Distracted walking

So there's a new law against texting and driving in Ontario! Higher fines, yay!

But we have way too many people who just don't get that this is not about you holding the bloody phone, but more about being distracted while driving. I head out yesterday thinking people will be mindful at least on day one only to be stuck behind a jeep where I could clearly see the passenger holding the phone up for the driver who was oblivious to the lights having changed and the cars ahead of her being long gone! She weaved between lanes making it incredibly hard for me to get to where I wanted to go. All the while I could see a hand holding up a phone for the driver. So I am not sure how this is going to turn out for us.

And for people like me who would rather walk than drive I am also annoyed with people that walk and text or do whatever they do with their phones. The most annoying thing they do while on the phone is stop dead on their tracks while walking. I was walking down the hall at work yesterday and walked right into two people, not one but two people who did just that.

With cars it is one thing, the person at least step on the brakes and the brake lights tell you that the driver ahead is just randomly stopping in the middle of the street, you curse and stop, what else can you do if you can't safely pass them! When people do that while walking, we just walk into them because our bums are not fitted with brake lights are they! I said just that to the first woman I walked into yesterday! In hindsight I doubt she registered anything I said, she was totally distracted by her phone. Sigh! I feel like this is a losing battle.

It MUST be good!

Last year was a challenge to say the least. There were some good things, like resolving certain health issues and adjusting to big boy school for the offspring. But overall it pushed our limits. It also marked ten years of being married and I am afraid we did little to celebrate. That is another story, for another time, and probably will not be told here.

But this post is about 2014. It must be good. That is all I am saying. I pushed myself to accomplish little things last year and told myself if I keep at it I can accomplish more this year. I am not going to list anything out here, because that, I am afraid, would be setting myself up for failure or at least being disappointed. One of the things I did in December was make an afghan, from start to finish in under three weeks! Unheard of!! 

This means I can also write that darned manuscript in January, email drafts and start working on the annotated biblio of more interesting topics. I can sit with the offspring and patiently work on cursive writing or make play-doh people.

I also must begin full-time work again. But someone needs to employ me. So that hunt must commence. The house hunt is on in the interest of a better school for the offspring. Living in this area may result in me assaulting the next person who speaks to me in a language they assume I speak. And there is the very exciting trip happening in May. So all in all this year will be eventful if nothing else.

In the meantime I prep for my part-time teaching contract, another school term, a big birthday next week (we turn 5) and showing this house.

So happy new year to people who still visit this site and here's to a year that is more than we can all hope for.

After another long hiatus

I just assumed people would have forgotten all about my blog, but to my surprise it seems there are still visitors. Thank you to all who have been stopping awhile to read my posts. They are almost a year old.

So what have I been up to? Teacher's college, that's what? Why you ask? I have no idea. It has been a hellish ride, but the silver lining in this gray cloud are the people I have met. They are absolutely amazing. After nine long years in this country I have finally met people I can be myself with and enjoy spending time with. I have gone out of my way to socialize with them. By that I mean, I do not like driving on the highways here and I have taken the trouble to battle public transit to make it to dinners/drinks with these lovely ladies and gentlemen. I meet my favorite bunch again tomorrow for dinner. We can't get enough of each other. I know we won't get to meet as often when the degree is done and everyone goes their separate ways, so I am making the most of my time with them. It is all we can really do, about anything.

Again, thank you and don't stop visiting. I will endevour to keep writing.

Only a little confusing

Apart from getting my blog going (which still needs an enormous amount of organizing) and taking care of offspring full time, I have also been pursuing some career options. One of them being an international PhD scholarship to the one place I am certain I am connected to in some cosmic way. I got all the documents done on time except for my Masters supervisor's reference. You see in the academic world this becomes super important, it is often not about what you can do but what someone else says you can do. Well, I guess it is pretty much the same shit everywhere. Anyway, as per usual, he disappears on me and when I finally get a hold of him on the phone he apologizes and says, "as you know I prioritize based on deadlines" whatever the hell that may mean! What it meant this time was that when he finally completed my reference and tried to upload the document the website was down and so he did the next thing suggested on the instruction sheet, email it to a general information address provided. He just forgot to mention that was what he did.

I kept checking everyday but his reference did not show up. So finally I email him after Hubby convinced me even super smart academics can screw things up for us. That is when he told me what he had actually done. So I email Heather XXX at my cosmically connected Uni (or so I thought) and forward my supervisor's email asking what could be done. She writes back saying she is no longer with the graduate office and that I must contact the office directly. So I write to Dr ZZZ (sort of the Goddess of the office) and get an out of office message saying I should contact Heather XXX. Since Heather XXX wrote saying she is not with the office anymore I shoot off an email to the Girl in all my frustration. Thank God I did.

The Girl then wrote me saying I ought to write to Ms ABC and explain the whole situation, which I did. I once again get an out of office reply saying I ought to contact Ms DEF or Ms GHI. I forward the email to Ms DEF and cc the Girl. The Girl writes back saying it sounds desperate enough for someone to take action and then asks Is Heather XXX the same as Heather YYY. Because in all my emails I refer to XXX while it was YYY I should have been writing to. XXX is at U of T, while YYY is at my cosmic Uni in Australia. Oh God! I feel like shooting myself. Trust me, I for a minute had no idea what to do. So I write to Australia explaining the error and wrote to Heather YYY saying I made a stupid mistake and had got her name mixed up with someone else. I also wrote to Ms DEF explaining the error.

All this happened over a period of 12 hours. I have two Heathers in my mailbox and just did not pay attention to the last name when I hit enter as I sent the messages out. Lessons learned - 1. Pay close attention to names and email addresses, you'd think I would know that by now; 2. Never do anything with the Offspring rattling off his story about the jungles; 3. Check, double check, triple check emails to anyone of consequence, especially if they don't already know you are an idiot and you don't want them to think you are one!

Spring forward

Another sure sign that Spring is just around the corner is losing an hour of sleep! We are on daylight saving time starting 2:00 am. I used to like the idea because the days are long and we could enjoy the backyard, etc., but since the Offspring arrived it doesn't seem like such a good idea. Getting him to bed tomorrow will be such a struggle. By the time I've convinced him that he must sleep before the Sun, it is already rising on the other side of the world and with it my plans for a quiet drink on the patio. Ah well, at least we can sleep with windows open...oh my sweet Summer breeze...

So much for the calendar

Last winter I was counting down to Spring, desperate for warmer weather. It had been a nasty one, we had all been ill throughout and it was a trying time in general. As always I waited for the robins, and they finally showed up in mid-March. This year, they arrived in mid-February!

American Robin

For once I was not waiting for the robins, I know not to look for them until the ground is beginning to thaw, but the poor dears are here. I wonder what could have brought them back so early? It is not yet Spring, definitely not. What is making these birds think that Spring will be here soon? They are working with a different calendar to what we have. Humans are so out of sync that I am worried about the planet, the changing climate and what it means for the world my son will live in.

It isn't just the robins, the red-winged black bird is here. I saw an American goldfinch today, not yet quite the fabulous gold, but they are here, still in their shabby winter plumage. I am keeping the feeder filled and hoping they survive the next couple of weeks before the world warms up a tad for us.

American Goldfinch enjoying some catmint

What is even more shocking to me is that my tulips are coming up. The crocuses are pushing through, but to see tulips in March in Toronto is not normal. Ah well, while concerned, my heart did skip a happy beat at the sight of the bulbs pushing through.

First of the crocus in 2011

Social suicide? Nah!

I, like most people I know, got sucked into the whole Facebook and social media business. I connected with people I thought were gone for good from my life. It was great, for a while. 

Last week I had a brief tryst with fate and while laid up in bed in pain, scratching myself and drowning in diuretics I realized that a lot of the noise in my head had to do with Facebook. I am not yet a total bitter old bitch, but I am getting there and some people's comments and their opinions were getting to me. 

I contemplated culling my list; then I considered what my bosom bud has done, create an alternative profile for close friends, but it felt like too much of an effort. I thought about who it is I would miss if Facebook crashed one day, my list of friends boiled down to two people!!! Both of them write me, Skype with me on a regular basis. As for family, I couldn't lose them if I tried. So I deactivated my account. I am amazed at how much time I have and how quiet and settled my thoughts are. 

I am the sort of person who cannot ignore or overlook other people's troubles. I take it to heart and then my brain processes it. I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about these people and they don't even know about it. So I decided to let it go. I am glad I did.

I have exchanged nice long emails with one of my friends since and have a Skype date for tonight with another. I also have plenty of time to get a lot of other things done. If I have committed social suicide by getting out of Facebook it just might be the best thing I ever did, for myself.

Such a flawed machine

Since one of my goals this year is to put me first, I made it to my doctor's office today for a scheduled physical. We did the usual chatting and she took swaps and smears and whatever else she needed and then got talking to me about a recent blood test. It seems my body is attacking itself!

I find the human body absolutely amazing, I teach this stuff and I can get students to love it because I do, sincerely do. At the same time I am constantly reminded how terribly flawed it is. It is so messed up that we have built an enormous industry to prolong its life. But in the end it gives up, it does not last forever. So when she told me that it was an autoimmune condition I asked her what triggers it. No one really knows apparently. I have some theories. I doubt anyone will listen. It will make for a pretty good medical thriller.

It was kind of scary getting my medication at the pharmacist who said, "is this your first time?" I nodded yes. He then said, "well you will have to take this for the rest of your life, or at least until blood levels stabilize." I could tell he added the last bit to make me less anxious.

One thing is for certain now, I have no reason to let life pass me by, I simply have to live it, the way I want to!

Happy 2012?

I have never been more glad to see the rear end of a year. 2011 has been challenging in so many ways and at so many levels. But, it is over and I am kind of glad for Facebook where friends and family have been posting very many happy thoughts and wishes for a better year. Here's hoping it is going to be a better year.

Of course I know a year just doesn't turn out to be crappy or great on its own. A lot of it is our doing, and I am determined to take charge of how things turn out. I also intend to do it in a manner that is reasonable to me and those who matter most to me. I do have certain goals I'd like to accomplish. Some I can speak of, others...well I am still figuring out what they are.

For now, my simple goals are:

1. Eat breakfast every morning within an hour of waking up;

2. Get at least six to eight hours of sleep every night;

3. To get through this winter with as few episodes of illnesses as possible;

4. To see my darling son completely potty trained, surely boys must grow out of being comfortable with fecal matter pasted to their bums (this is where I have to be easy on myself, this has less to do with me and more to do with the Offspring);

5. Put me first every now and then...

These are not resolutions. I gave up on them in my last year of high school. I am just going to try and do this because it is what I have to do to stay healthy and happy. It is what I want for everyone I love, which should begin with me, right? 

Hoping the light shines even in the darkest hours...

So, happy new year to me and everyone I love. And to you too, whoever you are, reading this. I hope this is your year, do what makes you happy because if the Mayans are right, we will not have another year.

Yet another cake

I figured I would bake the Hubby a cake, not that he cares much for a cake on his birthdays, but the Offspring's entire idea of a birthday is a cake. So much so that when I asked him to wish his father a happy birthday he rushed off, jumped on the bed, said, "happy birthday Appa, come lets get your happy birthday together." We showed him the banana bread in the kitchen that we baked a few days before. But there was no fooling this monkey. But he had to wait almost an entire day.

The cake itself was easy to make, but as usual has a story to go with it (as is the case with a lot of my cooking endevours). I decided to bake an angry bird cake since there was a brief time, when the the iPad had first entered the household, we'd lost Hubby to angry birds. I would even take the Offspring away to leave the man alone to get work done. Imagine my horror when I discovered that it was angry birds he was working on. It left me wondering how many angry wives there were because of these bloody angry birds. Fortunately it was a phase (I hope).

I did my homework, browsed the internet, tried sketching the bird and realized it would be easy once I got the outline on the cake. I also kept in mind some good advise from a dear friend who churns out one fantastic birthday cake after another for her three children. She makes me wish I was her daughters' age (I'd have to be ten and six) just to be at those parties. Anyways, I then got going feeling like I had done enough prep work. Alas that was not the case.

I could not find the no taste red icing colour. So I decided to use Christmas red instead. I know!!!

I had iced the eyes, beak and the neck. And I got to colouring the red, I used up two containers of the colouring and it still was not quite red, and it started to smell a wee bit like chlorine. I tasted it and nearly gagged. As I do with most things these days I rushed to the internet and the first thing you see on the Wilton icing products page is a warning about Christmas red and the nasty taste (not enough prep huh?). Now I had a tonne of red icing that could not be used and an hour and a half left on the clock to get it done.

I called the store to check if they had received any no taste red. Nope. I had to consider an alternative. A trip the grocery store was in order. On my way out a quick check in the mirror startled me, I had very red lips, so I checked my tongue. GOOD GOD! It was all red, so were my teeth. I decided I would just get my stuff, and use self-checkout and not talk (not easy for me to do). So I drove myself to the grocery store (which is within walking distance) to get some instant chocolate icing (I figured a brown bird could still be angry).

While I was on my knees muttering to myself a kind lady walked up and launched into a sales pitch for a credit card. I just kept shaking my head to say no. She was a little too persistent for my likes, so I did something I normally wouldn't do. I stuck my tongue out, and then said, "you see that, I am in trouble, on a deadline, leave me alone, please." The lady walked away very quickly and turned to take a look only when she had reached the end of the aisle. Fortunately no one else spoke to me. The rest was easy. I used the chocolate icing to finish the cake and hid it before the boys got home.

And that's another crazy cake story. I hope they don't all have a story that brings out the nutter in me.

A call from Alex

I am in the middle of writing a bloody long paper, the longest I have ever written in my relatively short life. It is all to do with grad school, that's a story for another time. Anyways, I am feeling terribly challenged and it has taken a toll on me and my family. So basically, working under a lot of stress. To add to all this, just two days ago my laptop turned green, well the screen did. Now I work with the laptop hooked up to the desktop monitor (like it is on life support or something). Just this morning I started to see flickering gray lines on the screen. So can you just imagine my stress levels? All of what I need, in terms of software is on this laptop. The dear old desktop is just that, old; and so is everything contained within. You get the point?

Well the phone rang as I was reading my intro for the umpteenth time...it was Alex from some technical support place. I picture Alex calling from Madagascar with a phony accent (not sure where the accent is supposed to be from), but only this Alex was claiming he was calling to help me. The Alex of Madagascar would be calling for help.

So I ask what it was about...because you see I am having technical issues with computers. Desperate ones. Alex claims that my computer has been sending him error messages for a couple of weeks now and 'malisius' (guessing malicious) files have been downloaded onto my computer and they will now corrupt all my data. He wanted me to turn on my computer and connect to the internet so he could help. Seeing as I am connected to the internet I ask him what kind of information he would need to help me. Believe me I knew this was a bogus call. Phishing is it?

I asked him how it is that he connected my phone number to my computer...apparently when I connect to the internet (which we are 24/7 through cable) information is internationally routed. I am no tech expert, but I am married to a geek and I know a word or two even if I don't know a thing or two. I also ask him the name of this company he is calling from. He mumbles something with that fake accent. God it pissed me off. I just didn't have the time for this piece of crap who was obviously calling under the assumption that he was speaking to a dumb fuck who would give him information he needed. Granted I am not the smartest freak to walk the planet, but I am not as dumb as these guys think I am. I know its not personal, but right now everything in my life is personal. I have a deadline.

Anyway, I finally give him a piece of my mind, profanities included and hang up. And he called me twice after that. I did not want to raise my blood pressure any more, so I turned up the volume on the radio (thank you Lady Gaga) and did not speak.

I am taking time out of work to post this because if any of you receive a call like this, tell the caller where to go and hang up. Hopefully if enough people to do it they will realize that they are not getting their hands on our personal information by getting into our computers. 

It's all garbage

The city of Toronto has a seemingly efficient waste disposal program. We have three bins: a green bin for biodegradable waste. Often I see signs that say, "if you can eat, so can I", which, I am assuming is meant to encourage people to dispose of their waste responsibly; a recycling bin, for...well recycling; and a garbage bin for all other waste. Green bins are collected weekly and the recycling and garbage, fortnightly.

I was one of those people that was super excited when the new garbage bin program came into being. Mainly because you actually received a tiny incentive for recycling and disposing of your waste responsibly. I can't think of a better word than responsible because we have an obligation to at least dispose our crap with some sensitivity to the fact that we aren't the only species inhabiting this planet. Well, this incentive I speak of is basically a credit on your solid waste disposal bill (yep, we pay a separate bill to get rid of our crap. Someone has to pay the United States for allowing Canada to dump its garbage there). You receive this credit/refund if you order the smallest garbage bin. I figured that this meant people will now dispose waste very mindfully. We ordered the smallest bin because we only ever had one garbage bag even before the program came into effect and I talked no end about it hoping to see tiny bins up and down the street.

The new bins have been in place for a year or so now and what I find is that with the exception of our bachelor neighbour (who does not have a green bin), the rest of the folks on our street have gigantic gray garbage bins. So basically, they are still throwing out a ridiculous amount of stuff, a lot what can either be recycled or composted. They also don't care for the tiny incentive.

And today I saw the waste collection guy throw in garbage and recycling into the same truck!!! I guess it doesn't help that the bins are gray and blue and what's worse collectors are almost always male and they could use a few more cone cells in their retina to help discriminate the gray from blue. I really am not sure why the area we were driving through had both bins out and why they were both being collected by the same truck. I guess for most people it is all just garbage. And that I think is very very sad.

And so the garden grows...

The first blooms of the season

It looks like the squirrels didn't devour all my crocus and grape hyacinth bulbs. They are pushing through the soil and mulch. But what seems to be a bit of a pain is this constant show of snow. Fortunately the ground seems to have warmed up enough that the snow doesn't accumulate. But after the dismal Winter I am starting to feel a bit concerned that we might have a chilly Summer too. It is really important the my garden does well this year. Things are not as great as they were when I was thankful for everything in life and the one thing that does cheer me up is the show of colour in the backyard.

Hubby was let go from his job with very little notice three weeks ago. We are creeping up to four weeks now and needless to say we are both getting a little concerned. While life has certainly not been a bed of roses, or crocuses for that matter, it is a little unsettling as we assess spending and make adjustments. This experience is teaching us a few things. But most of all it has taught me that people are not all who they seem to be. I am learning that a reassessment of the people in my life is in order!

But this has not stopped me from digging the mulch out to allow my bulbs to get out of the deep cold. Neither have I put my camera away. Today I took out my old pal Nikon F50's lens and tried a few pictures with the new Nikon D7000. I don't need a new macro lens. I love my old lens on the new guy. They work well together. Also, you can't always trust the 'correct exposure' reading you get on the new guy. You have to shoot and learn.

auto exposure                    manual exposure

Context context context

I have always loved this song! But like a lot of old things it got filed away in the recess of mind. The other day while watching my little monster sleep it came to mind and of course, I looked it up on you tube. The lyrics are meaningful. Again, although I had always appreciated the lyrics, I now appreciate every word and it makes so much more sense as I listen to it and watch my sleeping child.

If you told a child that Mr Moon came down to wish him/her goodnight they would believe it. When/why do we become so cynical that the idea of the moon wishing us goodnight becomes silly? And is it not true that if everyone thought like a child we would live in peace? Everyone should spend time with a child to learn a lesson or two, especially one of forgiveness. I am trying hard to function like my baby, but that darned ego keeps getting in the way.

Turtle talk

It has been a rough couple of days. But the offspring provided us with ample distractions with his ever increasing vocabulary and new skills. We reckon he is an old soul who has so much packed in his little head including a radar that picks up on our moods and emotions. He was not as difficult as he usually is on the weekends, and this is despite us being cooped up at home.

Anyways, on a lighter note, Hubby and I have been tidying up the basement (it seriously does not reflect the person that I am right now and it is driving me nuts), and are in the process getting rid of a lot of things. You see I am the one in this relationship who has moved forever and forever, so I don't come with a lot of knickknacks. Hubby on the other hand had tonnes of it. We have slowly been getting rid ornaments that are difficult to clean. If something cannot be dusted easily I don't think  it is worth having.

Having said that there are some things he has that are rather cute, like this pair of turtles. They are a bit worn out from being dropped and scraped and stored in boxes etc. But I have kept them because they illustrate our relationship rather well. Can you tell who might be sitting up and yakking nineteen to a dozen and who might be lounging and listening, or at least politely pretending to?

Heavy weight blessings

Store bought indoor crocus 

Yesterday as I pulled into our driveway I notice the mulch on my teeny flowerbed in the front of the house looked like it had been disturbed. So I knelt down to check and guess what? It was Little Miss Crocus peeping out of the dark and into the light!! But today it is all buried under snow!

I want to bitch and moan about the weather. We can't go from 5 degrees to -13. Come on, it is supposed to be Spring, enough already. But you know what, sitting here typing this up and looking out the window just reminds me it is time to weigh my blessings. So here we go:
     I have a warm and safe home to complain about the weather
     My loved ones are all safe and healthy
     There is food in the house
     I have a job that pays (not as much as I'd like, but it pays)
     I don't have to worry about nuclear radiation
     I still have all those pretty flowers to look forward to
     There is promise of warm days ahead and plenty of sunshine
     And my brand new steam mop arrived yesterday (what more could a girl ask for?)
Those are mighty heavy blessings. And on that note, let me go seize the day, and you have a good one too!     

Feline felons

I love cats. Always have. As a child I have smuggled strays into the house and tried to talk my parents into letting me keep them. But right now there is no room for cats in my life. It has little to do with my offspring and more to do with my passion for birdwatching. I live in a place that has great potential for watching and learning about birds. So when I see three big cats like this just lounging on the fence I worry.

I also have not seen birds in my backyard for sometime now. I put it down to not feeding the birds regularly and the nasty weather. But now I am worried that these fellows have been devouring them. I also have never seen this many cats in the neighbourhood in the years I have lived here. Since our house backs onto a conservation area I am now wondering if there is someway I can get rid of the cats. Perhaps some 'cat haven' place could take them? Should cats in Canada have collars?

Spring is almost here and unless these cats leave I cannot invite the birds. My feeder will turn out to be a death trap.

The snow girl/woman

Hubby's first sculpture

We are experiencing one of those crazy mid-winter thaws. Well perhaps not quite mid winter but it is still too early for a serious thaw (its mid February for crying out loud, it's supposed to be the peak of winter). Regardless, what this allowed us to do was get out in the backyard with the offspring and make snow people. Hubby got started on one side on a practical snow person. I on the other hand was thrilled to not be wheezing like a dog (not sure if dogs wheeze) and got started on a giant snow person. I just kept piling snow on and making a little mountain which the offspring also seemed happy to help with. I really wasn't getting anywhere, especially since I had to make sure that my child was not eating the dirty snow or taking off his mittens or...you know, just being a mother while trying to sculpt this snow person (hardly sculpting, I just like saying it).

I finally asked Hubby if he would be kind enough to assist. So he came over to 'our side' and asked if it was a snow man or snow woman. My answer, 'of course it is a woman!" So he got started and soon my snow woman had a body and a head, her eyes were gorgeous screening stones, she had a beautiful carrot nose and a fantastic kidney bean smile. The next time I turned to look, she had breasts with nipples and all! Some might say it is perverse, but seeing as that is the only way we could differentiate gender on a snow person it made sense. Later on we added a pink IKEA bowl for a hat, and that would have done the trick too, but with the breasts there was no disputing this was indeed Mrs Valentine. You see I had no intention of inviting Mrs Frosty back, and since this girl was sculpted on the eve of Valentine's Day, I got creative with her name.

Mrs Valentine

I don't think our offspring cared much for his father's fabulous art work or the unfinished snow person on the 'other side' of the backyard. But what it did accomplish was some good old fashioned fun in the beautiful outdoors. Amazing what it can do for your energy levels and not to mention the mood altering effects. 

The faraway blogs

Have you heard of the Magic Faraway Tree? If you have, then you must be a kindred spirit. The Tree featured in two of Enid Blyton's awesome books, my all time favourite children's author (there is a serious contender for the position now though). What got me thinking of the book is that recently I have gotten to clicking on the "next blog" thingy (link?) on my blog. I find that each day it takes me to a new blog. Each day I get to visit new people, new places, new information, just a surprise every day! I love it!

That was the wonder of the Faraway Tree, it took you places when you got to the top most branch and climbed up through the hole in the clouds. Each day there was a land of some sort that arrived (sometimes they stuck around for a bit). Sometimes they were wonderful, full of treats and funny tricks and carnivals. Other times they were not so great, like 'Topsy Turvy Land'. If you were not careful to get out of the land before it left the top of the tree you could get whisked away with it and have to wait a really long time to get back to the Tree.

After I had read the book as a child I had always imagined myself in a land I preferred to the land I was in. I guess I do that even  now...escape in to some one else's world for just a while, so this land of mine is as much a surprise and wonder as their's when I return.

Icicles on the cake

It has been a long, miserable winter. At least for me. The whole family has been ill with one thing or another since October, the heating has had to be turned on much earlier (and it runs continuously), and now we have icicles!

Icicles on the porch!!!

They are beautiful. I have always found them marveled at them and snapped my share of pictures and enjoyed watching the play of light (on the odd occasion you see icicles when the sun is out) on them, etc. But now they are hanging off my porch, and suddenly they look like killer weapons rather than beautifully frozen water.

I just Googled (like we do with everything these days) why this happens and apparently the roof needs to be insulated and vented properly. We were told by the house inspector we needed more insulation, but we thought we had enough venting. I am beginning to wonder if the unwelcome tenants in the attic are clogging things up. In addition to that our neighbour, who we really have no problems with whatsoever, never cleans his gutter (that might considered a problem). While Hubby has graciously cleaned it in the past, I think we have had enough and it looks like the gutters have got clogged up after the Fall clean up. One of us must attempt a diplomatic chat with the chap. It is so much easier to casually mention it over a beer in the Summer. Winters make everything so much more difficult.

Sand cherry bush directly below the eaves trough