Snow and Seven Degrees of Separation - A Fun Tidbit to Share

DH worked very hard yesterday shoveling the driveway again after I had already headed to work (I shoveled it completely before leaving for the gym several hours earlier, but it was snowing consistently, so needed another pass). He then tackled the roof and got the snow down from it. 

DH worked hard on the roof after I had gone to the 
shop. We need to keep the snow off the roof as much 
as possible or we get leaks in the attic which is a 
VERY bad thing. DH has it down to a science, but 
it's hard work for a man approaching 70 years of age. 

I had shoveled the driveway before leaving for the swimming pool, and then, when I got to the store, I shoveled and salted over there. Fortunately our temps stayed barely above freezing all day, so I only had to shovel the one time and the walkways were still clear when I left at night. DH, on the other hand, had to shovel the driveway at home one more time before I got home. I suspect we got some snow and some blowing snow overnight, so I'll probably start my own day by shoveling the driveway yet again - LOL. 

Yesterday's snow was a beautiful snow, with 
enough moisture to coat each individual branch 
on the trees. Here's my chestnut maple from my 
front yard, all dressed in winter finery. So pretty! 

It's the routine for winter in the Frozen Northlands, and part of my exercise routine, to be honest. I get a lot of excellent cardio working on the driveway and walks. I don't, however, do the roof - EVER. That's DH's job and he does it well. I know some people use cables to melt the ice/snow buildup, and in some cases they work well. But we've found that pulling the snow off the roof is really the only thing that works in our house to eliminate roof leaks during the cold months. Maybe a teepee would be easier - LOL. 

Tipis (or teepees) are remarkably comfortable dwellings 
that are quite portable. For someone experienced, they 
can be erected within a half-hour, and if the inside is 
correctly hung, it's snug and dry. Putting snow around the 
exterior helps insulate against the cold, and a small fire 
can easily heat the interior to a comfortable temperature. 

At the shop, our clients are shifting from those making gifts for the holidays to those wanting to purchase items already made. Selling jewelry, pottery, katchinas and paintings always makes me happy. They go to good homes, and we get dollar amounts that would take a LOT of beads to match. My long-time friend and customer dropped by yesterday to pick up beads for her relative in Israel where she will be heading next week. It was wonderful to catch up with her. She's also on WildFit - a fact that we only found out when seeing each other in one of the Zoom calls held earlier in the year. She's actually met the founder of WildFit - her granddaughter is "best friends" with Eric's young daughter in the Dominican Republic. What a hoot! There's my five steps from fame for WildFit and I just love it. 

Apparently my long-time customer and 
friend Ellen Sue's daughter has a time 
share condo in the Dominican Republic, 
where her daughter became firm friends 
with Eric Edmeades' young daughter 
Zoe. The two girls were joined at the hip, 
so Ellen Sue had an opportunity to meet 
Eric over dinner one night while the girls 
were together playing. What a wonderful 
thing for her, and of course, the girls were 
just happy to be together. 

So, today I'll be baking a new type of gluten-free brownies, grocery shopping, and doing general stuff around the house. Next week I only get Friday off, and the week after, I actually don't get ANY days off  since we're holding our End of the Year 4-Day Sale on the 27th-30th. (Sorry Aearwen - I didn't think about that when we were talking on Wednesday. It looks like the 23rd will be our final conversation of the year)! On that note, I'm out of here. Have a fabulous Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Minor Frustrations and Positive Thoughts - Real Idol, Etsy and Cooking

This week's story for my writing challenge group (Live Journal Real Idol) was limited to votes from contestants only. But, we had to read all of the stories submitted and comment, if we felt like it. We also had to rate each story and send the rating we had given to the moderator. It was a LOT of reading - almost 75 stories - and originally Gary gave us 2 days in which to accomplish this. I was one of several who said "No way". So he extended the review/vote time but will cut down on the amount of time we have to write our next story. That was fine with me. I finally finished reading and reviewing yesterday morning and sent off my results. Now I'm waiting for the new prompt. I'll have to push a story through quickly, but I rarely have a problem writing to a deadline. 

There's nothing quite like having a dead mouse for a 
computer. They've become so essential in our lives over 
the past decades. Fortunately Voodoo has a touch screen 
and a built-in pen, so I was able to finish and submit 
what I needed. But it was more stumbly than it would 
have been if my mouse had been working. I'll buy 
a new mouse today! 

Of course, as I opened Voodoo up yesterday, ready to finish reading and submit my votes, my mouse was suddenly malfunctioning. I changed the battery, and it was still a no-go. Fortunately, it's a touch-screen and it also has a built-in pen, so between those two, I was able to get my list completed and sent off. I'll be buying a new mouse today, though. I use a mouse most frequently and really can't do without it for long. 

I found this lovely recipe for baked salmon 
in foil. My piece is smaller than this, about 
half the size, but it should work just fine. 

We're in Lent, of course, so Hubby prefers fish on Fridays. He'll probably ask for McDonald's fish tonight, but if not, he has some frozen fillets. I'll try to ask him his preference before I head to the store today. I bought a lovely piece of salmon for myself which I will oven bake in foil with fresh herbs and sliced lemon. Maybe some Brussels sprouts in the oven on a sheet pan as well. I'm already looking forward to it. LOL. 

I've been a part of Eric Edmeades's "The 
Abundance Challenge" over this week, running 
one day behind since the Zoom calls are during 
my work hours. It's been a fascinating 
class, very eye-opening. I know I'm a very 
fortunate person in general, and I embraced 
a lot of what he proposes long ago, but I'm 
still learning new things, so that's great. 

I suspect today will be a very busy day. I need to catch up on my latest Master Class - I haven't been able to attend the live Zoom classes, they have been while I've been at work. But I've been catching the replays the next day. It's a class in Abundance and it's been fascinating and educational. I'd also love to get to Half Price Books when they open at 10:00 am today. I have two boxes of books that I'd like out of my house and into their recycling system. So, as usual, it's going to be a busy day. 

I'm a bit frustrated with Etsy right now. I'm ready to 
go live, but something is stopping me from doing that. 
I did what I could yesterday without results, so I sent 
an Email off to their Customer Service department 
which promises 2-3 day response. I guess it'll be next 
week before I can be operational. Oh well, one more 
delay isn't horrible. 

Oh, and Etsy is NOT live yet. I'm having some issues with them and sent an email off to their customer support yesterday. I'm not expecting an answer for 24-48 hours, so it'll be next week before I'm up and running (or growling at a long email exchange between a customer service agent and myself). I'll be sure to let you know when I'm live, though. Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Think positive thoughts and do positive actions today. The 
actions you do will influence those around you, and their 
actions will spread to others as well. Positive thoughts and 
actions can cause positive reactions in turn. Let's spread 
peace and love today. 

Have an excellent Friday. Try to stay calm, think positive thoughts because that positivity can be contagious, and focus on peace in your life. Be that stone that starts the ripple that brings peace to one small part of our world. I'll be back tomorrow. 

It's Cold, I'm Busy, It All Sounds Just About Normal - LOL

Today is a VERY cold day, and of course, as a day off, I have a bunch of things that need to get done. I have my cooking class on Friday's day off, so I need to make sure I have everything I need for that when I go to the grocery later today. I think I have a zoom call at 10:30 am. Eric Edmeades (the founder of WildFit) is presenting a book that he co-wrote with his father Baz Edmeades on food, and I'd like to see it, so I'll try to arrange my schedule accordingly. But I have a lot that has to be done today and we're going to have wicked wind chills for the next 48 hours. I'll try to keep my outside stuff to a minimum, but I'll have to be out in the cold at least part of the day. 

It's easy to see where Eric got his good looks from. His 
father, Baz, is quite good looking too. Baz wrote a book 
called "Megafauna: First Victims of the Human-Caused 
Extinction" that was published late last year. I have a 
copy in my e-books, and will be reading it in a few 
months (I try to read down my TBR list in order of 
purchase whenever possible). I'm looking forward to 
reading it, though. 

Today will be a day when it's so cold it will squeak. Those of you who have never experienced cold like this won't understand, but those who have will totally hear that "squeak" in their heads as I mention it. It's a day that when you move your food and it moves sideways a bit before becoming stationary, it squeaks. We're stuck in this latest cold snap for the nest 24-48 hours, but fortunately we're not expected to get any snow, so I won't be stuck freezing while making sure the driveway and walkways are cleared. 

This could easily be a photo of my side yard's roofline. 
It's not my house, there are a few differences, but the 
joining of the different angles of roof are almost 
identical. DH scrapes the snow off the front and side 
yard roofline constantly throughout the winter. It's 
the only way we can avoid ice dams, which would 
cause roof damage as they melted. It's a lot of 
work, but it keeps our house safe. 

DH took advantage of our rather nice temperatures yesterday and raked higher on the roofline around the house. We do have an ice ridge on the roof along the upstairs hallway, and that's not melting or coming down, but he did manage to get 1-2 feet beyond that point to clear away the snow. We do have to keep an eye on things or we'll leak into the house from ice dams, something that seems to be endemic with this house if we don't keep a careful, close eye on things. 

This is NOT my house, but it is a really good photo of 
an ice dam on a different house. Ice dams are massively 
destructive. The photo shows one that's really bad. This 
house probably has leaking ceilings and possible will 
have actual roof and gutter damage by the end of the 
season. Ice dams are nothing to ignore. 

I tried to get my Friday swim reserved yesterday and once again was unable to. I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, I remembered my reservation almost an hour late, and now the reservation system won't allow me to make my reservation at 5:05 am any more, I'm supposed to wait until 6:05 am instead. When I wait that long, I usually can't get in at all, so I grabbed my 5:00 time on Thursday instead and I'll be on a regular M-W-Th schedule instead from here on. I've set permanent alarms on my phone and made sure I can access the reservation system from home or my phone. I need three days in the pool, but they don't have to be alternated - after all, before Covid I was in the pool six days a week. 

The swim reservation system is set to allow you to make 
a reservation 72 hours beforehand, but no longer than 
that, even if the reservations system is open and there are 
slots available. It's rather frustrating. I had one time when 
I wasn't able to make my reservation at my usual early 
time, and now I'm being penalized for that later time. 
I'm sure eventually they'll get rid of the reservation system 
all together, but right now I'm stuck. 

So, it's a busy day and I have to get going. Have an excellent day, stay warm and comfortable wherever you are. I'm going to be very grateful for my parka and my new gloves today, and I'll return tomorrow. Be kind, be self-aware, and have peace in your life today. Namaste. 

Today Will Be A High Wind Day and Interactions With Eric Edmeades & Old Friends

I'm going to try to get all of my errands completed before noon today, and I also have an 11:00 am Zoom call, so it's going to be a condensed morning filled with this and that, here and there. We have high wind warnings in effect starting at 3:00 pm and continuing for 12 hours. High winds with gusts of 60 mph or more can cause havoc with tree branches and junk carried along by the winds. It's trash day, so the bins will be at the curb. Fortunately my trash collectors usually have mine picked up by noon. My next door neighbor, however, often won't have his picked up until late afternoon. I can already visualize his trash strewn across his yard and maybe some into my own. 

I first met Eric Edmeades through his WildFit food program, 
which uses the seasons and the six human hungers (among 
other things) to allow a person to gain control of their food 
intake, understand nutrition and the needs of the body, and 
generally give the body what it needs for healthy living. 
It worked for me - I haven't felt this good in decades and 
I'm keeping the weight off very comfortably. 

I'm taking a five-day Zoom course guided by Eric Edmeades called "Limiting Beliefs". It's a course designed to help you recognize and knock down the barriers you've created around yourself during the course of your life. It's excellent, as all of his courses are; one of a two-pack of new courses he is releasing over the next few months. They always leave me with a great deal to think about, and they push me to recognize the boxes I've built around myself and how to move them out of my way. I'd love to be home for today's live Zoom today instead of catching it on replay. I caught most of yesterday's at the shop, but Monday's I had to watch later. 

I'm sorry about the noise in the photo. Eric doesn't have 
an official splash screen for "Limiting Beliefs" yet. We're 
the first class, and it's not an "official" part of his roster 
yet, but will be within the next year. So far I'm pretty 
impressed with the course. It's making me think about 
beliefs I've held since I was a child and how those 
beliefs have influenced my interaction with the larger world. 

It's bee lovely to get some holiday cards from people I haven't heard from for a while. I got cards from my overseas friends Hans Meevis and Iris Schmidt on Monday. Iris loves reindeer, so there are always some reindeer on every card she sends. I used to do Beta reading for her Tolkien-based stories, we grew to be good friends during those days. I don't perform that task for her any more, but we're still in touch over the Holidays and it's always lovely to hear from her. 

Hans is an amazingly talented jeweler, as you can 
see in one of his creations here. I've been fortunate 
to know him on-line for many years now, and his 
skill just gets better and better. 

Hans is another overseas friend whom I've never met in person. He's an extremely talented jeweler, based in the Netherlands. When I first came across him, he was in the Caribbean, then he moved to Germany for a few years, and finally returned to his home base in Eygelshoven, The Netherlands. I love hearing from old friends and acquaintances over the holiday season, it's what makes things bright and happy for me. 

When Hans is not making jewelry, he's making Steampunk
Dinosaur weapons and fantastic futuristic scenarios from 
copper and bronze. Here is one of his T-Rex dinosaurs  
ready to set out on a campaign. The sculptures are large, 
upwards of six inches or more, depending on the dino 
design. For a jeweler, that's huge. The weapons all 
work, and the dino can actually move across the 
landscape. Such a creative mind, my friend Hans has. 
It's an honor to be a friend of his. 

I'm going to plug in some photos, get this posted, and maybe catch up on a few other things before I have to head out to the swimming pool. Have a wonderful and excellent Wednesday and, if I don't blow away to Oz, I'll be back tomorrow.