So, this morning we woke to another dump of snow - the nice soft stuff. The weather forecast is talking about more snow during the week so before we left for church we cleared the drive so we could get out easily without making ruts which in turn make snow clearing difficult. We cleared all the drive & then some. All the time I'm thinking 'craft group Friday'. Trying to get the moved snow out of the way so folks can park easily. By the time we had finished shoveling it was church time & we were still at home - so no church for us today! But the drive is clear ready for the next snow fall. Who needs a gym when snow needs to be moved?
It's not cold today, in fact I hung out the laundry & it should be dry in no time. It's just on freezing - that's telling, 'it's not cold'! But when it's been -15 with further drop due to wind chill a sunny dry day at 0 degrees isn't cold.
I don't get fussed by the snow - I know I'm relatively new to this amount, but this is winter & this is what winter should be like. I'd rather have snow than rain, snow it's way prettier & doesn't soak me. Especially when I'm working.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Valentines Day
Yesterday we had our crafting group here, I was worried about the ice & snow, not wanting anyone to fall & damage themselves. The ice that had formed earlier in the week got covered by more snow on Thursday night. The snow seemed to hold some warmth against the ice so as the day progressed the ice was breaking down where it was thin enough. The ice didn't seem as slippery as I expected it would with the snow on it. Luckily!
One of the group has asked me to bake her mother a birthday cake, a Battenburg cake, so I experimented with the cake base yesterday & it worked well, now I have to experiment with the almond paste. I left the cake for the group to eat as I didn't want to be tempted by it, so it was all eaten - that was a good sign. Battenburg cake was new to them, so I'm introducing them to new things. We had a day class here & I made lunch and made them lentil soup which again seemed to be seen rarely. Yet I have it most of the time. Here the staple soup is seafood chowder.
But today we are back in blizzard mode. As I look out of the window here at my desk, the snow is blowing straight across, not coming down. It's cold outside too, there is a wind chill which drops the -4 to much lower. I know lots of folks have ot much colder than that, but that is cold enough. So many people we meet are ready to get rid of the winter, but there is at least another 5 or 6 weeks to go, then spring will suddenly arrive and bring all the early flowers, it is so worth the wait.
One of the group has asked me to bake her mother a birthday cake, a Battenburg cake, so I experimented with the cake base yesterday & it worked well, now I have to experiment with the almond paste. I left the cake for the group to eat as I didn't want to be tempted by it, so it was all eaten - that was a good sign. Battenburg cake was new to them, so I'm introducing them to new things. We had a day class here & I made lunch and made them lentil soup which again seemed to be seen rarely. Yet I have it most of the time. Here the staple soup is seafood chowder.
But today we are back in blizzard mode. As I look out of the window here at my desk, the snow is blowing straight across, not coming down. It's cold outside too, there is a wind chill which drops the -4 to much lower. I know lots of folks have ot much colder than that, but that is cold enough. So many people we meet are ready to get rid of the winter, but there is at least another 5 or 6 weeks to go, then spring will suddenly arrive and bring all the early flowers, it is so worth the wait.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday 11th
It seems that the ice is to be melted! Hurray for that, where I enjoy the snow, the ice is quite deadly. Almost every drive I've been to is like glass despite what owners have done. They try to melt it then over night it freezes again; but we are in for some respite for the next couple of days.
We are lucky here, the roads are kept in good condition. it seems that every or any where one lives there is always some reason to complain about something, and if we could look above that there is always something to be content about too. Here it has recently become the cost of groceries - they seem to be more expensive here than else where. Where I can't necessarily agree with that, I have to say the price of milk is crazy. Here we can get 4 liters of pop for less then $2, yet to buy that much milk would do big damage to $8! Yes, that is expensive and for families struggling to give kids milk at that price it is easier to give them pop with all the consequences that brings. But then we can get on the roads without a struggle, because they are dealt with promptly & adequately.
Similarly, when we had power lines down due to high winds there were the complaints that the lines took so long to fix. Y'know, the folks that fix power lines usually have to do that job in conditions we don't want to go out in, yet there they are up in cherry pickers working with high voltage wires so we can watch tv! The power workers don't get praised for fixing the lines, usually beefed at for being slow.
And that's my rant for today.
We are lucky here, the roads are kept in good condition. it seems that every or any where one lives there is always some reason to complain about something, and if we could look above that there is always something to be content about too. Here it has recently become the cost of groceries - they seem to be more expensive here than else where. Where I can't necessarily agree with that, I have to say the price of milk is crazy. Here we can get 4 liters of pop for less then $2, yet to buy that much milk would do big damage to $8! Yes, that is expensive and for families struggling to give kids milk at that price it is easier to give them pop with all the consequences that brings. But then we can get on the roads without a struggle, because they are dealt with promptly & adequately.
Similarly, when we had power lines down due to high winds there were the complaints that the lines took so long to fix. Y'know, the folks that fix power lines usually have to do that job in conditions we don't want to go out in, yet there they are up in cherry pickers working with high voltage wires so we can watch tv! The power workers don't get praised for fixing the lines, usually beefed at for being slow.
And that's my rant for today.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
February 6th 2009
Yesterday I had to work. It had snowed again in the night but the snow was very light, so the couple of centimeters that fell was easily moved. Because we had taken the car out for groceries the day before I was confident the car could leave the property today. When I left it was still snowing. That's the third day of snow! We didn't get this amount all at once last year, and the texture of this snow is so soft. It's like icing sugar. Because of the huge amount of snow we have everywhere looks so pretty, so I took my camera with me to work.
The roads were pretty good, we are lucky that the roads are kept so clear. we even get our road plowed and we are the only ones living on it! The side roads were less clear but they sand rather than salt those roads because the houses have dug wells close to the roads and the salt may affect the water supply. But I wasn't in any hurry, and I had a full day ahead of me.
After I had done my first patient the sun started to shine. We haven't seen that for a few days! Now everything looked spectacular and I was glad I had my camera. I passed a field of horses eating hay, and it looked so rustic, but I had nowhere to stop and I had a tractor bearing down on me, so that photograph is in my memory. But I did get some shots of the Bangor saw mill & the Meteghan river which looked good. I wanted to get some of the big churches on the French Coast but by the time I had got that far up the road it was getting later and the sun was tired of shining to much. Another day.
The roads were pretty good, we are lucky that the roads are kept so clear. we even get our road plowed and we are the only ones living on it! The side roads were less clear but they sand rather than salt those roads because the houses have dug wells close to the roads and the salt may affect the water supply. But I wasn't in any hurry, and I had a full day ahead of me.
After I had done my first patient the sun started to shine. We haven't seen that for a few days! Now everything looked spectacular and I was glad I had my camera. I passed a field of horses eating hay, and it looked so rustic, but I had nowhere to stop and I had a tractor bearing down on me, so that photograph is in my memory. But I did get some shots of the Bangor saw mill & the Meteghan river which looked good. I wanted to get some of the big churches on the French Coast but by the time I had got that far up the road it was getting later and the sun was tired of shining to much. Another day.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
February 4th
It started to snow yesterday around 9am and continued snowing all day & night. The wind picked up around 3pm and so the snow started to drift. This morning when I got up there were drifts about 3 ft high and sparse parts where there was very little snow. I was supposed to be working today, but there I was in my snow shoes assessing the possibility of getting off the property - work wasn't happening today; today was a snow day! I love them. It reminds me of when I was at school and we couldn't get there because of the snow, I don't have to work.
I did, however, have to deal with the snow. Where do you put the snow that is in the way. The snow that was a high drift & was blocking the way out of the garage? I made paths using the routes of least resistance from the house to the garage and to the chicken house. These paths resemble bob sleigh runs as they have the high snow banks. Chloe, our border collie puppy thinks they are fun because as she runs along them she can't see over the edges. She's fun to watch.
The chickens were not too impressed with the overnight blizzard. At some time their door had blown open and snow had blown in and had become the new chicken litter. The girls were quite stressed by this & wouldn't come forward as they normally do when I go in. Instead the cowered in the corner looking at the snow on the floor. I had to clear snow from the floor & their feeder. Don't expect we'll get many eggs today!
The snow plow came and cleared our road, but they never come through the gate so we have to clear snow along the drive to the gate. Hannah thought it would be a good idea if Phil used the Titan to make tracks so squash the snow and making it easier to clear. He did that but even the Titan found it a struggle with the deep snow. We can now get out of the property, though I was in no hurry to do so, but Hannah was. We really are not the company she wants so as soon as she could she dashed off, promising to call when she got to wherever she is going!
I did, however, have to deal with the snow. Where do you put the snow that is in the way. The snow that was a high drift & was blocking the way out of the garage? I made paths using the routes of least resistance from the house to the garage and to the chicken house. These paths resemble bob sleigh runs as they have the high snow banks. Chloe, our border collie puppy thinks they are fun because as she runs along them she can't see over the edges. She's fun to watch.
The chickens were not too impressed with the overnight blizzard. At some time their door had blown open and snow had blown in and had become the new chicken litter. The girls were quite stressed by this & wouldn't come forward as they normally do when I go in. Instead the cowered in the corner looking at the snow on the floor. I had to clear snow from the floor & their feeder. Don't expect we'll get many eggs today!
The snow plow came and cleared our road, but they never come through the gate so we have to clear snow along the drive to the gate. Hannah thought it would be a good idea if Phil used the Titan to make tracks so squash the snow and making it easier to clear. He did that but even the Titan found it a struggle with the deep snow. We can now get out of the property, though I was in no hurry to do so, but Hannah was. We really are not the company she wants so as soon as she could she dashed off, promising to call when she got to wherever she is going!
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