Back to Normal, More or Less

It's over. Oh, there's still piles of snow melting all over the place, the alley is still partially blocked & the side street is one skinny lane between walls of snow thrown from where sidewalks have been cleared. But our drives have melted more or less & the bigger streets are  just wet. Most of the snow is gone from roof, tree & blacktop leaving piles & puddles everywhere. The gulls are hanging out at Mcdonald's again while the sparrows sit begging on tables at Starbucks once more. And today, while pushing a buggy around at Safeway, shoppers were arriving in shorts, once more. It's a normal winter in the Vancouver burbs!!

I haven't been out of my house since the last series of snow storms started over a week ago. I decided I had enough dry & frozen stuff stored to keep me eating for another 6 months at least, so I stayed home, pounded on the computer & watched TV in my jammies. There are compensations for being Retired, after all. I'm so glad I didn't have to spend hours trying to get home after going out in the mess for I remember horrific commutes across town only to find the bridge closed - we only had TWO then. I could almost SEE my house on the other side but couldn't GET there.

Crab Cactus Blooming

So what did I do while 'snowed in'?? I found 'Jigsaw Planet' online & worked at least one a day!! I finished one pair of scrappy socks & started another. I made soup & Chow Mein. I took afternoon naps & watched middle-of-the-night TV. I read & listened to the whole 'Harry Bosch' series by Michael Connelly & 'Kate Shugak' series by Dana Stabenow. And I worked on Payroll books, WCB & end of the year data entry. It is almost time to file those taxes again & CRA will start accepting them on Feb 20. Just about the time I started longing for a Mcdonald's coffee with two milks, the rain came & washed at least half of the snow away!! Just in time. I was OUT yesterday, coffee in hand both BEFORE & AFTER visiting the grocery store. And last night for supper I had buttered fresh Sourdough bread, papaya cubes, chicken fingers & a big glass of milk. Tomorrow, I'll have Wild Baby Greens & chicken with Fig Balsamic dressing & two kinds of seedless grapes .  .  .

And It's Snowing Some More

Sunday afternoon here in the Vancouver burbs & it's snowing again. Big, Fat, Fluffy Flakes of Gorgeous Misery. Only one neighbor bothered to shovel his drive yesterday, twice. He even cleared the alley in front of his drive. The rest of us lazy slobs didn't bother - we know more is on the way. And it's falling as I write. I can see another 4 to 6 inches if it keeps up falling like it is right now. Is this Climate Change?? Should I go snow machine shopping???? And where the hell was all this white stuff back when we needed it for the Olympic Winter Games????

Short Summer Socks

And just so you know I'm doing something other than moan at all the falling snowflakes, I've been making Summer Socks. Yeah, I know. But the snow has to go sooner or later & then we can pull out our shorts & summer socks & go back to normal life. This one is made out of thinner 3ply yarn so it will be much cooler to wear in my summer sneakers. I fell off the wagon & started it during a good evening of Antiques Roadshow on Monday. My hands were sore & I just couldn't manage the heavy  worsted yarn that I'm using for my Crossover Sweatshirt. I suspect I'll be giving up the heavier commercial yarns when my current supply runs out to give my hands a break. Handspun & sock yarns are so much easier to work with when my hands are sore!!! Hell, what am I saying??? Handspun is so much nicer to work with than most commercial yarns at any time. But I can't dye it to match the wonderful colors I love so much, especially in the sock yarns.

Listening to the Silence

Summer Memories

The Lower Mainland is under another deep blanket of snow. At least my part is. I hear it's far worse as you go away from the water & into the Valley. 
About 7, Friday evening, I went outside to measure the deepness of the snow - I had my green knitting ruler about 6 inches long with all the needle size holes on one side & a ruler on the other. At 7PM I had more than 6 inches in the drive because the ruler went in over it's end. I thought about pushing the snow shovel around a bit Saturday morning but the snow warning was still flashing for more snow. Saturday evening, it was up to my knees & still snowing. And that's over a foot for sure .  .  .  . This is not normal for us.

It's almost like daylight outside because it's so bright with all that white. I didn't even bother to turn on the patio light because I don't need it out there. And it's so quiet. I live close to two Fire Stations - #1 Hall is 4 blocks to my left & #2 Hall is 12 blocks to my right. The Surrey Hospital is 6 blocks away. Usually in the evenings, especially on weekends, you hear sirens a lot. Police, Fire, Ambulance all use the main street one row of houses away from me. It's all silent - like Christmas Day silent. No trucks, no traffic bumping through the crosswalk. Nothing but silence.