Friday, January 27, 2012

snow day!!

so it snowed allllllllll day today - maybe a bit of freezing rain too.  We had planned to pop in town for some groceries, but decided to wait for tomorrow when the weather has improved.  It's odd that, although we can (and sometimes do) shop anytime or any day, somehow we manage to wind up in the stores on Saturday afternoon - the busiest time.  duh!!!

Well there may not be any sign of Spring soon, but there are signs that NASCAR is gearing up for the season.  Got an email today from Bill that said - "26 days to go" and Rick's brother emailed from Florida that he purchased tickets for the Gatorade Duals!  All pointing to cars going round and round - FAST in a few short weeks. 

A quick mention that our pellet stove is still our primary source of heat this winter and we're quite comfortable - only on the coldest nights have we turned the heaters on.

We've been picking up some great shows lately on VH1 Classic - last night was an interesting special with The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White called "it might get loud"  -  good title!   Tonite is a documentary on The Who - that we're looking forward to watching.   When I was growing up listening to these bands (The Who, Zepplin, Cream etc.) it was all about the music - the sound -because other than album covers and the occasional performance on Ed Sullivan show, we had little visual idea of the musicians - so I find it interesting to watch these old videos and recordings of bands performing from the '60's and '70's.  Besides they were really good!!!

We've been getting lots and lots of deer lately and lots of birds at the feeders.  Buddy hangs out under the feeders as long as he can stand the cold, but he hasn't caught anything yet! (good thing) 



tonite's picture - deer feeding in the side yard and birds and a really pretty sunset from last week .






Friday, January 20, 2012

cold weather

well - classic winter weather now - snow every other day and cold.  Parking lots are slushy and yukky to walk in.  oh well, now we can start dreaming of Spring.

we didn't have a really busy week - but steady.  This weekend should be quiet (the cold keeps people at home) but we're watching the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction on TV.  Rick pays far more attention than I do - I really only pay attention to the odd-ball cars - like a Beatles replica Yellow Submarine etc. or Doris Day's Mercedes (it sold for $7500 - I can afford THAT!!!!  It is entertaining to watch.

Our pellet stove is still impressing me - we are hardly using our electric heat at all.  Our kilo-watt usage for December was about the same as our September usage (when we don't have any heat on at all)  so it is certainly making a difference.  We have had the electric heat on a couple of times this month though - like when is it minus 20 degrees - the second floor can be a bit cold.

We're getting lots of deer - in fact I see them all over the front lawn most evenings.  Kris continues to feed them - but they are gobbling up a LOT of food.   Lots of birds at our feeders too - chickadees, woodpeckers and blue jays mostly.  Keeps the cats entertained!!!!  They get soooooooo bored at this time of year.

Friday, January 13, 2012

buddy likes the suet ball

well I think it is safe to say that winter is finally here!!   We don't have a TON of snow and I don't think the snow mobile trails are open yet, but the roads sure feel like winter driving!!!  We've just sort of had light snow all day and then blowing snow tonight.  A good night to stay off the roads.

Fairly quiet week in real estate - a few showings - that's about it.  Typical for this time of year - and the wintery weather keeps people at home, too.  We're doing an Open House tomorrow on Calabogie Road - hopefully we'll get a few people through - it's supposed to be clear tomorrow (which is good) but very cold!

We're still very happy with our pellet stove - we've hardly had the electric heaters on at all - only when it's been minus 15 degrees or so.  Most of the time, we just have the stove on.  It's doing a better job that I had thought it would - certainly the kitchen has NEVER been that warm.



Today's picture is Buddy playing with the suet ball we put out for the birds.