Dumped On!

Ahhh...winter..snow..excellent driving conditions..shoveling..cold fingers and toes..wet socks..slippery sidewalks..power outages..no satellite tv..all the lovely things that has befallen our little valley. I awoke to a thick blanket of snow...almost a foot...straining the tree branches, covering my vehicle and everything else as far as the eye can see. The mountains are white and every skier will be rejoicing. Mount Washington will definitely not be losing money this year during ski season. In fact, they can probably open up early.
In spite of all the inconveniences associated with such a snowfall....there is no scene quite as beautiful as fresh fallen snow which seems to cleanse the whole landscape..except for maybe a summer sunset showcasing the mountains and ocean of our island coastline. The photo above is of the Mount Washington village. I have no means to transfer my 'snow photos' on this computer...look for them on my flickr once I get back home.

It's after 4:00PM and the plows have still not reached my street. Hopefully it will be done by the time I have to go to work tomorrow. The road is one big rut just right for getting high centered. Anne has been without power for quite a few hours now. For her it means more that just no electricity...it also means no water and no flushing. Unfortunately it also means a cold dinner. At least she's able to heat the house with the wood stove..if she has some dry wood. The first snow storm always catches us unawares..so the next time we'll be a little more prepared....dry wood, buckets of water for flushing, and parking the cars closer to the end of the driveway! The forecast indicates a few more days of cold weather until the big meltdown....and then a whole new set of problems!

But right now the best thing to do...warm bath, flannel pj's, a hot drink...curl up and watch a movie, read a book or listen to your favorite CD!....

City Sidewalks

A week has gone by since I arrived back in the valley from my mini vacation in Vancouver. As always, I enjoyed myself tremendously. There is something about the city which keeps me wanting to come back for more. It is not only that Keira lives there but of course that plays a part in it. I love the fact that you can walk anywhere downtown from her place. Most places are within 20 minutes away. Great for a daily exersize program....you don't even need to go the the gym if you walked all the time! In every neighbourhood you find a bakery, a deli, a grocery store, a veggie market and countless restaurants. I love it that you can find a coffee shop everywhere and that you can sit outside and watch city life go by. The city architecture, the out of my price range vehicles that drive by, the quaint shops, the people and yes even the seamy side of city life all hold my interest. Maybe the next time I head to the city I will take a leisurely day with no agenda, grab my camera and just stroll.....

At The Top Of The Slide

So, I guess it's official. I have finally surpassed the big Five O. I know I said it was just a number, but what a big number fifty one really is! Day One and counting. We had a little combination birthday celebration of the two sisters. Anne turned fifty on the twenty-fifth of October . We grabbed our favorite take out food..Chinese..and headed out to Linda's. We topped it off with a piece of decadent chocolate cake which Linda had picked up. She also gave us both a small gift of sox and manicure tools. While we were there, Trevor phoned to inform me of the dates he'll be coming home for Christmas. Tomorrow I will try to book a flight for him. Naturally he had forgotten it was my birthday and did his best to cover it up. Trev has too much going on to remember a birthday and I don't fault him for it. He is a man after all. Earlier today I received a phone call from Jane wishing me all the best. It made my day. Anyway...tomorrow I will finish packing my bags as on Thursday I will be heading to Vancouver to visit my sweetie...so...no more blogs until I get back!

You can just see a bit of the birthday cake in the first picture of Anne. The second is of Linda coming back into the house after a smoke.

If you would like to see a few more of this evening then check out my flickr page. You won't see one of me as I am the one with the camera.

Downhill Slide?

According to Dr. Namita S. Ahuja of the Geriatric Dept. of the University of Pittsburgh 50 is not the new 40. Dr. Ahuja:"I think you have to change it a little bit and ask whether 50 is the new 30. That would be closer to the truth in many instances. Every year there are more people not smoking, exercising, eating healthier and consequently living longer. If we take care of ourselves better when we are younger, we can not only improve the longevity, but also automatically improve the quality of our life. If we start young to train our muscles, train our bodies to function better, it will pay off when you are older. Here, I would like to say that there is a big misconception in society that makes many people afraid of getting older. They think that some time, they’ll be in a nursing home. The fact is, there is a very small percentage of older people who are going to spend time in a nursing home. Unfortunately, we all have to die, but taking good care of yourself, especially when you’re younger is very important in your older years. A person should also remember that it’s never too late to start to improve your health. Improving your diet and exercising can result in a much more enjoyable life and years of higher quality, regardless of how many years you live." As I contemplate getting a year older, I look in the mirror and see behind the visual to someone who is still a kid at heart. The number doesn't really mean anything. In the past few years I have taken it upon myself to improve the quality of my life. I have been going to gym on average three times a week. I have changed my eating habits to a large degree. I would say that 80% of the time I pick the healthy choice. You may look at me and not see any difference from a few years ago...but I feel different. I only wish that I had started this process many many years ago and then maybe I would never have ended up with the health problems of today. You are the most important person in your life...so remember..it's never too late.

With Best Friend

Lock and Load

Dirty Business

I was a lucky mama today...received two phone calls and a set of pictures from Trevor. As you can see, Trevor is hard at work filling the vac truck with fuel. He really seems to be enjoying his new job. It's been almost two weeks that he's been in the bush. He's pretty happy that the cook has finally arrived in camp and he says she'll give me a run for my money. I'm sure the fresh baked goods are at the top of his list. During the night a commotion outside his window woke him up to find three wolves taunting their dog. Throwing open the window, Trev yelled at them but only managed to provoke one to approach the window. Ryan, his fellow worker ran outside with the shotgun and managed to frighten the wolves away, wounding one. This morning the two of them grabbed the rifles and tracked the blood trail to the river. There they noticed at least eight sets of footprints and decided to head back to camp. Smart move. Every time that I have had a conversation with my boy, he sounds upbeat and happy...but then it's only been two weeks. As Trevor continues to email me some pictures, I will post a few on this blog and some on my flickr. Check them out.