Monday, February 16th - okay, enough already!

Conditions at 8:00 am: the same as the past 24 hours - blizzard conditions with very strong winds blowing snow around. The temperatures -14' and that's where it will stay all day.

When we got up this morning, after listening to the wind howl all night long, we couldn't see as far as the garage or the road due to the blowing snow. It's supposed to keep up till at least tonight. The bridge has been closed to ALL traffic since 4:30 yesterday, and remains that way until further notice. Plows are not out on the road at this time.

I doubt that Lloyd will be making it into work tonight. It's going to take quite a while to dig out from this one.

Obviously, other than the weather, not a lot is going on. We went to Peakes for wings and beer on Friday evening with Brenda and Bernie.  Saturday morning I worked but we decided to cancel our dinner on Sunday with the VanGaals and the Hugh's. That was a good call. No way anyone could get anywhere yesterday. I had thought about putting it over to today but obviously that wouldn't have worked.

I have permission from my boss to host the cupcake sale at work next Monday, the 23rd. I was snowed in yesterday but it gave me lots of time to bake. I now have 13 dozen cupcakes packaged up and in the freezer.  The plan is to take them all out next Sunday and spend the day icing and decorating them. I have various ideas of what I'd like to do with them but some of those ideas involve using materials and equipment that's out in the craft room. I may bundle myself up today and go out there and try to dig my way in. 

We have about a foot of snow built up against the back door. Cooper took one look outside then turned around and went back into the house. No way he was going out there. But it's not as bad as this photo on the weather network of a house in Stratford!




We may not have so much against the door but I just took this photo out the front window, looking towards the road... we know it's out there somewhere!

Friday, February 13th - Happy Friday the 13th!

Conditions at5:15 am: -11' that feels more like -16'
Expected later: flurries but the temperature is going to stay pretty much where it is, and get colder as the day goes on. Tonight will be -20' with a wind chill of -30'    BRRRRRRRR!

I will always think of Peter Marrucci on Friday the 13th. It's an old joke about our band of geniuses wannabes who were involved in weekly trivia at the local pub. One night the question was "What is Triskaidekaphobia?"   My immediate response was "the fear of crackers" and he never forgot that. I was reminded of it every time we had a Friday the 13th, although it really means a fear of the number 13, not the date) When I'm a hundred years old, I'll still think of Peter on Friday the 13th (although I've since found out that fear of the actual day is called another name that's even longer and really, who cares?)

Well, all week long they were giving us dire warnings about a big storm scheduled for Friday that might bring from 10 to 15 cms of snow. Now yesterday they're telling us it will just be a couple of cms and nothing to worry about. The funny thing is so far no one's mentioned the prediction on the weather network for Sunday that claims we could get 35 to 45 cms of snow. You might think that would be worthy of mention??? That's one heck of a lot of snow! Maybe it's a typo or they just figure we won't care because Monday's a holiday!  

I sincerely hope that doesn't happen. Brenda, Bernie, Raymond and Marlene are coming over for supper. I suppose if worse comes to worse, Bernie could lead the way in his big tractor and snow blower and the others could follow along right behind in his path...could work!

I'm hoping it's not going to be much at this point, but we'll have to wait and see. We may have to come up with an alternate date for our dinner.

I heard an ad on the radio this morning about a fund raiser for the local humane society. Apparently it's

country wide and called "National Cupcake Day" on February 23rd. I've tentatively signed up in hopes that I can bring cupcakes into work and sell them to staff and customers and try to raise a bit of money for the local shelter.  I've emailed the boss and asked for permission but am still waiting to hear back. In all honesty it's just an opportunity for me to play around with some fun decorating ideas. I'll keep you posted and IF I get permission and IF you're in town a week from Monday, drop by. This is a photo of some I did for a benefit a while back. I need to come up with some new ideas as well..

Wednesday, February 11th - still very cold and more snow on the way

Conditions at 5:10 am: clear and a chilly -16' feeling more like -25'
Expected later: some sun but still only moving up the scale to -14'

It's mighty cold but at least it's too cold to snow. That could change on Friday when we may get dumped on again but we'll have to wait and see.

Not a lot going on. Muscles are a little stiff this morning after working out on the treadmill at the gym on Monday evening and then class last night. There was a first step aerobics class last night that they are going to try out for the next few weeks. It was a pretty intense work out and we were both pretty tired when we left. But it felt good as well. This morning a few muscles are complaining ever so slightly but I'm sure once I get moving around a bit more they'll be fine. They just want to let me know they're there and don't I know it! No pain, no gain, right?

One of our friends is retiring in a little under two weeks now, and her and her husband and Brenda and Bernie are coming over for dinner on Sunday. That will work as it's a holiday on Monday (Islander Day here, family day in other parts of the country).  Because I'll be spending Sunday preparing the meal and tidying up,  I'm hopeful that Monday will be a nice day and perhaps we can get out on our skis. It is a holiday after all.  I purchased a crown roast of pork at Christmas and put it in the freezer. It's too much for just the two of us so I've been waiting for an opportunity to try it as I've never cooked one before. I have really good instructions to follow so today I will work on determining  the sides to serve with it, and I also need to design a special cake for the occasion. I even have a lovely bottle of champagne that Patti picked up for us on one of her trips to Paris. This seems like it might just be the perfect opportunity to break into that.

Monday, February 9th - another very cold morning - but at least it's not snowing!

Conditions at 5:15: clear and cold and -20' but feeling more like -29
Expected later: sunny and -15' that will still feel like -25'

What a few days! By the time we got dug out on Friday it wasn't worth while going in to work, even though it had turned into a bright sunny day by the afternoon. Poor Lloyd was stuck in town until I called him and told him the plow had gone by so he could get down our road.

He slept in the afternoon and got up just in time to watch James on Facetime playing his bagpipes. I can't believe he's doing so well. The pipe band is searching for a kilt that might fit him but they don't have many kids in the band so most kilts are adult sizes but hopefully someone will find one for him. He'll have to be all decked out for the competition in April.  I think he's looking forward to playing with the other band members. I imagine they march in parades and that sort of thing - he'll enjoy that I'm sure. Because he skates on Tuesdays he's not able to practice with the cadet band so for now is part of the Guelph Pipe Band.

Because I didn't work on Friday, I went in on Saturday morning to catch up a bit with some of Friday's work. It was very quiet at the dealership so I had lots of time to get caught up.  On my way home I stopped and picked up groceries. My friend Christine and her son Colin were coming over for supper on Sunday. We had planned this a couple of weeks ago but postponed because we were expecting a storm that never actually materialized. But yesterdays weather was clear and cold but no new snow so it turned out.

We had a lovely time even though I screwed up the dessert. I planned "Worms and Dirt" as Colin is only six years old. For those uninitiated to this culinary delight, it's simply chocolate pudding with gummy worms pushed into it, sprinkled with oreo cookie crumbs. I thought I'd be smart and make it in the morning. I've never done that before and who knew that gummy worms absorb moisture. By the time we were ready to eat they had swollen to double their size and were quite unpleasant to eat. They now looked like big fat dew worms and the resulting texture was quite off-putting. But we'd all had lots of chicken and mashed potatoes so I don't think we needed it anyway.   I'll stick to basics next time and not try to be too fancy!

In spite of the cold, Brenda planned to get out in the woods either on her skis or snowshoes yesterday. I look forward to a report later at the gym.

The kids were at a speedskating meet in Newmarket this weekend. We tried to Facetime on Saturday but I think the connection in the arena wasn't the greatest so I wasn't able to watch. No reports yet on how they did but I expect I'll get the details later today. There's no emails with pictures of medals this morning so I suspect maybe it wasn't such a successful day.Oh well, as long as they enjoyed themselves.

All in all, not a bad weekend. We'll endure the cold for another few days but it looks like there's no more
snow until Friday. Apparently we've received a total of 150 cms in the past two weeks! We have some snow banks in the back that the kids would love to be all over building snow forts!

Thursday, February 5th to Friday the 6th - it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride...

Conditions at 4:06 pm: snowing and -2 with 15 to 20 cms of snow expected before morning

What a ride it's been. Snow and high winds pretty much shut down the island on Tuesday. Wednesday we arrived in town to massive snowbanks everywhere as crews scurried to cart the stuff away (including the parking lot at work).

The sun came out Wednesday and the afternoon was beautiful. After a few cms of snow overnight on Wednesday, leaving the roads slippery, the schools were all  cancelled again today. My drive into work was a little slow but fortunately, uneventful. I'm not looking forward to the drive home tonight.  We are meant to get more snow overnight and the winds are going to increase and the temperature is going to get VERY COLD, again.

Brenda had a late bus run on Wednesday so wasn't able to make it to fitness class and I've decided to

change my strategy. I don't think I'm getting a whole lot out of the structured classes so I'm going to instead spend my time on the treadmill and the exercise bike. If I build up those muscles, it will be easier (I hope) to transition into walking and bicycling once the early spring gets here and the weather in nice and the days are longer. At least that's my theory.  So I did my first spell on the treadmill last night. It's good because along with all the settings you can choose, it also measures your heart rate through the sensors in the handles so you can see if you are actually working or not. I'll give it my best shot to try to get into some semblance of fitness before spring gets here. Every little bit helps I suppose.

Snowy New Brunswick

While we might be complaining about the amount of snow, we're lucky we're not in New Brunswick. They have huge piles of snow and I saw some pictures online of the sidewalks cut through the snowbanks that were easily 7 or 8 feet high. But it is Canada and it is February. We got off easy the early part of the winter so I guess it's to be expected.

Update: Friday morning- this snowy morning it's -12' but feeling more like -23', quite a drop from yesterday afternoon

The drive home last night wasn't too bad in spite of the fact it snowed most of the afternoon. The wind was just starting to pick up when I was on my way home. It snowed quite a bit more last night and it looks like I might not be going anywhere real soon this morning. Driving conditions and roads are not the best at the moment due to blowing snow not to mention our road and lane are quite filled in. No worries, I'll just text my boss and let her know I'll be there when I can.

The kids have been very busy. Meghan and I were texting on Monday as they had a snow day, (before they sent the storm down here on Tuesday!) She's on the competitive dance team with her dance academy and has decided she needs a better place for practicing. She feels her bedroom doesn't work well as apparently she gets rug burns on her knees and keeps whacking her knees into the furniture. So she decided to look around and scoped out the bar area in the rec room in the basement and determined it could work as a dance studio - with some modifications. On Monday her mom was on her way back from England and her dad was at work, so she was working on a video to present to her family that evening. Not sure yet what the final decision was but apparently "my mom wants me to do it and my dad didn't say no. My dad said I had really good points and he just has to think about it"  Looks like she may have a possible future as a negotiator! 
And this just in this morning - James' teacher wants him to enter his first solo piping competition in Toronto in April. Who knew the young man had progressed so well?  I suggested Patti video tape him practicing for me sometime.

Good to see they are happily pursuing their interests.

Tuesday, February 3rd - the aftermath of another snow day

Conditions at 1:30 pm: bright and sunny but very cold -16' with a -25' wind chill
Expected later: at least the snow has stopped for now but the temperatures are going to stay cold for a bit longer

I'm sitting at the kitchen table writing this and looking out at a winter wonderland. Bright blue skies, sunshine and lots of snow. Such was not the case a few short hours ago. When I got up at 6:00 the wind was howling and the snow was still coming down. Once daylight came you couldn't see the road from the front window and out the back you couldn't see the garage for blowing snow. It was pretty wicked for a while. Apparently winds were up to 110 km per hour and I believe it.

Needless to say the whole island is pretty much shut down. In fact when I got up this morning there was a notification on the radio station website that the plows had all been taken off the road until the winds died down. Everyone was urged to stay off the roads. So that's what we did - as if we could have gotten anywhere anyway.
 

There's a road under here somewhere!

The wind is still blowing but not so fiercely so visibility isn't a problem. Apparently they recorded 60 cms of snow has fallen in Charlottetown. The plows are finally out but only on the main roads and only to plow one lane wide.  I also heard there's a watermain break over on Queen Street near the Co-op grocery store and there's two feet of water/slush on the road. We have friends who live in that area so hopefully it's not impacting them. 

There was no way for Lloyd to get out last night and unless something happens soon, it's doubtful he'll be able to get out this afternoon. He was meant to work a double shift  today to make up for missing last night but that may or may not happen.  Our road isn't
usually high on the list and because there's so much snow to be moved, it's going to be a long time. Apparently the plows didn't get out till around 10:30 this morning so it's going to be a while. But we are among the lucky ones. Several areas have no power but we still have ours. But with a gas stove for cooking and the wood stove for heat, it's not a huge deal if we do lose it.

Looking at this beautiful blue sky it's hard to imagine just how stormy it was a short time ago.

This view of downtown Charlottetown speak volumes!

Monday, February 2nd - Happy Ground Hog Day

Conditions at 5:15 am: clear and COLD: -22' that feels more like -32'
Expected later: warming up slightly but not much. Sunshine this morning will change to snow this afternoon and continue on into the night. You know it's not going to be good when you wake up to, not just cold, but an Extreme Cold Warning and a Winter Storm Warning! Happy Monday. Winter took it's time getting here but now it's making up for lost time.

Friday we were told to expect snow overnight but since it wasn't going to start till the wee hours of the morning, Brenda and I took the opportunity to enjoy a bite to eat, followed by a movie after work.  We enjoyed our meal at Daniel Brennan's and then headed over to City Cinema. We were quite early but that was a good thing because by the time the film started, it was a packed house. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, Elsa and Fred, starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer.Fortunately for us the snow held off until after we got home.

Saturday morning was snowy and blowy and Lloyd reported that the roads and driving conditions were very poor when he was coming home from work.  It was going to be a snow day on PEI - and it was. He went off to bed after coffee and I headed out to the craft room. There are a couple of things I want to do but once I got out there, and took a good look around, I made up my mind to get at those things that are only half done and finish those before I start something else. I had taken apart my braided rug, for the second time, and it needed to be stitched back together. I think I got it right this time and since it was meant for Patti's Christmas gift, I'll get it up to her the next time one of us travels that way.  Then I hauled out the squares I'm working on for my t-shirt quilt. Still lots of work to be done there, but first I got out all my spools of thread and sorted those out. But I needed somewhere to keep them organized. So I headed down to the workshop and found a couple of small pieces of wood and some small nails and made a board to put them on, with a separate nail to hold each spoon. It's a temporary fix until Lloyd can build me a proper one with dowels to hang on the wall. But like me, he has other things to finish before he starts anything new. He has a project to work on for work so that has to take priority and he also has a couple of things in the works for me as well.

When I came back in I was a bit hungry and decided I wanted Breakfast Burritos, something we used to get at a little restaurant north of Guelph. They consisted of scrambled eggs inside a flour tortilla with salsa, sour cream and shredded cheddar. Trouble was I had no tortillas. No worries, we made them in community school class a few years ago. So I hauled out the recipe and set to work. Before long I had a dozen  lovely tortillas just waiting to be used. So when Lloyd got up we had brunch while we watched a bit of TV.  After breakfast, I cleaned up the dishes and then headed back out to the
garage. Now that  it's getting so organized downstairs, the whole building is a pleasure to work in.

It was snowing and blowing most of the day so it was a good day to be inside. Supper was an easy meal of homemade noodles with a sauce made with some tomatoes, onions and garlic, some leftover frozen pulled pork and some of our own oven dried tomatoes, with just a dash of smokey BBQ sauce. It was an experiment that worked very well.

Sunday was cold with an even colder wind chill.
Brenda and I had talked perhaps getting out on our skis but I have to admit I wimped out and declined. I spent the morning vacuuming and doing laundry while waiting for raisins to soak. I had received a recipe via email for a pie that Lloyd was keen for me to try. It's a variation on a raisin pie, which is not one of my favorites but definitely one of his. Not really diet food but he'd been good all week (except for Friday night out with the boys!) It's a Raisin and Cranberry pie and it was very good. The tartness of the cranberries is offset very nicely with the sweetness of the raisins. We will certainly be making it again in the future. Lloyd went into town in the afternoon to pick up wood while I continued with my chores in the house. Because we'd had a late breakfast and pie in the afternoon, neither of us was particularly hungry at supper time so we had a snack later in the evening. Lloyd's

finishing up the last Louise Penny book and I continued catching up with a couple of old seasons of a program on Netflix. And that was pretty much it, a nice, quiet and relaxing weekend.