Crazy Weather

    It has been very windy for the last couple of days, mostly sunny but with a short but heavy downpour yesterday. But the crazy part of the weather has been the temperatures. 

    After several days of plus numbers, yesterday reached an unseasonable  high of 18C and it was still mild overnight. Early this morning it was still in positive numbers, reaching a more seasonal high of 8C. But overnight the temperature is set to fall to -8C. That's a range of 26 degrees in just 36 hours!

   Yesterday I wore just a sweater for my walk and sat outside for quite a while. Today I wore a spring jacket but it was too windy to sit outside but I was able to potter in the garden. Tomorrow it will be back to the winter coat, hat and gloves. With any luck the wind will have died down and the sun will shine so it will be bearable. It's hard for one's body to adjust to these fluctuations!

    The reason for all this changeability is the wind direction. Normally we get winds from the west or north west. Since Wednesday the winds have turned around to the south so we started to get balmy breezes coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. That really warmed things up. Starting today the wind has returned to its normal direction and it feels like air is being pushed down from the Arctic. Who knows what the rest of the month will bring but at least all the snow is gone. That's not to say we won't have another snow storm but at least the ground is no longer frozen so it won't hang around too long. Still a long way from planting time!

Ramblings

 Two Zoom meetings today - this afternoon with Bridge friends and this evening with the family, both local and across the country - the wonders of technology! It is oldest grandson's 15th birthday and, even though we can't be together in person, we will celebrate together this milestone as a family. Judy dropped off a giant cupcake which I had to promise not to eat until we were all together.

   More excitement!! Ahmet, my handyman, came today to fix holes in my roof caused, he thinks, by squirrels. I'm just glad it wasn't the dreaded raccoons as I first thought, as they are big and make a huge mess! The holes have been there since early winter (he spotted them while cleaning my gutters) but it was too dangerous for him to get up on the roof. However, mission accomplished and just in time before the Spring rains.

     It has been a gorgeous day and I ate my lunch outside for the first time this year. Later I had a walk and, after, sat on the back patio until the sun went down behind the trees. It felt so good!

Getting Geared Up

    Sunny today but still cold ( high of -2C) it's supposed to warm up later this week. I had a really long walk today, almost an hour, and sat outside until I got chilled. Things are looking up!

   On my walk I noticed that the tennis courts are nearly snow-free. It will still be a while until we get to play as the gates are still padlocked by the city. I will keep an eye on things and get my tennis group organized as soon as the nets are up. Can't wait!

    You can just see a rim of snow along the shaded side. It will be gone by the end of the week, I hope!

Gadgets

    I'm sure everyone has a cupboard full of useless gadgets bought or acquired in a fit of weakness. I have two slow cookers, one bought when the family still lived at home, and now too big for one person meals, and another smaller one perfect for cooking just for myself. I keep the bigger one for just one reason - I use it to heat up a big batch of apple cider to serve with Christmas lunch for the grandkids. Of course, I didn't need it this year as that event didn't happen.

   Here are two of my most useless gadgets:

    Have you guessed what this is? It is, in fact, an avocado slicer and pit remover. I have to confess to buying this myself (It seemed a good idea at the time). I also bought one for daughter and DIL but I'm sure neither of them has used it either. The pit remover is useless - easier just to whack the pit with a knife and remove it that way. The slicer is much messier than using a knife so it has sat in a drawer and will remain there until it is recycled to an unsuspecting buyer in a charity shop.

     This gadget is supposed to slice, dice, spiral and chop vegetables and fruit. I have yet to get it to work on anything, although daughter says it is useful on zucchini. I don't like zucchini! It was a gift from her as she never uses it - 'nuff said!

    Still very cold here so I have not "cast a clout" and won't until at least the end of the month. The wind was bitter on my walk to the mall and I was so glad to get home again. Not even any sun to warm my face!