Making It Up As I Go Along #694

Another long layoff from the blog.  Lots of goings on that distracted from the writing habit… or left me too tired to want to try.

The first Christmas ever with the seven closest family members.  The last time Edena and family were included in Christmas, Claire (about to turn 19) was not yet born.

It was a nice time but frigid cold during the sister’s visit.  Not a great deal going on outside with temperatures pretty well staying at or below -20.  Many days had a windchill below -30.

Mom and dad’s condo is finally under control and feels like a home.  It’s nice having them nearby.  There’s quite a difference between visits and meals with family when you live in the same place as compared to week or two long visits.  The visits are never leaving room for ordinary life.  Everything is a scheduled event fit in to the timeline of the visit.  This is more casual and natural.  Perhaps Edena and Duff will have to retire east one of these days.

I’m not sure where to put the snow.  December was both cold and snowy and my driveway is already bursting at the seems with snow clearing.  My lawn is already a four foot mound of snow and we still haven’t gotten half way through January.  With 30 to 40 cm of snow due this weekend, I’m actually wondering if I’ll have to leave the car out of the garage and no longer worry about clearing the snow from in front of there.  I’ve never had to consider this kind of thing in the six years I’ve been living here.  I guess we’ll see.

You know you’re getting tired of the constant fight and insults of social media when your two favourite twitter feeds are one that shows images of the covers of space Lego sets from the 1970s to 1990s… and, a bear.  That’s right, I follow a bear on twitter.  And the space Lego memories often bring a smile to my face.

Mom and dad have a great view of nature from their condo.  A large cedar bush wall sits outside their windows.  Juncos, chickadees, a pair of cardinals and three rabbits all call the area home.  They’ve got a 55 inch 4K TV in the living room, and I’m often back on to it hoping to get a good look at a cardinal… or watching the goings on of the rabbit clan.

With that, it’s time to catch up on the other thing I’ve done much less of lately… going out for a walk in the woods.  Perhaps this will be the first time with the snowshoes this year.  Time to explore wildlife tracks in the snow.  Rabbits, coyotes, birds, squirrels and smaller rodents… I should be able to get a glimpse of their daily activity.  The great benefit of lots of snow.