Monday blues

I truly think Monday's should be banished.  Of course, as a coworker reminded me today, if we didn't have Monday, Tuesday would become Monday, so perhaps it's better to get it over with.

Sigh....that's far more sensible than I want to be today.

It started out when I got in the car and realized I'd forgotten to stop at the gas station over the weekend as I was closer to E than I like to be.  You would think at 7 a.m. the gas station would be quiet, but not so today.  There is nothing I hate worse...oh no there probably is...but one of the things I hate is being late to work.  I did make it on time but just barely.

We had a meeting early in the morning, and when I got back to my desk there were a flurry of e-mails describing problems my staff were having with various systems.  I spent much of my day contacting various areas and individuals trying to resolve these problems.  Unfortunately this was merely the tip of the iceberg ......argggh!

The weather turned ugly again this afternoon.  It warmed up to -2C, then we got snow and freezing rain.  The drive home wasn't bad in the city, but I have an employee who was out of town, and is travelling on the highway.  The news announcer advised travel is not recommended on area highways, so I'm a little concerned.  He promised to text me when he gets back and until he does, I can't help but feel anxious.

So basically, my memory sucks, work sucks, and the weather sucks!  And Monday sucks most of all.

Hope your Monday was better than mine!

Keeping it simple Sunday

The Canadian men's Brier wraps up today in Edmonton.  I've been watching as many games as possible during the week, and all weekend.  With the time change, this morning's draw began at 8:30 and I planned to be up 15 minutes ahead of time to get the coffee on.  But last night, my daughter (having napped all afternoon) was restless so it was nearly 1 a.m. before I feel asleep. You'd think I'd be accustomed to the noise ...she is 31 years old and has lived with me most of that time!  OR maybe she would have learned to be a little more quiet.  A little of column A, a little of column B perhaps?

The alarm went off shortly after 8, I shut if off, and woke up just before 9.  I only missed the first end, but coffee didn't get started until the 5th end break.  At least I know I should sleep well tonight.

The second game is streaming live on the internet as I type this. There is a time delay between the video and the sound, so I hear the sound of the hits before I actually see them.  It's rather disconcerting!

Between games I got my taxes done and filed. I sat with my daughter as she did her taxes for the first time.  I've always done it in the past, but I figure it's about time she learned how.   My son's information slip has yet to arrive, though it should have been mailed by the end of February.  Once it comes in, he gets to learn how too!  Maybe next year, I'll make them do mine. :-)

I've managed to finish all the blocks for my afghan while watching the curling.  Now it's a matter of sewing them all together.  Our local Zellers has been sold to Target so has been selling off all of their goods.  I picked up another 14 balls of various yarns for less than $30, enough to make an baby blanket and several pairs of mitts and toques.  Of course, spring is around the corner...at least I hope it is, so I probably won't get much done in the next few weeks.

I anticipate the rest of the day will be just as quiet.  The Brier final starts at 6:30 local time, with Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario playing Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba.  Either team will be great representatives of Canadian curling at the Worlds in Victoria B.C. in a couple of weeks, but I am pulling for the Jacobs team.  Stoughton has been to and won the Worlds previously, so I think it is time for a new (and younger) team to have a chance.   I would prefer if it were Saskatchewan, but we have not made it to a final in several years, nor won the Brier since 1980.

After the game today, it will be almost a week before the start of the World Women's curling.  I might just go through withdrawal!  Of course it will give me more time to keep up with everyone I follow in the blogging world.  I know I'm been remiss in my comments!

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend, and a great week lies ahead!

Random Friday

We got a little more snow yesterday and CBC ran a story yesterday we're close to a record year.  The record is 165.7 centimeters of snow.  The converter tells me that's just over 65 inches or nearly 5 1/2 feet. There are areas of the province that have gotten more snow this winter than that. Makes me grateful...at least a little bit.

The city plows came down the street today (three of them!).  I went out to the store between curling games and the street is less rough, though I suspect there is still a good six inches of snow out there.  Hopefully it melts slowly, otherwise the street is going to be a huge mess for a few weeks.

The letter f on my keyboard keeps sticking.  I'm thinking it may be getting ready for St. Patrick's day, as I frequently have to correct the spelling in the post like "three o them" and six inches o packed snow".

My friend C got back from Jamaica a week ago.  She brought me a new cat, isn't he cute?

Just four more weeks until I'm off to Hawaii.  K and arranged a car rental for our last weekend there.  We figure we'll have become accustomed to the time change, we plan to drive up to the North shore for one day, and we'll have it for our transfer back to the airport when we head home.  We've been researching walking tours, luaus, and other must-sees.

I'll be so happy to get away from this. (This is from last year spring melt)

I know I'll enjoy this puddle much better!

Have a great weekend everybody! 

Not so bad - for me

We didn't get nearly the amount of snow forecast in yesterday's storm, and although it was expected to continue through the morning, that didn't happen either.  Thank goodness!






My daughter and I got up early to shovel the driveway.  Although there wasn't much snow, the wind had blown it about, with a fair amount ending up drifting in.  It was heavy, wet snow so I was thankful for my little electric shovel!

It became even more obvious how windy it was when I saw the garbage can had been blown over. The wind even kept the one side of the car clear of snow.

Under the snow was a layer of ice.  Driving to work was an experience as the main road I use to get downtown was a skating rink.  The traffic at 7 a.m. was moving at a crawl and even impatient me, was okay with the reduced speed!

According to the CBC online news reports there were 155 motor vehicle accidents reported in the province due to the storm.  Thankfully, there was only one fatality; with the sheer number of rollovers it could have been far worse.   I think we all need to learn to stay off the highways when travel is not recommended.  Unless it a life or death situation, venturing out when the conditions are as bad as they were yesterday, just isn't worth the risk.  Of course, it's easy or me to say as I live within the confines of the city and my livelihood doesn't depend on my travelling far to work.

Spring cannot come a moment too soon!

Sucker Sunday - Updated

Last night the forecast for our city called for 25 centimeters of snow over the next two days.  That's 10 inches! :(  We've already gotten 150 cms. this winter (5 feet); in a normal year we'd get closer to 100 cms.  No matter how you add it up it's still a lot though as long as it doesn't come all at once it's do-able.

I woke up this morning and was relieved to see the storm has missed us last night! The forecast is now for only 15 cms. of snow starting this afternoon and ending tomorrow morning.

The radar image updated about 20 minutes ago, looks like this.  The X marks where I live.  We're surrounded by the snow but so far nothing is falling here.  In aviation terms, when a break in the clouds occurs it's referred to as a sucker hole because it suckers one into believing the storm may pass by.

We seem to be sitting in such a hole at the moment.  I'm hoping the storm continues on it's way and missed us entirely, but I suspect that's "sucker" thinking.

Update (6 hours later)
Here's the radar now - I don't have to enlarge it for you to know we're right in the middle of the storm.

This is my view through the front window.

Have I mentioned lately, how much I hate winter?

Think of me tomorrow morning, when I'm shoveling my way out of the driveway. :-)

Have a great week everyone!

Silly Saturday

I had something else in mind to post today, but I'll save it for another time because this is too funny not to share!  

LINDSAY, Ont. - There wasn't much beer left but apparently there was enough chip dip to go around at a home in eastern Ontario.

A Lindsay, Ont., couple are facing charges for allegedly assaulting each other with chips and dip.

Police say they were called early Friday to a home in the community west of Peterborough, where there had already been 15 previously documented domestic disputes.

When officers arrived at the scene of the disturbance just after 1 a.m., they found both people covered in chips and dip after apparently fighting over the last beer.

A 39-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman both face charges of domestic-related assault and will appear in court on March 28.

Their names were not released.

My thought - you can't make this stuff up!

Friday Funny

Here's what happened when the Ecobubbles brand of cloths washer was filming a commercial in the Canadian wilderness  (Be careful out there!)

This footage was caught by one of the crew.  Make sure you watch to the very end!

Have a great weekend everyone.