Flash Freeze

Well, the last laugh was on me after our cornucopia of rain, freezing rain, snow, wind and a flash freeze. I was so smug...sitting safely inside enjoying a book and hot chocolate, watching the snow going by horizontally!

It's nothing to do with me I thought. 

Woe to me, on Monday, when I tried to get into my truck to get the snow brush and start the truck in order to go buy groceries.  Both doors were frozen solid! With my snow brush inside, of course! I considered hot water but with the temperature at -12c I knew my doors would just freeze shut again. I had to pry them open, that was the only way. I got a screwdriver from the workshop and after wedging it in all around one door I was able to pop it open.

Then I got in, slid over to the other door and starting banging against it to get it open. Unfortunately, when met with total resistance my head whacked against the door with a bang! Started using my shoulder instead, I can be such a goof sometimes, and after a few whacks I got it open.

So let that be a lesson to you - she who laughs last laughs best - I guess in this case Mother Nature is having a good laugh at my expense!

Weird Weather....or is it?

Oh boy, we've got 90km+ winds howling around the house (outside), snow coming in horizontally (again outside), and a flash freeze warning (yes, you've got it)! What the heck? What's going on out there - winter?? In January?? Is this some kind of sick joke? Why...just 2 days ago I was walking through the woods, tralalalala-ing along, smiling at the robins and the buds on the trees!! 

Wait a minute - buds on the trees...in January?? Now that's a sick joke! I'm sorry Mother Nature, for offending you so deeply, for injuring you so terribly, please let us make it up to you! Daffodils and tulips shouldn't be poking up through the earth in January...in fact...today is really the first truly wintry day we've had in almost a year! Now that's scary!

I tried to capture the wind in the picture below but of course one can't with a still photo. But rest assured those trees are whipping around and I'm just waiting for the maple tree to crash through my patio doors! Hang on kitties - it's gonna be a wild one!

Truth be told (and if I don't tell the truth here where can I?) I'm enjoying the wind, the howling, the snow, the cold (keep it outside - please!). I'm warm and cozy inside, nowhere I have to go, my loved ones are snuggled close (except Kazi who is watching TV downstairs with the electric fireplace pushing my hydro bill up up up), supper is planned, I'm reading a fantastic book ("Fall on Your Knees" by Anne-Marie MacDonald - takes place on Cape Breton Island and will make your dysfunctional family look like the Brady Bunch!), and now I'm going to make hot chocolate - I finally have an excuse!

Bon hiver!

Dreams and Treasure

My two cent bird feeders are working well - I made two new ones yesterday and the chickadees have been dashing back and forth from the huge cedar trees behind my house and the super deluxe feeders.

I am a technician of the highest order. Take two empty toilet paper rolls, slather in peanut butter, roll in birdseed  and stick somewhere that hopefully squirrels won't be able to access. I stuck mine onto a butterfly garden ornament - the antennae to be exact.

They work well for small birds, not so sure about larger birds.

Luna and Lily are thrilled that CAT TV is back and running once again! I mean, this is riveting stuff!

Speaking of larger birds a dove kept them captivated all morning. While I watched, a black squirrel came into the back patio and tried to scare off the dove, but the dove was having none of it. She stood her ground and the squirrel left in a hurry. I assumed the dove would just continue to munch on the seeds that fell to the ground...

 ....but no siree that dove was able to perch on the butterfly and have a lovely lunch - it was a bird's dream come  true!

And the black squirrel?
Relegated to sifting through the dove's droppings! (Note wee kitty ears at the bottom of the photo!) Don'tcha just love free entertainment?

And the treasure?

I thought I'd check my gramma's sewing box for any scraps of ribbon for Luna. She keeps losing (and I keep hunting for)  the Christmas ribbon that she fell in love with. I found some ribbon but even better.........my gramma's crochet hooks! I've been wanting to buy more and have a piece of paper in my purse listing the few sizes I already have so I won't purchase duplicates. I may have enough now after uncovering this treasure trove!

My gramma was a master crocheter - she could look at a picture of a doily or afghan and reproduce it without a pattern. Looks like I have a few crochet hooks to use with crochet cotton if I ever make it to that level of skill.

Ignore my spool knitting - it is sitting on a crocheted table cloth that my gramma made for me using crochet cotton years and years ago (she died in l986 at the ripe old age of 94). This is the sort of work she could do with her eyes closed. They almost were closed as she had cataracts that were removed in her 80's.

I think it's just incredible!

Plus there were a number of needles similar to the plastic one I bought for finishing a crocheted piece, tucking in the last bit of yarn. I'm sure they have other uses as well.  How lucky am I??

I've gotten out for a couple hikes this week, pictures to follow on another day. The temperature continues to rise above 0c most days and today we're getting some drizzle. Seems kinda weird for January. Lots more to tell but his post is already long enough!

Juicing

I don't think I've done any juicing for at least a year, perhaps longer. But talking about it with friends has piqued my interest again. So yesterday I switched the coffee maker with the juicer on my kitchen counter.

Then I went to my local United Store (Chinese produce/products) and filled my cart with lots of lovely kale, spinach, ginger, oranges, cucumbers and so on for the modest total of $37. I love my United store - so much more choice than the usual grocery store, not too far away and CHEAP. The plan is to drink juice for breakfast and lunch and have a regular supper and by regular I mean fish/chicken/turkey plus lots and lots of veggies. I need to budge some fat, anyone need some?

My juice today doesn't follow a recipe - I had some "older" produce that I needed to get rid of (another handy feature of juicing - no waste!!) so my juice contains a withering grapefruit, a soft apple, some soft green grapes, spinach and kale, half a cucumber, pomegranate arils, and a big chunk of ginger. And yes it was very tasty - a bit too sweet - too many grapes I think but they needed to be used up.

The big news today is I got my Union Gas bill. I set aside $75; but because it was quite mild in November the bill was only $46!! However, today the temperature was -17c at 8am! Next month's bill won't be quite so low! Phooey!

You know you're are a boring financial nerd when you get excited by a low monthly bill!

Today's chores includes: making a couple of new toilet paper bird feeders, doing a bit more grocery shopping at No Frills (need toothpaste), NO housework, got it done yesterday, ride bike for an hour, tidy workshop and continue soapstone carving currently in progress. Supper is looked after - taking my neighbour to Swiss Chalet - YUM!

Off I go! This retirement business is so much fun!!

Financial Goals - Do I Have Any?

What's today....Sunday?  That's the retired life people! Not knowing (or caring) what day it is!

I got a little melancholy as I packed up the Christmas decorations this afternoon - then I had a beer. And 2 pieces of cashew brittle - I feel much better now, at least until I crash after all that sugar.

Yuck yuck.

So where was I? .... oh yeah, financial goals for 2016. Let's see....well, there's good news and then there's bad news.

GOOD NEWS:

• I'll get a wee pension increase.

BAD NEWS:

• it won't cover fully the increases in my condo fee, electricity, insurance etc etc

GOOD NEWS:

• Union Gas (heats my house, heats my hot water tank, runs my dryer) is GOING DOWN a little bit next year!! Woot woot - no bad news there (to my knowledge!)

GOOD NEWS:

• I turn 60 this year (wait...that's not the good news)...so I will start drawing on my Canada Pension!! Yes, that's the good news! Hundreds more dollars a month added to my budget - I estimate I can go from saving $350 a month to saving $1,000 a month! I see more travel in my future!! 

BAD NEWS:

• Had an expensive repair on Dougie the Dodge  but...

GOOD NEWS: 

• my mechanic told me Dougie should last at least another 4-5 years! Right now it's 16 years YOUNG! So I've decided it makes more financial sense to keep driving Dougie instead of spending big bucks on a small car. What I also like about having big ol' Dougie sitting out there in the parking lot is I tend to walk/bike more to do errands instead of driving. Good on gas and good for me!
• More good news - I had exactly enough money for Christmas and all of the many December needs. On Dec. 31st I had $70 left in my wallet and I used it to rent movies and buy Chinese food. I stayed on budget this Christmas and I feel really good about that. But I was anxious about it all month so tonight I'm going to sit down with my day planner and make a notation each month to buy a Christmas gift so that when next December arrives it won't be so anxiety provoking. I just gotta do it!
• I have NO debt. Not one nickel.
• I've been saving my change - I have almost $70. It's just a wee household emergency fund. For example....today I don't really feel like cooking so I might order a pizza. Saving my loonies and toonies and some $5.00 bills means I always have cash "on hand" just in case. 
• I received a Starbucks gift card and a Tim Hortons gift card for Christmas - that will augment my misc budget this month
• It's time to transfer $5000 from my RRSPs once again. I can do this once a year and it goes into my travel account - of course the gov't takes their share (10%) right off the top so I really only get $4500.  I'm interested to see what my tax situation will be like this year - this is my first tax season that I've been on my pension the whole year. I know I won't be looking at $2,000 tax refunds anymore but I hope I get a little bit back at least and don't have to pay!!

So...to sum up my 2016 financial goals - SAVE SAVE SAVE and spend less than I make each month! I have no large purchases to make (as of this particular moment in time - touch wood touch wood touch wood!!); I don't plan to buy and then immediately sell any real estate this year :(  (I was on a learning curve, what can I say?), and IT'S FINALLY SNOWING A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER CHRISTMAS!!

Do you have a NEW budget for 2016 or is it the same old same old?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!!

Hello my friends! We made it through 2015 relatively intact (the last half being MUCH better for me than the first half) - now on to 2016!! The year I turn 60!  Yippee - the Canada Pension Plan, that I've been paying into since I was a teenager, finally kicks in - should be millions of dollars coming my way - hah!!

In the really OLD photo below I'm turning 6! Two of those girls, Liane and Martha, moved away that year and broke my heart. Two of us still have contact through our "Class of '75" facebook page.

I'm looking forward to going on another trip this year - Ireland perhaps. I love the hiking format as you may have already guessed. There is just no better way of getting to see and know an area intimately. And it seems more like an adventure and while I sometimes get scared or overwhelmed there is great satisfaction in conquering my fears. More to come as the year progresses!

 Hopefully everyone enjoyed seeing in the new year. There may have been some melancholy or joy in seeing the last of 2015.  I spent New Year's Eve and day here at home with a good friend, Julie. We indulged in General Tso's chicken and sesame shrimp topped off with wine and chocolate. I rented several movies - "Rosewater", "A Walk in the Woods", and "Far from the Madding Crowd" and we managed to pause momentarily to clink our glasses at midnight in the middle of "Far from the Madding Crowd"!

The best movie by far was "A Walk in the Woods" based on a book by Bill Bryson about his adventures hiking the Appalachian Trail. This is the book I read and loudly guffawed over while Annie and I hiked Hadrian's Wall. The movie was wonderfully funny (perhaps enhanced by a few glasses of red wine?) and starred Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. They were hilarious!! I highly recommend it!

I forgot about the bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge so the next morning we had a couple of mimosas - absolutely perfect along with our breakfast sandwiches and yummy blend of fried potatoes and turkey stuffing :)

We spent the day on one of my favourite holiday pastimes - the New York Times crossword puzzle (I'm still working on it!) and noshing down on more chocolate and cashew brittle. A very relaxed day. Luna and Lily had so much fun with the empty gift bags and truly enjoyed covering Julie's black top and pants with cat hair!

I was just looking around for Luna a few minutes ago when I spotted....

....a lump on the love seat....I took a little peak....and found beautiful Luna...apparently I don't keep the house warm enough for her! Suck it up kitty! The real cold hasn't even begun yet!

So then of course I needed to get a photo of Lily to keep things fair...but Lily doesn't sit well for photos - she's always on the move - yes, the complete opposite of the lovely Luna, affectionately called the Chunky Monkey!

Lily: "I think I saw a squirrel!"

"Nope, just a leaf...Ok...take my pic..."

"WAIT...what was that noise?"...

"I just know there's a squirrel out there...somewhere..."

Sorry, have to get her when she's sleepy!

I've been spending wonderful hours in my workshop. It took me awhile to get back into the swing of things but have produced 4 soapstone sculptures over the past couple of weeks with such enjoyment and contentment that I haven't felt in quite some time. Here's a couple photos...

I have picked out my next piece so will be heading down to my workshop at some point today. In 2016 I hope to continue my artistic pursuits with more carving, more crocheting and rug hooking. I've also bought a book on watercolour painting - I'll give that a try this year too.

No resolutions except to enjoy each day as much as I can. If that means I devour a full box of peppermint patties, so be it! I'll just walk further the next day :)

Do you make New Year's resolutions?

Time to get busy!

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas!

Poor Charlie Brown - destined to put that red ball on his wee tree for eternity! I know how he feels - my tree leans to the right and the star leans to the left. But I don't dare touch it - it just needs to stay in place for a week or so.

Oh crap, I made the mistake of leaning forward on my chair and now Luna is behind me - she's a rascal - if I leave my chair for 5 seconds she nabs it. She loves to be in or under - wherever it is warmest. This morning she climbed up on my bed between the comforter and upper sheet - she keeps me warm and lies very still while I meditate....she's a good girl.

Luna is like royalty - she moves solemnly and with great majesty. She reminds me of the great Sphinx with her legs stretched out in front of her. Lily is like the court jester - constantly running and jumping around, being silly. Right now she is running back and forth from the front door to the patio doors - there's a ginger cat out front and squirrels out back and it's driving her crazy. Luna just watches her with infinite patience. She knows Lily will get tired out eventually.

It is Christmas Eve. I hope everyone is settled in with their loved ones waiting the great arrival. From my home to yours I wish you the very best of Christmases!