What Next?

    Finally a day without any snow although the skies are still grey and overcast. After doing my morning chores (kitchen clean-up, ironing, bed changed) still in my night clothes, I finally got dressed just after 10:00 a.m. and went out to get rid of yesterday's snow. That took me about an hour and the snowblower had to dig through the windrow that the street plough had left at the bottom of my driveway.

My trusty machine - it has had a good workout this month!

   I was hoping that would be it for today but when I stepped outside later I realized everything was coated with ice - freezing rain had replaced the snow! Surely we will get a break from this particular weather system soon.

    When I got in from the first time out I made a pot of cauliflower soup for lunch. I usually don't buy cauliflowers in the winter as they are too expensive, but yesterday I cashed in $30 of PC Points so got myself a few treats - avocados, red peppers, berries and  piece of blue cheese. Despite the rotten weather I am a happy camper by treating myself with some tasty food!

Inundated with the White Stuff

Friday  
  Having an early dinner (last night's fish with some pickled beetroot) as I have to go to babysit the grandkids in half an hour. I wish I didn't have to go as it has been snowing since noon and the roads will be a mess. I am always amazed when people write in their blogs how much they prefer snow to rain and how beautiful it is. Obviously they don't have to shovel it or drive in it! We have been promised (?) 25 cms. in this current storm.

Saturday
Well, the driving was even worse than expected, very slow and cautious. It was impossible to see the lane dividers so you just had to follow the car in front and leave plenty of room for an agonizingly slippery stop. It took me 50 minutes to get where I was going (usually half an hour). The kids were good, just the two younger ones so no squabbles. Number one son was on a camping trip, hope he survived the weather!

    Judy was back just after 10:00 p.m. and I had an easier drive home. The snow had stopped and, although the roads were slushy, at least a path had been cleared down the middle. The snow started up again overnight but by the middle of the morning it petered out. I used the snowblower to clear the driveway, went grocery shopping and have stayed in since then. Guess what? More snow! I will have to get the snowblower out again tomorrow. It is getting a real workout this month.

   That's it for today. A piece of salmon for dinner and lots of Olympic coverage on TV.

   

More Shovelling!

    A cold start (-12C) but I was out quite early to finish clearing the driveway. There had been a bit more snow overnight, not enough to charge up the snowblower, so it turned out to be a longer job than I expected. I waited until the snow stopped falling and I was the first on the street to have a clear driveway!

   It warmed up a bit and we had some blinks of sun, so I was sweating by the time I was finished. I always wear several layers on my torso as I find that's the best way to keep the hands and feet from freezing. Also, I had on my big boots that come half way up my calf so my feet were toasty.

   I came in around 10:30 and had coffee and toast followed by a soak in the tub as my back was aching. By the time I was finished reading the newspaper it was time for an early lunch as I was determined not to miss the Zumba class at 1:00 p.m. I have missed several since the New Year and was in danger of losing my spot. In fact, last week I had to sneak in before our book club meeting to check off my name even though I didn't stay for the class. Today it was tiring but exhilarating at the same time and I was ready for a nap when I got back home.

    Early dinner tonight as I have to be at the DMTC meeting by 7:00. Fish in a cheese sauce with peas and spinach. Nothing to follow as we will probably have nibblies at the meeting.

After the Storm

   I was late for fitness class this morning as the driving was very slow - cars were having trouble getting going after a stop at the traffic lights. We had about 10cms.of snow overnight. I think everyone else (including our instructor) had the same slow drive there as I only missed the warm-up.

   I had decided not to try to run errands in between classes - just stayed chatting over coffee -  so was at the Senior's Centre until 3:00 p.m. The classes today were all small as loads of people had decided to stay home. So, not too many customers at the coffee bar.

   The drive home was much easier as the snow had stopped by then and the ploughs had cleared the main roads. I got the snowblower fired up when I got home and had the driveway and sidewalk cleared lickety split. It's a bit hard to manouver but certainly does the job much more quickly than shovelling. It will need a tidy up tomorrow but I have nothing planned until the afternoon. Then there's another storm expected on Friday!

   I forgot to take anything out of the freezer for dinner so will have to make do with leftovers. At least nothing goes to waste in this house!