Family Stuff

My sister and her husband are traveling across Canada then the United States.  They spent 2 weeks in Newfoundland, a province of Canada, and while there, a very bad storm blew in... loads of rain and wind!! While they were going through that, out in British Columbia we were having hot, dry weather and wild fires all around us. It is so crazy, the different extremes of weather happening at the same time in the same country.

So, now Marcy & Randy have left Canada and are traveling down the eastern seaboard of the US. Maybe after them going through that storm I should tell them about carpet cleaning Chapel Hill NC, they probably tracked mud into their RV and will want it cleaned long before they make it home next spring, and they are going through North Carolina. 

Dreaming of Travels

I just got home from a most wonderful day.  I rode my trike out to a friend's home and had a very good afternoon there. Since Kathy's home is very near the small town where my Mom lives, upon leaving Kathy's I rode down to Mom's. We had a very nice visit, as is the norm for us, and I rode down town to pick up Chinese take-out for dinner. It was such a warm, sunny, beautiful day for riding, yet when I was leaving to head home the sun had gone down and the warm had left the area. Being as it is September, the nights can be rather cool here.  Last night I was out at a friend's home and had to bundle up for the 20 minute ride home as I had to tonight for the 1/2 hour ride. I carry the appropriate gear with me, knowing I will need it, so am relatively warm. However, it saddens me to no longer have the hot days and warm summer nights, to know that the riding season is soon coming to an end. I wish I could go shopping at custom swing sets richmond va or some store in some other southern US state.  Why? Well, one of my dreams is to spend winter riding my trike in warmer places.  I would so love to go visit Facebook friends in North & South Carolina, Florida, New Mexico, California, and to spend some time in Arizona where my sister & her husband spend their winters now. If I had the money to do it, there is only one thing that would make it hard for me to just head on out.  I have pets, my family (1 cat, 1 rabbit, 4 chinchillas, 3 birds) that would not be able to go along and it would not be easy to find anyone to take them in and care for them for the 6 months I would be gone, or to give some of them a new 'forever home'.

Getting Some Better

I told you the other day that I have been quite ill lately. Today makes it 9 days now and finally I am starting to feel just a wee bit better. I was given 6 antibiotic pills to take, one each night before bed and I will be taking #5 of the 6 tonight. I am still coughing a fair bit, but not as much as I was and the phlegm I cough up is a healthier color now than the brownish mess with spots of blood in it that it was even yesterday. At first, I continued to live my life, out here and there on my trike, doing whatever I wanted/needed to do.  I was determined that I was not to be kept down. However, I was not getting any better and finally had to settle down, stay home and give my body the change to heal itself. 3 days in a row now I have been staying home and I don't mind telling you I really think it is time to get out of here for awhile. The weather forecast for this week looks pretty good for the most part, though the temperatures will be 10°C cooler than what we have had for some time now. I actually won't mind a bit cooler weather, though the evenings/nights are now rather cold for riding the trike, not as much fun as it has been.  However, that just means I will have to carry warm clothes with me so put on for the ride home. The other night, when I was in town and rode home at night, I sure was glad I had my hooded sweatshirt along. I put it on under my leather jacket and did up the hood before putting on my helmet. It really helped a lot as it was very cool, especially coming past the lake.  Tomorrow, if I am feeling up to it, I will ride to the small town where my mom lives, about 1/2 hour ride.  It is her 89th birthday and I do so much want to be there with her on this special day. There was a small family party for her this evening and I had to miss it. I want to visit her and take her out for dinner tomorrow.  I will be coming home early, right after dinner, so that I can be home before the temperatures drop too much.  For people who are walking or driving, it is still very warm, it's just if you are riding a motorcycle you are not protected from all the wind so it is a lot colder.

This day

It is a cool and dull day today, the weather forecast is "Increasing cloudiness early this morning. 60 percent chance of showers this afternoon. High 16." Not exactly a wonderful day for being outside trying to get a suntan, or riding a motorcycle.  However, it still would be a good day to spend in the garden, or even relaxing on an indoor chaise at ChaiseLounges.com, reading a book or watching some good TV programs.  As much as I'd like to have a day in my garden to plant a few more things, or laying around in the house with my cat and a good book, I am off to do other wonderful things.  I will be moving my trike then going to the park to meet friends and do some drumming, then off to my Mom's for a much needed visit.

Time to Garden

I was just looking at the weather forecast for tomorrow and the rest of this week.  Tomorrow I have time to stay home all day and was planning to do some outside work.  I want to plant some vegetable seeds that require cool weather to do their best.  I also want to move some bricks and make a couple raised bed gardens with them.  I got 4 bales of old hay given to me recently and I plan to use them to try my hand at making Lasagna Gardens, having been told about them by a friend where I do volunteer work, and I read several articles on How To here on the internet. If interested, just Google "Lasagna Gardens" and you will find a lot of info on it.  I was really hoping that tomorrow would be a warm and sunny Tuesday, and unfortunately, it is forecast to be raining while the rest of the week is looking much dryer and I am going to be busy with other things.  Figures!! Maybe my body needs an extra day or 4 after the Chiropractor treatment I just had before I go doing heavy work involving bending, so I guess the rain could be a good thing.  At least I will go out and plant the seeds I have waiting on the table.

Inventory

Blade Bolt... find number, write, count, catalog, put into appropriate box.
Gasket - tank... find number, write, count, catalog, put into appropriate box.
Lag screw... find number, write, count, catalog, put into appropriate box.
Gasket - Oil Seal... find number, write, count, catalog, put into appropriate box.

On and on it goes.  This is what doing inventory involves.  You pick up a part, find it's number on the package if it's in a package, find the number in the many pages long list of parts, and write down how many of them you found in this particular box. If you find more in another box you add the number to this number for a total. It is time consuming work and most people find it rather boring, though I actually don't mind it.  I am about to go over to Ray's now and continue my job of inventorying all his parts and supplies in his shop. It's a big job, this will be day 3 of my being there doing this. 

It's a fairly cloudy day, though also reasonably warm, though inside Ray's shop it can be very chilly, so I will wear warm clothes and drink lots of hot tea while I work.

Payback!!!

A friend of mine has done a lot of work on my trike for me and up until now only charged me for his supplies, his out of pocket money.  In return I have mended 3 or 4 pairs of pants for him, and now it the big pay back.  On Monday I went to his place and started doing inventory in his small engine repair business.  There are shelves and shelves of bits, pieces, parts, etc. for his business as well as some for fixing his truck, motorcycles, and a few other things he does.  I put in 3 3/4 hours working there on Monday, then went back again today and put in another 3 1/2 hours and I have only just begun!  There is a dent in the job, but ever so much more to do... then I will begin data entry into his computer, entering all of his equipment and supplies into his computer, using a program I've never head of and he doesn't know how to use.  I sure hope it's easy!!

Snow Day

All dressed up and ready to go,
I went outside into falling snow.
Four inches deep it must be,
And nasty roads that I can see.
Drive in this? Of course I can,
Though an enjoyable day was my plan.
As I started to clean my truck off,
I looked around and began to scoff.
"Give your head a shake, girl." I said,
"Go back inside, go back to bed!"
So back inside I then did go,
Inside out of all that snow.
Now fully clothed, with tea in hand,
On bed with laptop I sit... not stand.
There are places I must go late afternoon,
And am hoping the snow will stop falling soon.

Alice Gypsy-Girl Price
February 16, 2012.

Weather Change

About a week ago our weather went from warm and sunny to foggy then temperatures below freezing which caused a lot of hoar frost to form all over everything. for several days we had such a beautiful though very white world here. Now we have returned to the plus side of temperatures. Today we had a high of 6°C and that is the forecast for tomorrow's temperatures too, with a bit of sunshine thrown it. My yard is getting very muddy with the melting of the little snow we had and all the ice that built up over the winter. It is early for winter to be over, but a girl can hope.

Hoar Frost 2

I was looking at the Environment Canada Weatheroffice on the internet. We still are having fog all day around my place, though other parts of this area have gotten sunshine over the last day or two, or so I heard at the store today. The forecast I read is for warmer temperatures starting tomorrow, a possiblity of a wee bit of sun tomorrow though clouds for the rest of the week, and possible rain and snow all this coming week. Not my favorite weather, but it is February. Just 3 weeks and it will be March, thank God.

Here are some more photos of the hoar frost from my Adventures in Wonderland 2 days ago.

Hoar Frost

The other day, with nice warm weather and sunshine, we got some fog in the evening. You see, the city I live in is built on 3 lakes and I live just across the highway from one of those lakes, then in the hills behind my place is a small lake, the 4th lake we have here. With all this water, it's not surprising we get a lot of fog at times. That night, with all the fog, the temperatures suddenly dropped and everything froze. This resulted in the dampness of the fog forming into hoar frost on trees, blades of grass, weeds, wires or all kinds, etc etc. Here are a few photos of the hoar frost.

Frost on the leg of a wire tomato cage that is laying in the yard.

The wire fence covered in frost is the north west corner of my property, the tree is on the neighbor's land.

This is the north east corner of my place, the highway and neighbor to the east.

A more distant shot from the top of my driveway looking towards the north east corner.

Looking up the driveway, you see the fence between me and the neighbor to the north. The trees are mostly on their land.

I love the beauty of hoar frost on everything... and I think it would be so much more beautiful if the fog finally went away and we had clear blue sky with the white frosted trees and such. Maybe tomorrow.

Nice Day

The weather forecast for today, as of 11:00pm last night, was for a high of 2°C and 40% chance of wet flurries. You can imagine how happy I was when I woke to a clear, sunny day. About 11:00am I looked outside and saw my thermometer was showing 7°C!! Snow is melting like crazy, steady drips falling from the roof. As the day has progress, it's now nearing 1:30pm and there are lots of clouds moved in, though still lots of blue sky showing. There is a bit of wind, and with the temperature hanging steady still at 2°C, that will melt away the small amount of snow we have at this time. I don't mind that at all.

Spring Cleaning

This is the time of year to throw away the old and welcome in the new. I've been cleaning my home and my yard which is a huge job that is very necessary. Having been injured and sick for some time, I have let things go around here and it is feeling really great to be getting a few things done. I look forward to having a clean home and a pretty yard again. Being spring, it's also time for putting away winter clothes, donating what I don't want anymore, bringing out warm weather clothes and donating what doesn't fit any more. As well as clothing, shoes need to be checked over to see what is good and what needs to go. A good pair of shoes can cost what seems to be a lot, but will last longer than cheap ones and is better for your feet. As a diabetic, I know it is important to take good care of my feet. I also want new sandals for the upcoming summer. I've been wearing my old ones and they really need to be replaced this year.

Pellets

I very much enjoyed having a sunny, warm October this year.  September was unusually rainy and glum so to have a September-like October was great.  I didn't have to start heating my home until about a week or so ago.  I did light the pellet stove a couple times just to take the chill off, but didn't even need to do that much.  I enjoy using the pellet stove to heat my home as it's a nicer heat than the natural gas furnace puts out, as well as it heats the part of the home that I am in without heating the part that is not often used. In order to use the pellet stove, I buy pellets by the ton, 50 bags that are each 40 pounds, and I store them in the carport to be brought into the house as needed each day.  I like to think of these big bags of pellets as being muscle builders as I have to be strong to pick up and carry each 40 pound bag into the house and dump it into the stove and I am sure that doing this helps me to stay strong.  Unfortunately, this year with having broken my wrist I am unable to pack the pellets as I usually do, so I have a friend who comes over every few days to fill the stove up and put a few extra bags into the room by the stove so I can open a bag and scoop pellets into the stove when needing to refill.  This is a slow, tedious way to fill the stove, but you do what you have to do.  I am very grateful to Dan for coming over to help me out like this and I don't know what I would do without him just now.

Weather

The most recent temperature available is -3°C (26.6°F) at 11:00pm

(0°C = 32°F) (1 inch = 25.4 millimeter)

These are the temperatures for Sunday January 11

MAX TEMP : 2.7°C (36.86°F)
MIN TEMP : -6.7°C (19.94°F)

Sunshine, blue sky, clouds. Over all a beautiful afternoon.

FORECAST:

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All temperatures quoted are copied from the weathernetwork.com unless otherwise stated.
All conversions are done online at http://www.onlineconversion.com/
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