item I've been wanting to get is another iPod dock. I like to have one in the kitchen so I can sing and dance while I cook (don't drop in around 5:30pm unless you want to join in!) and one in my workshop so I can listen to my favourite tunes while I carve. I checked at Walmart first and all they had was:

I didn't want to pay full price (listed on Amazon for between $47 & $59) so decided to keep looking. And found the exact same device at the Goodwill store...for $4.00! It has the option to change colours as it plays so I'm ready for next New Year's Eve!!

The final amazing find I like to call the FIND OF THE DAY was a pair of  women's Merrill Vibram Gore-tex (waterproof) hiking shoes in my size and in pristine condition. I guess the previous owner didn't really like hiking after all! These go for $100+ U.S. dollars. I wore them around the store and then around the house for a couple of days - they are extremely comfortable. Oh, I paid $6.75!!

Those are my treasures for this week!!

Upcoming post - mid month budget update!