Christmas a Month Early

We wish our US family and friends a happy Thanksgiving which they have the 4th Thursday of  November.  But up here "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."   Our post-polio group has its meetings the 4th Thursday of the month and today we were celebrating Christmas a month early.    We had a short meeting and then a big turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and cabbage rolls and all the trimmings, and black forest cake for desert.   It was really a wonderful meal catered by an older couple from out of town which someone in the group knew. After dinner there was some Christmas carol singing and visiting.    

The weather here has also seemed like Christmas a month early.  By three weeks into November we have already had at least 3 big snow storms that clogged up the streets.   This morning it was -27C with -39C windchill but the temperature went up during the day and it was -8C when we were coming home from the Christmas dinner.    So we hope for some more moderate weather for the next while.    

Weekend: Music, Football, and Birthday Party

Last week Elaine was busy with practices for her choir concert which I attended on Saturday evening.  It is quite impressive that they got about 600 people out on a cold Saturday night to their concert. They first performed Te Deum by Charpentier  which was composed in the late 1600s.   It was said that King Louis XIV of France decreed this piece be played at all official ceremonies.  This was a very enjoyable hymn of praise with the choir, soloists, orchestra and pipe organ.    The longer part of the program was The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Ken Jenkins which they performed before in December 2007 (when Ky and Lyn were in the choir.)   The Armed Man is quite a dynamic performance with goes from the glory of war to the horror of war to remembrance and then to the promise of peace.  It starts out with the choir singing to the beat of the drums and marching feet of the choir (army) and then builds up in the "war" part of the performance at full volume.  It is quite an experience that has you wide awake with timpani and drums at full volume with the orchestra and choir.  It was a  lengthy performance which finished with some beautiful songs of peace.   Now the next concert to look forward to is the annual Handel's Messiah on December 15.     

On Sunday afternoon/ evening all the church was invited to celebrate little Rueben's first birthday.   The Riders were in the western final so the main event was eating supper while watching the football.  It was a lot of fun watching the game with the group. The game didn't look too promising at first but the Riders seem to always let the other team get a lead at the beginning before coming back for the win.  We had birthday cake at half time and then more visiting while Rueben opened presents after the game.   It was a good time. 

Driving Carefully

We had wet snow starting last night and continuing today.   My timing turned out to be good just getting the snow tires on my Mazda yesterday.  It doesn't have much traction with regular all season radials but much better with snow tires.   I did go to work this morning but took it easy driving on ring road.  The traffic  was moving along about 60 km/h when I went which was not bad.  There were some people in the ditch mostly ones who get impatient and try to pass and spin out into the ditch.  When I went home at lunch the city streets were ridiculous with ridges of wet snow, but when I got onto ring road it had been cleared.  It was slippery but OK if you are careful.   I was just as glad to stay home then and to have Thursday off for Remembrance Day.    

End of a Beautiful Weekend

Looking across Wascana lake to the Legislature just after sunset

We had another beautiful day today with a high of 18C.  Yesterday was 12C and it was very nice all last week, a very welcome change from the stormy weather the week before.   

Yesterday Elaine and I went up to Shellbrook for her Aunt Violet's memorial service.   It made for a long day going up in the morning and coming home in the evening, but we were very glad we went.  It was good to see the family and so many people there.  With the beautiful weather the traveling was no problem.

It would be great if the nice weather would last a while longer.  It looks like the downward trend is coming this week but we may still stay a few degrees above normal. 

Staying in Our Bomb Shelter

The storm that blew thorough here this week was called a "weather bomb"  which is defined as a drop of barometric pressure of 24 millibars within 24 hours.  We had a drop of pressure of 27 millibars within 21 hours and was the lowest barometric pressure on record in North America other than  in a hurricane.   We did not have as much snow here as areas south and east of here but the sustained high winds made some pretty big drifts.

With the weather bomb we just stayed home in our bomb shelter. I worked from home from Tuesday to today.  The wind was gone down by Wednesday night but the roads out to where I work on the edge of the city were not cleared yet.   I was reviewing documents and had several conference calls which I could do just as well from home. We stayed in until Thursday afternoon when Elaine went shopping and then we were to a meeting with our polio group Thursday evening. The roads were not great but passable then. 

We had Elaine's parents here visiting since Monday. It was raining as they were coming but the big storm hit that night. They stayed here until this morning so the roads and weather would be better for traveling home. It was good to have them stay a few days. In the pictures you can see from the smile that Elaine was very happy to have her parents here.

Snowing and Blowing

 View from the side window with our van near the neighbour's house.  

 

View from the front window

Our warm weather is gone for a while as a snow storm has blown in.  I decided to work from home today and not venture out because the wind and wet snow were making slippery driving conditions.   Elaine's parents are here visiting and will likely stay until Thursday when it looks like the weather will be better.  By next weekend we are supposed to be back to 11C and sunny which will be nice if it is true. 

Another Week

Another week has gone by since I last blogged so thought I would just do a little update.   During the week I didn't really go anywhere other than to work each day and then home.   Yesterday I enjoyed helping Janice with making display panels for her  "magnetic grapes" experiment.  

Today we had lunch together at the church after the service with chili, salads, corn bread, etc.  There was quite a bit of variety with four different kinds of chili, including one made by Janice with ground turkey, a vegetarian chili with pumpkin, and two with beef.  Of course there was more than enough and desert as well.  And we had a nice time visiting during and after the meal.

I was hoping to go to the park again for Sunday afternoon which we have enjoyed several times this year.   I thought this may be one of the last nice days before cooler weather and possibly snow is in the forecast by Tuesday.   The temperature got up to 11C but it was cloudy with rain showers so we stayed home in the afternoon.   Then  this afternoon Elaine's parents phoned that they are planning to head over to our house tomorrow after visiting in Manitoba for the weekend.  So it will be nice to have them here for a visit.

Weekend Visiting

We had my cousin Stan staying with us for the weekend.  He had a course all day Saturday and Sunday.  We visited with him for a while when he arrived Friday night, and then each day after his class.    On Saturday Stan and Elaine and I were invited over to Bronwyn and Wade's place for supper.   It was very enjoyable to have supper and visit with them and see their home.    We visited more with Stan back at our house that evening.  We were listening to a CD he has of a pianist playing medleys of old hymns, and making a list to the hymns in each medley and were able to identify almost all of them.  Then Stan was back to our house for supper Sunday after his class and we had another visit before he left for home.

Then Sunday evening I helped Janice with her science experiment demonstrating the magnetic properties of grapes. (Actually any fruit with high water content will work.)  She has the video of the experiment  on her blog.    We had fun with that.   

We had a nice relaxing weekend.    I was not feeling too energetic since I had a trach change Thursday and have had more soreness, coughing and congestion in the nights since then, which disturbed my sleep (and Elaine's as well.)  So we just need a good sleep tonight and then back to work tomorrow.