November 2017

Snow is always beautiful at the beginning of winter.

Discovered that mice got into my old school books and notebooks. I had about 1 box left to keep after cleaning out the badly damaged stuff. So many years of work (12 years in all!), gone in a moment.

A scene in preschool.

I helped host a movie night at school.

Waiting for Darcy outside dance class.

Fall moments in the garden.

A day in the life of a sub. I replaced the gym teacher on Friday (Nov 10) and injured my foot. This was taken on Sunday (Nov 12), as I started to be able to at least limp around. It's about 10 weeks later and I still have a lot of pain in my foot. I can walk, with a slight limp or sometimes none. It takes a few minutes to walk properly after being seated or sleeping. Also, I have to wear shoes in the house most of the time and can only wear shoes with good support now. No more cute sandals. 😢 I suspect a rupture or very bad tear of the plantar fascia, again!

January Freezing Rain

The view on the way into Nanna's to bring her hot food and water.

The view from inside Nanna's kitchen. The tree bent, but did not break.

Pretty

Ice crystals on the way home.

Icy road!

The next day we went back again.

Kinda pretty.

Ice is melting now.

Nanna was without power for about a day and half and we were lucky to only loose it for 12 hours.

Snow flakes.

When you look at one little, beautiful and fragile snowflake it's hard to believe the it could so much - amazing! These wee snowflakes accumulate and work together to bring both good and bad. The same goes for people - never think the work of one person is not enough!

Happy Valentine's Day 2016

I have hit my breaking point....

I HATE WINTER!!!

I should specify that it is the cold that I hate more than anything. I have to put on atleast 2 extra layers when I prepare to exit the house. Then there are the boots, hat, mitts, and a scarf wrapped around my face so my skin doesn't hurt when it's exposed to the -25 C air. The car screams at me when I start it and is not even registering a temperature by the time I get to work.

This pretty much sums it up:

Frozen Parody, I hate Snow

Will Spring EVER come?

 

Squirrel at my orange peel feeder. March 26, 2014

March 28, 2014

March 30, 2014

April 5, 2014

Spring, where are you?

March 22, 2014

 

 

 Last Saturday we shoveled the cottage roof. We were actually warm up there. Sunday it was bitterly cold again. Then today, this:

Seriously? This is what we wake up to on the 2nd day of spring?

 

HHmmmmmm....

 

 

Ollie and his bloody tail (March 14 - 22, 2014)

Ollie came in just over a week ago with the end of his tail bloody. By morning it seemed to have scabbed and looked OK. He went out. A couple days later it looked worse again and almost everytime he went out it got worse after scabbing while being in. Today it looks like this. I have no idea what happened. There are other cats, skunks and sometimes raccoons around. Maybe it froze. Maybe it got stuck somewhere. He will let me look at it, but doesn't like it. Otherwise he seems fine.

 

March 12, 2014 snow storm

Yet another storm!

Time lapse of the storm, which wasn't as bad as predicted, but still more snow that any of us want!!!

 

Link to Darcy's Journal for today, including video: http://tiggeric.blogspot.ca/2014/03/march-12-2014.html

March break 2014

March 10, 2014

 

This is what the cottage looks like right now. We have not been to shovel the roof yet. *sigh* seems like it's been forever since we were last there and like the snow will never go away.

 

I spent the Friday that March break started at a volunteer meeting that was supposed to last 3 hours, but lasted over 5. Since  figured it would be done around 1:00, I did not bring a lunch for Darcy and I, just a few snacks. I let her have all of them. On the way home I got lost twice while very nearly running out of gas. We finally got home and Kevin greeted me with the news that his father had been hospitalized. Nice start to the week off.

 

Sunday I went to a swap meet. I took more stuff than I brought back, but my points are kept for next time.  After that I went to mom's to watch the Oscars. I loved the show this year! Ellen is terrific...ordering pizza for the stars and sending the delivery guy a HUGE tip - I LOVE IT. I went home around 12:30 am, Darcy stayed for the 2nd night of her sleepover.

 

On Saturday, after Darcy's dance class, we went to Bruce's funeral.  I thought about my dad and Kevin's dad and Bruce all mixed together, all day. It was a draining day. Once again everyone but me was in bed by 8:30, just when I come alive...I watched We Bought a Zoo on TV and loved it!

 

Link to Darcy's Journal for March Break:http://tiggeric.blogspot.ca/2014/03/march-break-2014.html

Melted snowman cookies

 

(melted) Snowman cookies

 

 

Snowman cooking in the making.

I needed white icing for the cookies, had none, and too late to go out...so I made icing. The only other homemade icing I've ever made was brown sugar icing.

This icing was so easy! I may never buy it again!

http://mamaldiane.com/simple-white-icing/

 

You’ll need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 – 3 Tbsp. milk

In a bowl beat butter with an electric mixer at medium to high speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and 2 Tbsp. milk, adding additional milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.

Completed (melted) snowman cookies.

 

Here is the original post: http://thedecoratedcookie.com/2008/12/im-melting-melting

Here is the post I used: http://www.somewhatsimple.com/melted-snowman-cookies/

 

•1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
•10 large marshmallows
•Betty Crocker Cookie Icing (white and orange)
•Wilton Decorating Icing Tubes in Black, Red, Green, Blue and Pink (or the above recipe for simple white icing)

Here’s what I did:

•Mix cookie mix according to directions, or prepare your favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe, then just grab a golf ball sized chunk and squish it down until it’s about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Do not worry about the shape or how lumpy it is, the more misshapen the better! Bake according to recipe directions.

•Once the cookies are cool, load them up with the cookie icing and spread it around with the back of a spoon, let some dribble over the edge for a “puddle” look.

•Spray a microwave safe plate with cooking spray, and place marshmallows on the plate. Set the microwave for 30 seconds, but watch the marshmallows as they cook. Stop the microwave as soon as the marshmallows start to get puffy, do not let them double in size.

•Spray your fingers with cooking spray or grease them up with shortening, and carefully pull the marshmallows off, by the base, and set them on top of the frosted cookies.

•Then just decorate as you’d like with the Wilton frosting, or your own homemade frosting! I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy the Betty Crocker cookie icing was!

Feb 2, 2014: Could I get a few inches LESS?

 

Really? More snow? I know it's winter in Canada, and it's supposed to be cold and snowy...but I've had ENOUGH!

freezing rain

Jan 5, 2014

The bathroom window is all iced up, as are the front windows.

vehicles are iced, too.

record low temperatures

http://www.meteomedia.com/nouvelles/articles/records-de-froid-et-aeroports-paralyses/19099/

MétéoMédia

Mardi 7 janvier 2014 à 20 h 45 -

 Le vortex polaire qui plane sur les États-Unis et sur le Canada a généré une vague de froid presque inégalée en 20 ans. En effet, pas moins de 50 villes ont battu des records de froid dans la moitié est des États-Unis, mardi. Du côté de l’Ontario, les températures ont également donné lieu à des records.

Cette vague de froid historique a paralysé les aéroports de New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Washington et Toronto. Plus de 2000 vols ont été annulés et plus de 6000 retardés mardi, s’ajoutant à la dizaine de milliers d’autres depuis jeudi. Le froid faisait geler les équipements, clouant les avions au sol.

La ville de New York a enregistré mardi ses températures les plus basses pour un 7 janvier depuis plus de 100 ans. Il a fait -15,5 °C à Central park, battant le précédent record de -14,4 °C en 1896.
Philadelphie et Baltimore ont aussi enregistré des records avec -15,5 °C et -16,1 °C.
À Atlanta, il a fait plus froid qu'à Anchorage, en Alaska. Les températures ont atteint -14,4°C, relayant aux oubliettes un record de 1970.

Il faisait -22 ˚C avec un refroidissement éolien de -33 mardi matin à Chicago alors qu’on annonçait un maximum de -7,7 °C à Nashville, au Tennessee avec une température ressentie de -12. Ce n’était guère mieux au Minnesota où le mercure indiquait -28 ˚C avec un refroidissement éolien de -37.
Les écoles et certaines entreprises sont demeurent fermées depuis le début de cette vague de froid qui s’estompera d’ici jeudi.

Froids records en Ontario

La masse d’air arctique qui recouvre les États-Unis affecte également l’Ontario. À l’aéroport de Windsor, on a enregistré -25,2 ˚C alors que le précédent record était de -20,6 ˚C en 1942.
À Sarnia, un record de 1968 avec -20 ˚C a été pulvérisé alors que le mercure indiquait -25,2 ˚C, mardi.

À London, il a fait -26,1. Le précédent record était de -21,7 ˚C en 1942.
Finalement, à Hamilton, le mercure indiquait -24 ˚C. La température la plus froide avait été enregistrée en 1968 avec -20 ˚C.

Jan 2, 2013: HOLY COLD!

Jan 2, 2013: HOLY COLD!

 

 

 

RECENT LOCATIONS

Wind Chill Warning

             

Lachute, QC

Overcast

-25°C

Feels like -34

E 12km/h

 

07:36

Sunrise

 

16:23

Sunset

Records on this Date in Lachute, QC:

 

Record Low

-29°C 1981

 

Record High

4°C 1998

Sock snowmen

Sock snowmen - updated

Upcycled sock snowman with Candy cane and chocolate bar sleigh :-)

Nanna Snowman (snowwoman) and her sleigh

The McWilby's: Angie, Darcy, Kevin and Cameron.

Close-up of Kevin Snowman's earmuffs made of acorn caps.

CPAC Snowmen.

L to R: Colby, Amelia, Charla & Paul.

Colby's snowman has glasses!

Feb 28, 2012: SNOW & WIND