Weekly Musings of the 2nd

 

Well, here we are in 2026, isn't that something?  I am kinda sad that those days of the dances with live bands that were held everywhere from the Legion to the Optimist Club are pretty much gone.  I use to wake up on New Year day and find party hats, noise-makers and other items from the party.  It was like getting a mini Christmas present for New Year.  Although I did know enough not to blow any of the noise-makers before Mom and Dad got up.  They had dressed up in formal clothes and danced the New Year in not getting in until after 1 in the morning.  Those dances were on the way out when I was an adult and I never went to such a party but I remember when they were. 

  So, we managed to keep it quiet this week considering first the weather decided to go with a full winter spell although I hear next week it will go up above 0C once more so we shall see about lasting effect.  Hubby thought the ice on the trees looked pretty with the back lighting and I agreed.  The ice on the trees always looks pretty although this time there was no sun the next day to make the world sparkle.  The next wave was this...

Not fog but snow coming down which lasted for several days.  Not a lot of depth but a lot of wind.  We stuck to home on the Sunday because of the ice and snow and the whole tire and no heat trouble with Sparky.  It is nice our parish posts the Mass on YouTube so we were able to listen to it at home.  

Tuesday the weather let up enough that we got all the errands run which was a good thing as the car was going in on Wednesday for both the tires and to find out what happened to the heat.  By the end of the day the tires were all replaced on the car but the reason there was no heat, the fluid that was part of the system had a hole in it and was leaking all over the place.  Of course with the holidays ordering the parts was not going to be an easy go and of course, they had to keep the car while we wait.  Last day of the year we decided, after taking the car in, to do a proper cleaning as last week it wasn't going to happen.   

So, New Year's Day arrived and hubby and I walked to church for Mass.  Not too bad a walk as the sidewalks had been mostly cleared of ice and just had snow on them.  One of the things I am grateful to Ottawa for is knowing how to dress for cold weather.  It is totally different than what I would wear when I was growing up in this area and now I really appreciate what I learned in Ottawa.  I was good and toasty as well as bundled up.  We will be doing the same walk this Sunday and our usual brunch after Mass is on hold until the car is back as the walk to and from the diner is just a bit much at this time.  I don't mind walking for necessities but brunch is a treat and not a necessity.  

The saddest time of the year for Tigger arrived after we got back home and we put on the Rose Bowl Parade and began putting away the Christmas tree. 

 No one is happier when hubby puts up the tree on the 1st of December and no one is sadder when we take it down on the 1st of January.  She sits down where it was when all is put away and looks at us with the sad eyes as if to say 'How could you?'  

So, until the car is fixed and back we shall be keeping close to home.  And so until next week...

  Have a great weekend!

Weekly Musings of the 26th

 

Well, here we are at the other side of Christmas and sliding into the end of the year.  When we went to our usual place for brunch after Mass on Sunday as I went up to settle up our bill and give an extra tip, our usual lady said, no charge.  I know I blinked a couple of times and then asked if she was serious.  She and the other lady both agreed that someone paid our bill and to enjoy our day.  I did have cash in my wallet and slipped a tip under a plate as they were such a great staff who we wished the all the best of Christmases.  

Monday was off to the super busy grocery store to get the turkey and other things needed for Christmas eve and Christmas day.  We finished up in record time and headed home.  Although we did have to go out one more time the next day to go to the reserve for smokes and to fill up the car.  I was kinda nervous about the other tires making a highway trip and said a prayer for safe travels.  Found out the heat is not working in the car either and so another thing needing fixing when it goes in for it's new snow tires in the next couple of weeks.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that Sparky (the car) lasts perhaps another year although we have lived without a car here in the past and between car rentals, taxis and walking we would be fine without.   After one more stop we were done shopping completely until next week.  

Christmas eve came and we enjoyed chatting with my sister in the afternoon for about an hour.  It had been awhile and we enjoyed catching up on what was going on in our lives. 

 After we got busy putting on my usual bean dinner which our friends look forward to enjoying on Christmas eve.  They arrived nice and early so we got to enjoy lots of time visiting and catching up.  We try to see each other through out the year but no matter how busy we get or how our lives are going our Christmas eve date is solid.  We started it our first year we moved to Simcoe and we have gotten together every year since.  

Christmas morning hubby and I opened our gifts and stockings enjoying a quiet start. And then it was off to Mass at 11.  Fr. C. was doing pretty good considering the amount of services that he and Fr. A. had done and this was the last one.  I would imagine that they both would be ready to head to their homes for a much needed nap.  The driving between all four churches would be enough for me to be heading to bed.  We watched our favourite Christmas movies through the afternoon and evening during which hubby and I had a quiet turkey dinner for two.  

Now here we are on Friday boxing day.  How fast the week flew by although I always find the week between Christmas and New Year the slow one of the year.  It is like a no-man's land of days.  

Okay, gotta end the year with a funny that made me laugh out loud!

I know, I am just a little twisted.

Have a wonderful finish to the year.

weekly Musings of the 19th

 

Yes, the weather reports were correct for Friday, it rained yesterday and then snowed with the rain and now there is slush and ice out there.  However our car is not out there so no temptation to go out in it but I am getting ahead of myself as that is a story and a half.

Beginning of the week I was in rebellion mode, the 'I can eat what I want when I want' thought and of course when I went to bed that night my body taught me that NO you can't eat what you want when you want and your doctor was telling you the truth.  That morning after I was a much humbler person, making sure I was not eating anything from the list to avoid.  

After all the reactions from eating so poorly subsided I was doing pretty good but there was something else in the wings.  By evening I had all the signs of a cold - yippee!  Thank goodness over the counter stuff keeps one going a bit better.  Got the weekly groceries with the plan to finish off Christmas shopping either the next day or day after then we would be done.  

We actually took mid-week off for me to rest and drink lots of fluids so Thursday with a good cold medicine to keep me up and going we headed out to pick up a gift basket for friends.  Just out of town the car on the road starting a horrible sound and hubby struggled to safely get the car off the road.  He was successful that within moments we were on the shoulder.  He got out and looked and the front tire was not only flat but it was off the rim nearly completely!!! (Sorry I totally forgot to take pictures of the mess it was) But the good news was the day was warm, we have CAA and called them and we settled in to wait.  This time was not the usual quick tow truck arriving but it stretched out to a 2 hour wait on the side of the road and hubby like me thought we were not going to be long and left his smokes at home and I didn't load up the latest book I was reading on my phone so it was a long wait.  Several people and the OPP officer stopped to see that we were okay and if we needed any help which was super kind of everyone.  The tow truck driver when he arrived could not understand how it took so long as he knew there were others in the area but these things do happen from time to time. 

We got to the dealer/service center we always take our car to and as hubby talked to both the service person and tow driver I asked the other lady where the washroom was, nearly running down the hallway.  I was pretty desperate after two hours in the middle of no-where and fully committed to not squatting in a snow filled ditch.  

Of course because our car is more than 10 years old they no longer make the tires for that model and the service person must find a similar brand, which she thinks she has so we shall wait and see.  

The weather today seems pretty good for 'wait and see'