Sunday and A few pictures.

Not much happening at the moment.   It was a gorgeous day.   Four of the cats enjoyed time on the deck.   They really appreciate the sunshine.

Earlier this morning the bright sun was causing the trees to cast lovely shadows on the snow.

Tommy was quite interested in a squirrel at one point.

And, I made myself a skull door knocker.   I know, I know, it's a bit macabre but what fun it was to make.  I love it! 

Wild and Windy Night.

The wind overnight was awesome and still going on.   Howling with huge tall Spruce trees dancing.   We lost the power for a few minutes, not surprising as it seems it doesn't take much for the power to go.   You'd think by now, living in a place that has the most wind than just about any other place, that they would have a handle on this. 

Saturday morning after I got up and ran the hot water, there was none.   Only a bit of warm water coming from the tap.   I figured it must be that one of the elements had burned out and that would be a problem this time of year.   If that were the case the hot water tank would have to be drained.   Not a nice thought when a hose would have to be hooked up and put out through the door to drain all the water out of the tank.    I called an electrician who came yesterday afternoon.   He checked the elements and found they were okay.  The problem was that a wire inside the top of the tank had burned out.   It was fixed and I now have hot water.   It's true enough, you don't know what you've got til it's gone.    We don't really appreciate the hot water and electricity at out finger tips.   We take it all for granted.

I believe some of the snow has shrunk this past while although there's still at least a couple of feet of it in the garden and on the lawn.  I have my fingers crossed that the bitterly cold nights are over.  

A wonderful find at the Goodwill.   I love them.   I find them very theatrical looking.  

And to end off.....the boy, outside.

Chimney Cleaning.

It was time to clean the chimney once again.   I'd been waiting for warmer over night temperatures but there was to be no let up of the bitterly cold for a week or more.    This morning when I got up I decided to take things in hand and get the job done.   The fire had gone out so I turned on two portable heaters to keep the chill off until it got light enough for me to go outside.   This would be about a three hour wait.   I went out with a flash light to see if there was much ice and snow on the roof  and looking up at it from the ground, it seemed okay.    Then I thought to myself, if it was icy, once I got up to the peak, if I kept the chimney in front of me while I walked down to it, then if I did end up on my behind and was quick enough to spread my legs, the chimney should stop me from going over the other end.   Well, the light was just coming over the horizon when I decided to get going.   There's an extension attached to the older part of the house and that was almost all iced over.   Not only that, there's a tin or aluminum flashing thing between the two parts that I'm not suppose to step on so I always jump over this both coming and going to and from the chimney.    I saw that I could manage it to get to the older part as I'd be going up hill but on the way back I'd be going down.   No way I could risk that jump as I knew I'd go sailing.   I did get the chimney swept out without incident.   So, on the way back I had to sit on the peak of the house and slide down over the flashing onto the extension.    Then crept down, one tentative step at a time until I got to the ladder.  What a fun morning.

We still have lots of snow and it's not over yet.   Once the month of February is over, I always feel a sense of hope that spring is not far off.    The cats are not liking this winter weather at all.   They get quite bored and sleep a lot.

The crows still arrive each morning between seven and seven thirty.    Usually eight of them.   I'm sure they must be from the same family.   They were delighted with the left over spaghetti that I put out a couple of mornings ago.

I miss my partner but what else would I expect after all these years.   However life must go on and time heals.   I'll be buying an apple tree in the spring to plant and put his ashes around.  

Well, I'm off.  Things to do!