Freak early snowfall..

Well, in this part of Canada, nothing weather related is freakish I suppose.  And, we did have one back in 2014 on September 8, so not even as early as that one.  It plays havoc with the trees, of course, with plenty of broken branches due to all the leaves still being present on most trees.

The past few days of continuous snowfall has left us with 11 inches at our house in the south of the city.... the sprinkler guys emailed to say they would be waiting a few days to come to blow out the underground sprinklers... gee, ya think?  hahaha... I wrote back to say I wasn't digging out anything for them, so they better wait at least several days.  By the weekend it is supposed to get back to +16C ....we'll see if it gets that good.

This was earlier ..
                                                                                   
















And, this...... is the freaky bit ......what the heck is that?  a snow goblin??

From a distance and on the camera view screen it sort of looked like a dog's head...but up close?
Yikes @!

SNowmaggedon !!

Things came to a standstill all over the city with that last dump of snow.  It was easily a foot and more..
It took us over 2 hours to shovel ourselves out of the house and around the city sidewalks and our own walkway and front porch area... oh, and patio.... a LOT of shovelling!

I think the movements and strengthening of Tai Chi have helped a lot.  No soreness in the rib tissue at all today... even my mid back which was feeling it yesterday ...is fine this morning.  A beautiful brilliant sunshine morning.... so pretty with all the snow.  But, the driving!  Yikes!

The snow shovellers who do our neighbours' driveways .... got good and stuck when they tried to leave.  It took them at least 45 minutes of struggling and digging and moving trailers and snow machines off and onto their truck to get out of the predicament.   They used almost all of a big bag of mixed salt and gravel too.... nothing was working.  I figured they must not have proper winter tires or something... and, man...why would they not have a 4 wheel drive for that type of thing?  Snow shovelers getting stuck in snow.  Great.  Wonder where they are today?  there is another 6 inches to shovel since they were here last.... mine is all done.  Thank goodness we kept shovelling as it was falling.  It would have just been too heavy to even move by now.

The birdies were around all day looking for seeds and suet... the snow cones on the tops of the feeders fell onto their little heads if they hit the perches very fast or hard...especially the big Flickers... it was pretty funny ...  my entertainment each day anyway...

And, today ...I give you a little Black Capped Chickadee nibbling at a seed.  They take one out of the seed dispenser and fly onto a branch to nibble away at each seed til it is gone.  Such dainty eaters.

Well, still have one side of the house to do some final shovelling ..... off I go .. maybe it would be a great day to walk around the block to see if any photo ops present...although it is still -29C this morning in spite of the sun...... hmmmmm..... we'll see....

Somewhere under that bump...is the birdie bath ..... I know it is ......

... a white Christmas..

.  ...   which of course, in Canada, would seem perfectly normal... but, our weather so far this 'winter', has been unseasonably warm and mild really.  It was totally green and crispy dry until a day or so of a skiff of snow happened... and, then, it melted.   But, last night plenty of the white stuff accumulated.  I shovelled for two full hours and still didn't get it all done.  Still the inside of a big patio to do and the sidewalk along the side of the house.  Yikes!! Somebody says we are going to have more today.  I'm not sure whether to cheer or say I'm sorry for hoping for a white Christmas.    Yaaayy..    yes, I know... motorists and people who hate shovelling will not like me much for cheering about that.  Heh, heh....

Somewhere in there is a heated bird bath and drinking bowl.... nowhere for them to perch to have  drink.  I fixed it though.... soon after realizing it.

They were a bit wary of the giant snow cone on top of the feeder too....

I love a white Christmas.  But, if is doesn't really snow til Christmas Eve and then... melts and is all gone about a week later...that's okay too.  I would even be cheerful about that.  But, usually around here we have plenty of snow from end of October til end of April.   Shovelling does become a pain..in the back, the arms, the legs and gut ..etc.  And, it does get piled so high it is tough to toss it on the piles after they are about 4 feet deep.   I'm spoiled this year.... so far.

Origami, some cute little mice and other fun stuff has been happening...so at least it is fun stuff that prevents much in the 'bloggy-sphere'...

I found some great gold and glittery paper this year .. there is glitter all over the floor and tables.  I
splurged on a $9.00 roll... it should last me til I'm at least 205 ....   even if Muriel helps me use it.  Still haven't found any of the perfect weight gold thread I used to be able to buy... I hate when they stop making perfect stuff.  Gold thread is just toooo darn thin.... and so difficult to work with  Plus... even the tiniest seed beads slip off the end...arrgghhh!!!  Good thing I am so patient...hahahahhahahahhahahahhahah  Anybody who knows me is laughing their heads off.... I have absolutely NO patience whatsoever.   Well, with some things... mostly people.

Pearls in the snow...

So, if you were out there shovelling snow in -10C with a 20 kph wind whipping the big fluffy flakes around .....and you looked in your mailbox and saw such a pretty envelope.... wouldn't you stop immediately?










 Run in the house....tear it open and say..... oh, ..... how beautiful!!....

Of course, I knew they were en route....but, a person never knows exactly when ....and it is always such fun to get a goody in the mail, isn't it?

 On her blog, Gwen was recently showing several pairs of earrings that she had made .... I loved this pair, but, the ones on the blog were already sold.  No problem.... she can make more .....

She and her husband John are artists ..... and they do all sorts of things.  They make some lovely jewellery ...  check out her blog and her beautiful photos of her area.  She lives many miles away from me..on the total other end of Canada....

I can't remember exactly how I came across her blog ...but, I think it was something to do with renovating or building ..... she and her husband even built their own house!  And not just any house either... it's pretty amazing. Check that out too...

She sent me one of her cards....

Thanks so much Gwen for my lovely pearls..... beautiful!

That made my snow day.... If the white stuff keeps up.... tomorrow will be a 'snow day' for a lot of folks....it won't be worth trying to get to the office or the mall or anywhere .... there must be about 8 inches already. We don't usually get snow this early... I wonder if it is a sign of a long winter? ..or just a glitch in the weather....

It is pretty ...but....... look at it all .....already.....

...definitely a white Christmas ....

Yooohoooo Shashi ... .... more treats for you...... lol.... sorry... my bad! I know you are trying hard to resist. Cranberry Macadamia Bars.... YUM! if I do say so myself...and I certainly do!

We are having a very beautiful, white Christmas ... another fluffy 4 inches overnight....

cupid on the birdie bath is pretty much buried....

I'm going back to email size...these are honking...and take way too long to upload to blogger... VGA is good enough for this...

uhm,... no words necessary.......... ???....

Hilarious.

Mother Nature must have heard me mention the possibility of lots more snow at this time of year. I have a mental image of her looking a lot like Mrs. Claus... she hears you when you're sleeping...she knows if you're awake... you know, ... like that. She knows everything. And, she aims to please....

It was snowflaking when we went to bed and this accumulated by morning.... about 5 or so new inches.... heavy and wet. An hour shoveling with all the city sidewalk that wraps around our corner lot.











It was heavy and wet... there was a trail of clothing behind me .... coat, gloves...sweater... finally I had on just my t-shirt and cords... must have barely been cold enough to make it snow instead of rain. The rest of the week will be about the same... -3C and snow flurries several of the days...

Today it is lovely and sunny...with the very usual blue sky in winter that I love. So the opposite of where my sister lives...she never sees the sun through cloud and fog...til about .... oh, well, soon I guess. They are usually socked in from October til March in most of B.C.











Snapped this an hour ago. It is pretty mild out there...yesterday's snow melted off and now... the birds have a rustic skating rink. Frozen solid ...ice even overflowing the edges. I can hear the birdies chirping away...they sound happy enough....even the robins are joining the chorus of finches, chickadees and sparrows. I have no idea what the poor robins manage to find to eat 'til the snow goes and the ground thaws. I imagine them hopping around behind a sparrow trying to figure out what it is they find...and trying to do the same...probably looking slightly confused at the slim pickin's.

There you have it girls.... my photo a day.... make that photos a day....have a good one. Off to work on my dolly a bit now..... oh, and second java in the sunshine streaming in through the kitchen window. Craft room be darned.... no sun on that side of the house .... hahahha..... I've always thought that a lovely, sunny room covering the whole of the large double garage would have been the perfect place to build a hobby area..... hmmm... NO! what am I saying!? We have been renovating this place for 23 years now.... I better not even think it out loud or somebody will be drawing plans on paper napkins or graph paper...getting ready to tear things apart. He's a bit like Mother Nature in that respect; aims to please. No, mum's the word....definitely. That's it,.... totally mum. The laundry room still has no sink...arrgghhhhh! soon though...soon, we can reorganize the garage, park the van outside and get the hole cut in the arborite for that...and do some plumbing...yaaaaay! It will be the most beautiful and functional laundry room ever, and at the risk of bragging... (please don't hate me)... the most storage ever. I still have empty cupboards and drawers... lol... . Still looking for a beautiful mirror for the room...it is a beautiful room..it deserves the best....

Early resolutions... .

After shoveling the sidewalks and driveway the other day I just didn't have it in me to do the patio as well....so, left it for a few days. Luckily it was still very cold so it didn't melt or get wet and heavy..... it is still light enough although it is drifted pretty deep in lots of areas.














Looked out the kitchen window...and thought I'd better bundle up and get a start on it...











Somewhere under this mountain of snow on the patio wall ... I just know there are Christmas lights..










.... aha! I was right..... there they are....
Sure do wish we had managed to finish off with the cutting for the laundry room cupboards and countertops. The table saw would be dismantled and moved and there would be room for these chairs .. instead they are buried in snow and taking the brunt of the weather.





















I worked at it for over an hour and shoveled myself to a standstill ... just didn't have one more push or "toss" in me... and still couldn't finish it. Near the house and on the steps it was drifted to about 15 inches deep. The sun will break through soon and I'll get out there to do the rest...it is -25C... factor in the windchill and it is -37C... not warm, but at least the patio wall is a bit of a wind break.











Got my sister's package boxed and wrapped and off I went to the Greyhound after supper. I don't really feel like my old cargo van is very safe on the slick roads so I don't drive it if I don't have to. It is pretty icy in most areas right now. Getting away from a stop is a bunch of spinning tires .. .. the back end is just too light unless I have a motorcycle in there... hmmm..maybe I should load one up ... ... even great winter tires doesn't help..so forget it. I waited for the Rav to get home instead.














Pulled up outside a dark building at 10 past 7:00 ... Damn! On top of the printed times on the door was a paper with separate times... closed at 5:00....but, then over to the left side of that was another paper.. ... indicating closed at 7:00 on some days of this week...and not on others... arrrgghhh!! So...either I was 2 hours late...or only 10 minutes..... either way I was a bit ticked. It is usually open til 9:00 and I know darn well I went there about 7:30 last year...because I recall being happy as a clam that the line up was only 4 people deep. I guess I try again today.... at busy Friday suppertime when the Rav shows up ....or... wait til tomorrow when the lines will surely be 20 people deep........














I don't make New Year's Resolutions..... but, this year...I think I will. Even if there is baking in the packages..... I am sending them out long before the last week. Things can be double or triple wrapped and frozen .... they only take a day or two to get there via the Speedy Doggy....and somebody can put them in their own freezer for a week or two.... yep...that's my resolution. I'm definitely gonna be ready for Christmas much earlier next year. So... be ready for me tooting the get ready horn in, say....... mid October... and by the first week of December 2009 ..... everything going out of town will be gone.

That would be perfect...then I could also finish up cards the first week... do the decorating the second week ... .... and perhaps some baking for local recipients and for us ..... yup, ..... next year.......