Staying In and Staying Warm

This afternoon it is 6C with wind up to 60km/hr.  I was sitting in my living room wearing my Rider sweater while we watched the Rider game on TV    At least the fans who sat out in the cold and wind had something to cheer about with the team finally getting a win.   If the Riders can finish the season on a winning note maybe there will be a little more optimism for next year.  

I wasn't feeling well earlier in the week so didn't go out much, but doing better by the end of the week.  Yesterday afternoon we went and got our flu shots.   I have gotten a flu shot every year since 1995 after I had pneumonia.  I usually get little or no adverse reaction from the flu shot, and just some mild soreness in my shoulder this time.  (Janice tells me to stop poking it to see if it is still sore.)  This was the first year that Elaine got a flu shot as well and had no adverse reaction at all.  The influenza vaccine this year has the same three components as last year: A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus, and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (B Victoria lineage).  There is no live virus in the vaccine but inactivated components that will develop antibodies to these or similar influenza viruses.  The A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus is the same one that caused the H1N1 scare two years ago and there was a separate H1N1 flu shot.   For the last two years it has been part of the regular seasonal flu shot.  

In other news we finally got our new basement windows installed on Thursday morning after waiting several months since the contractors are so busy.  The small furnace/ laundry room window had a single pane with wood frame rotting and has been replaced with a double pane PVC window.   We also got the basement bedroom window replaced with a larger one that meets the regulations for emergency egress.  The existing window met the minimum dimension but was just less than the minimum area.  It needed to be replaced anyway with a better quality window that stopped the wind from blowing through.  For that bedroom window we also got a larger window well  to meet the regulations.  This was done by the bobcat contractor when the soil build up and grading around our house was finally completed.   So slowly the work we need is getting done and maybe soon we can get someone to start working in our basement.    

October afternoon in the park

Yesterday afternoon it looked like it was going to be the warmest day for a while, with a high of 16C, so I dropped off  Elaine for a bike ride and then drove to the park to meet her there.   I dropped off Elaine at Kiwanis Park and she rode her bike to our usual meeting place at Pine Island in Wascana Park.  After she met me there I went onto the island and took some pictures while she rode her bike around the lake.
   

 It was a nice fall day with some sun and cloud but fairly windy at 30 km/hr and gusty.    You can see in the picture above the choppy waves with some rowers practicing.    That side of the island was facing the wind off the lake so I couldn't walk around a lot since the wind is hard on my breathing.   But I walked some and then stopped to take some pictures or sit on a bench for a while. 

 I put 5 of the pictures together in a panorama (using a program that came with our Canon SX130IS camera) of the view across the lake toward the legislature and downtown and the marina at the far right.   I posted previously a panorama of this view at sunset.  

Afterward we went around the lake opposite Willow Island where it was more sheltered from the wind.   While we were there sitting on a bench looking across the lake our friend Dale (Elaine's 2nd cousin) came along walking home from work.  He said,  "What are you doing here?    I answered,  "Just being retired sitting on a park bench."   We felt like we had not gone to the park enough often in the summer and the warmer fall days may soon be gone.  So we take advantage of the nice days when we can, and being retired makes our schedule a little more flexible.       

Rain and Mud

We need some build up and grading of the ground around our house to keep the water away from snow melt in the spring and from rain.    We had someone arranged who was not available until fall but that was OK for us.   However that contractor got tied up with emergency projects from the flooding in the southeast area.    I was calling other contractors but they were so busy I couldn't get people to even call back.   Finally I got a contractor who does bobcat work who said he could do it for us.   However the job he had ahead of ours dragged on a week longer than he expected.   He finally came last Thursday afternoon and got started and filled in at the back of our house with clay and topsoil.   The weather was just perfect and the soil was dry just right for working but he only worked for 3 hours and had to leave for the day. 

That night it rained all night and continued the next day.  In the picture you can see some temporary extensions on the eavestrough downspouts to try to get the runoff past the bare ground that turned to mud.

  The contractor left his small bobcat parked in front of our house beside the remainder of the piles of clay and topsoil that were standing in pools of water as the rain continued. 

Then over the weekend it seemed like it was drying up some.  The contractor came back on Tuesday and tried to do some work but it was still way too muddy to accomplish much.

The rest of this week we have had damp cloudy weather with fog patches and rain showers.   So the little bobcat still sits in front of our house in the mud with the remaining dirt pile.    The good news is that the forecast for next week is for sunshine so maybe it will dry up enough to get this project done, as well as other outdoor work.
  

Counting Our Blessings

We had a good Thanksgiving weekend here.  It is a time when we are reminded of all the things we have to be thankful for.  Back in 2008 on Thanksgiving I posted the song "Count Your Blessings." (Hard to believe I have had a blog that long.)  The words of the chorus are:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

The other hymn that really expresses how I feel is Great is Thy Faithfulness,  especially the words in the chorus "all I have needed thy hand hath provided"  and in the last verse "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow."   God has provided all that we need and has given us strength for each day and a bright hope for the future.

I am really thankful for Elaine and our family, as well as friends and relatives and our church family.    I like being retired and am thankful that God enabled me to work my full term to have a pension that meets our needs.  And every day we try to remember to count our blessings for we have a lot to be thankful for.

On Sunday after church Janice came straight home and put the turkey in the oven and made the mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mike and Nicole came over and we had our Thanksgiving dinner together about 4 PM.  Elaine made the dressing and vegetables, and Mike and Nicole brought a salad.  We had a very nice meal and visit.  Then on Monday we had a quiet day at home and watched the Rider game on TV in the afternoon.  At least I can be thankful I don't have to figure out how to fix their problems.  There is always something to be thankful for.