Settled in

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DahBoy likes to settle in above my head, when I am at my desk.

This is an odd time of the month.

It’s one of the things about having an income that comes in once a month. It may make budgeting easier, but by the end of the month, things start running out. Then we’re left with the question of, is it worth driving to town to pick up a day or two’s worth of stuff, or do we wait the few days until we can do the big monthly shop? It’s more of a thing in January, too, as December gets all mixed up because of Christmas, and we end up not doing the big monthly shop, since the days we normally would do it fall on New Year’s. Instead of a Costco trip, we buy locally, and the prices are so much higher, we end up not as well stocked for the month.

Which is a long way of saying that, despite the cold, one of my daughters and I ended up going into town to pick up a few things.

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Chill

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Brrr.

As I write this, we are at -29C, with a wind chill of -39C. Nasty!

Last night, we made sure to top of the outside cats’ water bowls with warm water before heading to bed. This picture is how I found the sun room water bowl, this morning. The cats were able to keep that opening in the ice licked open, to get at the liquid water below. I could even see some layers of ice, as the water level dropped and froze, dropped and froze. By the time I got this photo, though, there was no liquid water left. The bottom of the pan was dry, and there was no ice touching any part of the metal that would have been warm enough to melt it.

They were very happy for more warm water this morning!

While doing my rounds this morning, I had an extra task on my list.

Measuring.

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Taste Testing Tea

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One thing about the cold temperatures we’ve been having; we’re drinking a lot more tea!

While there are a few favourites we try to keep on hand all the time, the girls and I also love to try new teas. Sometimes, though, the price tag that comes with some of the ones we’d like to try … well, I just can’t justify spending that kind of money on some dried leaves, ya know?

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Fun times…

Okay, I’m being only slightly sarcastic with that title… ;-)

The cold snap continues, and is supposed to continue for about a week.

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The above picture was taken a few days ago, on the last milder day, just before we headed into town to get to the pharmacy before the weather got worse. The camera automatically cleans up the image, so the visibility was actually poorer than it appears in the picture.

Right now, we have a cloudless sky. It’s bright and clear and…

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Critter of the Day: want some company?

Beep Beep really likes that platform feeder.

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Definitely the one we see up there the most often (the next photo is taken on a different day).

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One day, she had company!

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Rolando Moon decided to join her. Which was a bit of a surprise, since Rolando Moon is usually doesn’t like being that close with the other cats.

Beep Beep is judging me. And you. And the world!

Tomorrow?

Check out the windchill…

Weather app screen cap.

And yet, the warning at the bottom says that the cold wave is starting tomorrow.

If -30C doesn’t mean the cold snap has already started, I don’t think I’m looking forward to tomorrow at all! As it is, we’re supposed to hit temperatures of -28C tonight, and wind chills of -39C.

Also, I’m really glad we went into town for the pharmacy today, instead of waiting until tomorrow! It was getting bad when my daughter and I left, but by the time we got out of the pharmacy, visibility had dropped significantly, and we ended up going 80kph all the way home in a 100kph zone – and so did all the other traffic on the road!

Time to turtle for the next few days.

The Re-Farmer

My new view, and warmed up – for a bit

Since switching up rooms, I have come to appreciate the view in my new office space. I’ve got my desk against the north wall, which means I can see out the window with my peripheral vision.

Turns out, it’s pretty active out there!

Every now and then, some motion catches my eye, and I look up to see a cat – or several of them – making their way through the trees, to and from the roof, or just… sitting there.

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