Wearing a Halo

I swept and washed my kitchen floor this morning. Then I vacuumed the living room after work! You may not be able to see the halo, but it's firmly in place. (My mom would be so proud of me, I know). I've started to set up my Christmas tree but don't have the decorations on it yet.

I was also totally caught up on my marking at school, but since then I've had students hand in a bunch of stuff, so I've got lots to go again.

The piano tuner was over this afternoon. He spent two hours on my piano. Got my damper pedal so that it's much better now. It was very stiff before. It's a brand new piano, but he replaced the spring - thinks that perhaps they installed the wrong spring in the factory, because this one fits exactly (and matches the other springs for the other pedals). Now that it's tuned, the whole sound is much brighter. I think I may have to have him back though - there's an unpleasant buzz on three or four keys (and they're all in the octave just above middle C - I use that octave a lot!).

Counting Blessings

It continues to be "count your blessings weather". Last year I never switched from my "fall coat" - good to around -30C to my winter coat. I'm switching this morning. It's -33 out this morning, -41 with the wind chill. Time to switch coats.

I note that while it's bitter in Regina, it's only -20 in Yellowknife and a balmy -12 in Inuvik. Cambridge Bay is always my comparison point however - it's -33 there this morning, and with the wind chill it's -50!

I can count my blessings that I don't live in Cam Bay.
I can count my blessings that I have a warmer coat to switch to.
I can count my blessings that I don't have to drive to work; don't have to worry about if my car's plugged in; don't have to sit in a cold vehicle waiting for the windshield to warm up enough to see out of it.
I can count my blessings that my apartment is warm; the library where I work isn't too cool and the people I work with warm my heart.

All in all, the cold temperature is a very minor discomfort. (Having said that, I'm envious of Roy and Monica in Mexico!)

Phone Calls

I've just gotten off the phone after visiting with my kids. I always find it very difficult to phone anyone - even my kids. I force myself to do it - and then I cry after I hang up. However, I can be very grateful that we can talk by phone, it's just difficult. I miss them a lot.

Part of it is my own weird phobia - I have a hard time talking to anyone on the phone. I have no difficulty e-mailing, but I get a sort of sinking feeling when I need to phone. When I see the message light flashing, I have to force myself to check messages - and give myself a reward when it's done. I wish that wasn't part of my internal wiring, but it is, so I force myself to do things I don't enjoy and get it done.

Bram's flying in for the Christmas break December 18. Rose doesn't get Christmas off. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Indoors today

It was -25 when I woke up this morning. Now, at noon, it's warmed up to -16. I don't need to go anywhere today. I think it's a good day to just stay indoors and enjoy the fireplace.

Shovelling Snow

I've done that every morning this week before work. It's nice to have snow to shovel. Like mowing the lawn, it's something I've never really done before. Growing up, I had lots of brothers who had that responsibility, and after I was married, it was either my husband or my kids who took it on. As long as there's not too much to do, I kind of enjoy it. Gets my blood working before I go to work and you can see your progress. Unlike some jobs (like housework), there's a definite end to the job. All good things.

Temptation

This is the season for me to fight temptation. That's because everyone has mandarin oranges. I really like mandarins. However, I'm mildly allergic to citrus. If I eat too many oranges, I get laryngitis. I used to get laryngitis every year in December and I could never figure out why, until Lloyd pointed out that the only time I ever ate citrus fruit was in December.

Now to add to temptation, the local grocery store has pomellos in. If you don't know what a pomello is - it's sort of like a grapefruit on steroids. The ones I've bought are about the size of a cantelope, and they're much sweeter than grapefruit, but definitely the same grapefruit-like flavour. I had a student in Yellowknife that would bring me 1-2 a week (imported directly from China) when they were in season.

So in three days I've eaten an entire pomello and a mandarin. I hope I won't be sorry. I think I'd better restrict myself for several days now.

Chores

One thing I've noticed about living by myself is how little some chores need to be done. I'm doing laundry this morning. About once every three weeks I run out of clothes and figure it's about time. Thursday I bought groceries. That's about once every two weeks. (Mind you, I eat lunch in the cafeteria at least twice a week.)

Unfortunately, some chores still have to be done at very regular intervals. Dishes must get washed. (God bless dishwashers - and they have to be unloaded/reloaded about once a week). Floors must be swept.

Some chores don't have to be done at all. Beds don't really have to be made - just the covers flipped back. Then when I do laundry (and put away all of my clothes), make the bed really, really well.

It's time to put a new load in the wash.