Clearing the Snow

   I've had the mukluks on again today to clear the driveway - they're not true mukluks which are a type of moccasin, but they serve the same purpose, hence the name I use. The driveway only took me half-an-hour to clear using the snowblower but it doesn't do a great job, just moves the majority of the snow. I went out later this afternoon to scrape off what was left. The sun had been shining for a couple of hours which made the job easier. Tomorrow rain is forecast so I did not want everything freezing solid!

   Bridge this afternoon - terrible cards and I had some bad hands. We have to miss next Monday as it is a civic holiday but I will play on Thursday instead.

   So that was my day!

Painting Done

    I had a sleep in this morning, not getting up until 9:00 a.m. I had stayed up late watching D.I. Banks again until midnight. Breakfast was my weekend favourite, a cheese, mushroom and green onion omelet in a croissant. During the week I am very restrained, usually only have a banana and yogurt for breakfast, but on the weekend I like to indulge myself - yesterday was sausages and a fried egg. I even have a glass of orange juice followed by coffee! 

   It has snowed all day, big fluffy flakes that quickly accumulated, and I finally went out around 4:00 p.m. to clean off the car and do a little shovelling. We must have got abut 10 cms. I will plug in the battery for the snow blower before I go to bed tonight and clear the driveway tomorrow morning.

   The painting job is done and the colour is perfect! It's called Aria Ivory by Behr, much warmer than the colour I have been using, and I think I will be using it all over the house in the future. I got two doorways done (just the trim) and plan to paint the cupboards in the laundry room another day. I will have to wait until warmer weather to do the last doorway as it is the outside door and I will need to have the door open to the elements to get it done. The paint brush is cleaned for its next use and the doors back on their hinges - a good day's work!

   Salmon and green beans for dinner tonight - a nice easy meal and one of my favourites.

My pool is under there somewhere! You can just see my footprints where I went out to the composter with some veggie scraps.

I needed to wear my mukluks to venture out today.

Busy, Busy!

     I got an e-mail from my travel advisor to say the return flight from my river cruise in June will not be direct from Amsterdam after all - it will go through Munich! My geography is not great but that seems like back tracking to me. The advisor said to call her to re-negotiate but as the trip came with free air, I imagine anything other than what's offered will cost more. I am already worried what the exchange rate will be as it's in US dollars. I have to pay in full next month so am saving my pennies.

   Well, the mild weather didn't materialize so I had to clear the snow off my car and the driveway before I could go out today. It was probably 3 or 4 cms. and I got most of it done this morning. By the afternoon the temperature was up to 2C and the snow was getting very heavy but it's all cleared now - my workout for the weekend.

    I made a start on the painting job this afternoon but didn't get as far as opening the can of paint to check the colour. That will be a surprise best kept until tomorrow. I have two doors off and the wood sanded and wiped down so will start first thing tomorrow. (I will, I will! positive thinking)

   I made some bread today - not in the bread machine as it didn't work too well the last time I used it. I haven't been eating bread much recently but that all went out the window today as I had several slices straight out of the oven. It was a recipe from the newspaper and has oats and molasses in it - very tasty!

Another Expense

   Another bill arrived today - nor for much but it has to be paid right away! It's from the Canada Revenue Agency and they don't let you hang around when it's money you owe them. However, when they owe you, it can take months to come. That's life, anyway it was only for $12.95 and I have paid it already. I am still waiting to hear how much tax I will have to pay in installments this year. The first one is due in March so should come soon. Last year my first two installments were around $1750 each but then they realized my income was down (due to smaller RRIF payments) so my last two were $280 each. This year's will probably be somewhere in between.

   Cold again this morning then the temperature rose and now it's snowing. I won't bother shovelling it as the next few days are supposed to be mild and it should all melt - well, that's the theory anyway.

    I finally got around to buying paint for the downstairs door trim, and I think it may be too pink. I foolishly didn't bring a sample home to check, just bought it on sight. It may or may not work out and is rather a costly mistake if I don't like it. That's my work cut out for this weekend in any case.