The return

 James drove across the country to be home. From the banquet before he left N.B.:

He brought me a Grand Falls Bible:

He has been busy coaching since he has been back. He was in Barrie today. I made his billet mom's stew. He really likes that stew!

snowbank eater

 Last night the snowbank eater truck came through, which is great for our street but our street is wider than the ones down by Queen's and less busy so you would think we would be less of a priority but we are always done first. There seemed to be some indication that we would get more snow today but that did not materialize.

Today was an exceptionally long day getting the timetable in so I melted some chocolate chips to make chocolate sauce for my strawberries. It was a nice treat!

in the bin

 I watched an Australian show and they had a saying when they want to get rid of bad situations they said "In the bin!". My tights today lost the elastic to work properly so "in the bin!". I had hoped to work on timetabling today but there were too many problems in the day. Glad that today is "in the bin!"

birds don't care

 Despite all the snow, I still hear birds singing.

I went to Shoppers this morning. Before I left I had to dig a path to the road (I had previously dug to the giant mound left by the snowplow). I saw a sidewalk plow in the area as I was leaving. The next block of College St was plowed so I made it to Princess but that is where the plowing ended. Luckily there was a worn path after that which made the walk passable.

When I came back the sidewalk plow had passed by my house and left a pile higher than the one I had just dug out. Sigh. So I need to dig again before Rustle.

snow

 I dug out a pathway to the nonexistent sidewalk. Not all sidewalks were cleared before this next snowfall so I am guessing that it will be some time before sidewalks are seen again.

I cleaned the drawers in the bathroom and painted part of the stairwell. It is very narrow so I can only do a bit at a time and wait until it dries to move on.

busy week

 Tuesday I planned our final showcase in April, then had a board meeting in the evening.

Wednesday we had safety training and I was working on timetabling. In the evening I had my egroup.

Thursday I was working on getting phase 3 grades out and timetabling for next year.

Friday more safety training and timetabling.

Today there is a storm and everything is white outside!

bathroom complete

 I painted into the wee hours last night and have finished the bathroom painting. I'll move onto some other areas soon. Tonight there was safety training late. There was a weather warning as I walked home but I did not see any weather. We'll see what tomorrow looks like.

James' team wore special jerseys for the Jan 24 game:

white on white

Painting white on white is a bit of a challenge especially when there is no natural light. I saw in the light of morning that I had missed a spot. The good news is that the first coat is on the bathroom. The bad news is that getting the first coat on was a real workout and my leg muscles are especially sore. More than my arms. I think I did 1000 squats to get the paint. At any rate it was a good workout and so I fell asleep easily at night. However, the bad news was that it was such a good workout I woke up after only a few hours sleep quite hungry. So I got up and had some crackers and cheese. But then could not get back to sleep for a long time. When I finally got back to sleep I woke up at 10am so I had to really rush to get to Rustle.

I got an email from Amazon that my package had shipped and the expected delivery date is back to the one that they had suggested when it was going to be shipped to my own home. I will keep you posted on the progress.

 

Winter returned

 I am not sure how all the birds and squirrels feel. We got enough snow that sidewalks were impassable and it is now snowing again. The sidewalk plows have been but only intermittently so you can be walking along on a fine sidewalk and then the next block is not plowed and then a block later it is. Some flaws in the plan apparently.

I had designated today to painting (I did primer many weeks ago) but I was trying to finish up cleaning what I started last night and it took me longer than I thought so am only starting the painting prep in the afternoon.

I put in an Amazon order today and because the upcoming week is a busy on with safety training going on I decided I would send it to an amazon pickup location instead of my house. I chose the post office (though there were some other potentially sketchy options). Interestingly this choice changed the estimated arrival time from Mar 2 to Mar 8. Funny, I thought it would take less time not more time! We'll see what the actual arrival time is.

nesting

 

The squirrels and birds have been busy working on nests. Tonight the storm rolled in so they are pretty confused I think! For a long time my computer said it was snowing but it wasn't. Then all of a sudden it was. They cancelled the exam for tomorrow in expectation of the bad weather. Maybe they think Queen's will close.

Tortellini soup

 I made tortellini soup, which was very easy. Box of broth, can of tomatoes, package of tortellini. Done! And very tasty. So sometimes easy works.

The sidewalks were in much better shape today. Clear and easy to walk on. Not sure what things will be like tomorrow as I have been listening to the freezing rain come down.

Sun

 The sun has been shining. Sidewalks in the sun have been good to walk on but ones in the shade can be icy.

Today spent most of the day doing application reviews. And ran a training session.

We had our sermon club group in the evening and I put together the final 2023 budget for the board.

I finished the tax receipts on Saturday evening, still need to put a bunch in the mail.

Spring

It was a lovely walk into work today. I wore my rain boots and winter coat and was quite warm.

At work I managed some emails, worked on some course work and timetabling. Then we ran training sessions and a presentation session so it was a long day.

Last night I started cleaning the front room and I washed half of it before I left for work (the furniture was on the other half)

The walk home was cooler than I expected but was still nice.
 

Dicey

 The sidewalks are clear in places and sheets of ice in others. Another pedestrian commented to me "dicey". Walking home in the dark it can be hard to tell if you are stepping into a puddle or a sheet of ice. Worked late in the evenings but am making progress on the timetable for next year.

cold

 A cold snap arrived yesterday. I wore a body suit under my dress for layers and was fine. My tights are thermal. It was all good. I walked to work, ran some errands downtown, walked home, walked to and from Sarah's.

I hung out with Sarah in the evening and drank Sugar cookie tea (who knew there was such a thing?) It was surprisingly good though!

Today the temperature has started to rise and it is snowing as I type this. I decided to stay in today, trying to think of which tasks will keep me the most warm! So far have washed the dishes and started the laundry and worked on the Ephesians study that I am doing with my ladies group. Plans for the afternoon are vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, paying bills. 

This evening the meal is the least cooking Chef's Plate meal so far. It is basically a fancy cheese sandwich with a salad. Still better than having to think up what to make on my own!