It’s been snowing here in Toronto since last night. Steadily!

We’ve had everything from snow flurries to freezing rain to ice pellets. It’s only snowing at the moment, but it’s going to keep laying down the fluffy stuff until sometime tomorrow. (Actually it looks like it’s going to snow on and off until Tuesday!)

I shoveled last night when the snow on the ground was light, and a few times today when it was heavy and wet. Now my back is aching. Plus, with that slippery layer of ice underneath the snow in some areas you just about need to have safety equipment on while you’re shoveling! LOL Ok, it wasn’t that bad, but still … enough already!

I was saving the end of the driveway for when my husband came home from work. With my back already aching that heavy slushy snow that the snow plows leave at the end of the driveway was just too much for my back to handle.

Our new neighbors weren’t out there shoveling the driveway at all either. That ticked me off a bit since they now own half the driveway. However they managed to redeem themselves by early evening. You see the new neighbor has a snow plow business (pickup trucks with shovels on the front) and he brought one of his trucks over to clear out a parking space for his car in front of their house … which of course meant that he also scooped up that big heavy ridge of slushy snow at the end of the driveway.

So that took away the worst shoveling job and Chris had much less snow to remove when he got home from work. It only took him about ten minutes and since he wasn’t all that tired from shoveling we both took the dog on a long walk through the snow streets. Now that made us all tired!

I just hope that the snow that’s falling now and into tomorrow is the light fluffy kind. I don’t mind shoveling that - even if the shoveling does get to my back, I can still usually get the job done before my back is really bad.

Is it snowing in your area too? How are you coping with all the shoveling? No … don’t tell me you have a snow blower or that you live in a warm climate! Arghhh!

I joined twitter well over a year ago, but it’s only in the last month or so that I’ve really started to use this fantastic social networking tool.

Actually I have been using twitterfeed to post new blog post announcements to Twitter, but since that was all that I was doing for most of the first year that I was a Twitter member, you can’t really say I was using it well. Now that I’m finding new friends and gaining followers I’ve started interacting with others on Twitter and it’s a lot of fun.

Do you use Twitter? If you do, please feel free to check out my Twitter page and follow me if you like what you see.

If you don’t use Twitter, what are you waiting for? As I said above it’s a great way to not only promote your blog posts, but to also connect with people who have similar interests or sites in similar niches.

Update: Kelly just came up with a great idea. If you use Twitter post your Twitter link in the comments and follow the commenters that leave a twitter link. Sounds like a great way to make some new blogger/ Twitter friends.

Join

I’m finally getting around to having my true Christmas dinner. Yeah, I know, I said we went to my in-laws for Christmas dinner on Xmas day, but she cooked pressed chicken breasts and I guess Christmas isn’t Christmas to me without having some turkey.

So we are just about ready to sit down and have some turkey. I bought a large double turkey breast and it’s almost done. I also made roast potatoes, peas, stuffing, and a broccoli carrot mix to go with dinner. Oh and we can’t forget the cranberry jelly and a slice of apple pie for desert (couldn’t find any pumpkin pie < sob > ).  I honestly don’t know if I’ll have room for desert, but I’ll try!

As I’m waiting for dinner to finish cooking (yes I know it’s a bit late) I’m sitting here having a cup of Earl Grey Tea. I haven’t had Earl Grey in ages! I love Bergamot.

Did you know that a plant that many commonly grow in their gardens, BeeBalm, is also known as Bergamot or Oswego Tea?

I grow Beebalm in my garden. It’s a hybrid variety called Aquarius. It’s a lovely plant with hot pink flowers.

When I’m in the garden in the summer I love brushing by it’s leaves so that I can smell that lovely Bergamot scent. I really must remember to dry some of it’s leaves next year and try to make a tea with it. Hey it’s worth a try.

I’m glad we’re indoors this evening. We were supposed to have freezing rain all evening and through the night. We did have some rain in the afternoon and I think it left a slick on the roads and sidewalks, but it looks like the worst might have already passed us by. Still … it’s better to stay inside and have our belated Christmas/ New years dinner I think!

How are things in your part of the world?

Have you ever had one of those days when every thing seems to go wrong? Sure ya have.

Well … I guess I’m having one of those days. First, my husbands alarm clock decided to go on the fritz. The alarm was turned off but for some reason it still went off at midnight last night and it kept going off every once in a while until we took the batteries out of it. Then, as I was setting up my alarm clock so he could use it a button got stuck down and I can’t change the alarm time!

So that’s two clocks in one day, but that’s not all!

One of the lights we have in our living room is a tri-light so we can set it on low, medium or high lighting. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as we got home from grocery shopping (we never grocery shop on Saturday but we did this evening) the light started fizzling out. So I guess tomorrow we’ll need to go out and not only buy at least one new alarm clock, but also some tri-light bulbs!

I guess that’s not a terrible terrible day, but it makes me wonder what will happen next! Hopefully none of our more major electrical appliances decide to go on the fritz.

I hope that your day was better than mine!

I don’t know why, but all week I’ve just been exhausted. I swear I could sleep day and night. Maybe I’m still recovering from having a houseful of guests last weekend or maybe I’m tired because my Crohn’s has been flaring continuously without any sign of getting better.

I also started taking high doses of Vitamin D this week after being diagnosed with very low Vitamin D levels. I wonder if that can make you more tired than usual? I don’t think it should, but stranger things have happened. LOL

In other news … our neighbors house has finally been rented and the new people moved in today. Actually they’ve been moving in slowly all week, but today they had a moving van and they are here for their first overnight stay.

I’m not sure that I’m going to like these new people. So far they seem like real duds. Maybe they should have looked into Wilmington NC real estate instead of moving in beside me!

They just don’t seem there when you talk to them. Oh and get this. We have a shared driveway, but it’s so tiny that you can only park one car in the drive at a time … so the guy comes up to us and says that he’s just going to park at the end of the driveway (on the street) from now on. Uhm … isn’t it illegal to block a driveway?

Anyway I guess time will tell if the new people will turn out to be Ok neighbors or big pains in the butt. My guess is that I won’t be out in my garden much this summer.

I swear that my Labrador Retriever, Midnight, believes in the Food Fairy.

Oh sure she knows where food comes from … you know, the top of the fridge (dog cookies), the fridge, the dog food bin under the table, the kitchen counter (mmm carrots!), occasionally our plates (tender pieces of chicken breast), and of course the kitchen cupboards.

Still, she’s convinced that there’s some other magical place that food comes from … I’m sure of it.

Why?

Well, you see, whenever Chris or I take her outside for a walk the first thing she does when she comes back in the house is to run into the kitchen to check her food bowl. Sometimes she actually finds food in her bowl and I’m sure she must wonder where the heck it came from … hence the reason I think my dog believes in the Food Fairy.

When food magically appears in her bowl what actually happened is that Chris or I stayed in the house and perhaps ate a granola bar while the dog was out and then placed the crumbs in her bowl. Or maybe I was preparing dinner when Chris took her out and I placed some veggie scraps (piece of tomato, carrot, cucumber etc) in her bowl as a surprise.

Ever since she started receiving these magical food offerings, which happen very rarely I might add, she’s always made a habit of checking her food bowl every single time she comes back in from outside.

Does your dog believe in the food fairy too?

BTW I’m still waiting for the money fairy to make a surprise visit to our house!

Chris and I are having a cozy night at home this New Years eve. It’s much too cold (-22 C (-7.6 F)) to go down to Nathan Philips Square to watch the City TV New Years show and well … going out to a bar to celebrate is much too expensive.

Besides, our Toronto live show always sucks. Sorry … but it does. No big name entertainers, only up and coming possible future stars.

So we’re cuddled up on the couch with our dog Midnight and we’re watching the Niagara Falls (Ontario, Canada) celebration on TV. Roger Hodgson, one of the co-founders of Supertramp, is headlining the Niagara Falls show and he’s amazing.

I saw SuperTramp in concert on their last official tour of the original band. I believe it was in 1983. Yes, I know like all big bands that state “this is our final tour” they have come back again a few times, but never with all the original band members (I believe).

Supertramp has always been one of my favorite bands. Yes, I love classic rock (and indie, punk, techno - but classic rock will always be my favorite). Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Cheap Trick and similar bands along with Supertramp are in my top ten list.

So far I’ve heard Roger Hodgson sing The Logical Song, Give a Little Bit, Dreamer, School, and Take the Long Way Home - pretty much the top SuperTramp hits.

I’ve watched the Niagara Falls New Years show in the past and their performers (always big names) usually play until 12:30 so if you can get E or a CJOH station tune in. It’s a good show! kim Mitchell (Max Webster) is also playing. Maybe one year Chris and I will go to Niagara Falls for New Years and see their show.

Now as for the new year? I don’t really make New Years Resolutions. If I do at all it’s to be healthier in the new year than the year past. So far that hasn’t happened for me. I just keep getting sicker. But hey … I can hope, can’t I?

Actually I do have a little more hope for health in 2009.

A few days ago I got a call from my doctors office telling me that my Vitamin D levels were really low. That’s bad news but it gives me some hope. Now that might explain all my muscle stiffness and bone pain (and maybe my increasing back pain) and trouble sleeping over the last year or so. (Yeah, I don’t think being deficient in vitamin D is new, just newly discovered) So maybe now that I’m taking a heavy duty dose of Vitamin D I’ll start feeling a little better. Honestly if I could feel 25% better it would be wonderful, 50% better would be almost miraculous. I don’t dare hope for more than that, but it would be nice.

Whatever you are doing this evening - enjoying time with friends and family, attending a New years party or event or just staying in like my husband and I, I do hope that you are having a wonderful New years eve and I wish you all the best in the New Year.

Thank you for being loyal readers. You have no idea how much I appreciate your visits and comments. Happy New Year.

This weeks Photo Hunt theme is squeaky

When Midnight was a young pup there was nothing she loved more than her blue squeaky toy. She carried it around with her everywhere. For months our house was filled with the sound of her squeaking her toy continuously. I even used a spare one to call her back to me whenever she’d wander into another room (that worked great!).

Of course the toy was rubber and she loved to bite at the top of it (I think it had ears, but only for a short while) and eventually she’d bite through the toy with her sharp little baby teeth. Even though we had to replace the toys frequently they lasted longer than most of her other toys, even ones that were supposed to be more durable.

For instance, that toy tire that’s beside her in the picture above had chunks bitten out of it within days of us giving it to her and it was made of a much tougher material. So I think she actually tried not to do too much damage to her beloved squeaky.

Once her baby teeth started falling out and were replaced by stronger adult teeth she’d go through her squeaky toys in no time at all so we had to take them away.

I still have a few of her blue squeaky toys around though and every once in a while I’ll pull one out and make it squeak just to see her reaction. She still loves it.

Perhaps one day when she calms down more and hopefully loses her desire to chew each and every toy she owns to pieces we’ll be able to give her another squeaky toy.

Does your dog or cat have a favorite toy? Is it noisy? I must admit that the squeaks drove us nuts at first, but it made her happy and kept her occupied and that was helpful since puppies are a handful to begin with!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my visitors and regular readers a very Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays.

I hope that you’re able to spend some time with close family and friends during the holiday season.

Now remember … don’t decorate the dog (or cat). They don’t make good Christmas ornaments …

Even if they are awfully cute!   That’s one sad looking dog though, isn’t it?

We’ll be spending some time with the in-laws today. Chris’ brother came up from Chicago with one of his sons so we’ll be getting together with the gang for a Christmas meal and at some point over the next few days we’ll have a house full of guests!

I have to admit that over the last few years - since I’ve been so sick (with Crohn’s) and since losing both of my parents I don’t have a lot of Christmas spirit. However I try to make the best of it and try to cherish time with friends and family. That’s what the holidays are for, right?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!