Behind as Usual

I seem to spend my life perpetually trying to play catch-up!

Yesterday was a fairly good day. Took a walk. Saw the beavers. Ran an errand. Did some housework. I did name this blog My New Uneventful Life, if anyone thinks to complain. Lol. Today I didn't get out for a walk. Husband had the car so I didn't drive to my normal park. The neighbourhood still has too much ice to feel safe walking on. Most people - even though they are supposed to - don't clear off the pavements. Besides, it was really, really cold this morning. So cold that I did bundle up and go outside trying to freeze, and take photos of, bubbles. I'm not sure how they turned out. You guessed it, I'm playing catch-up sorting out photos. 

I did get around to sorting out several problem areas that I've been meaning to take care of. I just feel like I've mainly moved the things from one place to another though. I really need to start decluttering. I need to work on books. I find it really tough though. Daughter says I should concentrate more on ebooks, but there is just something about holding a real book that it just so soothing and comforting. Electronic books are just not the same. Sigh. However, I do have some books both in physical form and as an ebook, so perhaps I should start there. ? Maybe? 

Regarding other decluttering, how do you decide what to keep and get rid of? What happens if it was something given to you? How do you make the choice? 

I really think I'm overthinking this a little. Sigh. 

I did manage one box of donation for January. I am going to try another box for February. Baby steps lol. 

Oh, the car had an oil change. There's nothing else wrong. Except one of the lights on my licence plate was out (there are two). The mechanic says as long as I have one working, I should be alright. He has ordered a replacement (as the holder needing replacing too). 

A Photo - an icicle. Husband did not clear off the roof last snow go round so we now have lots of icicles. 

Monday, Monday

It was colder this morning when I woke. It's going to be a cold week in general. I bundled up to take my morning walk. I wasn't too happy as there wasn't supposed to be any precipitation at all but it was snowing. The roads weren't snow covered, but there was a light dusting on them. I can drive on them, but it makes me really anxious. 

I went for my walk. The wind started blowing and it got pretty cold. By the time I left my face was bright red from the cold. I had taken my shopping list on my walk with me and managed to drive okay to the shops. I made the mistake of going back to the large supermarket I went to last week. The shelves were pretty bare. I got a lot of what I needed but there are a couple of things that I couldn't get there. I shall have to go somewhere else later in the week. I've done my meal plan and have enough for a few days at least. 

Tomorrow morning will be even colder. It's going to 8f/-13c when I go for my walk in the morning. It will be a short one as - depending on the wind - it might feel even colder and not safe to stay outside too long. I shall be wearing layers, handwarmers and tomorrow I think double socks and toe warmers. I want to get out tomorrow as my husband is taking my car to work with him on Wednesday to get an oil change and a look over at the mechanic's. The company he works for has a mechanic who does outside work too, so husband is taking the car there. 

I'm pretty sure that by tomorrow the lake where I walk shall be frozen. Most of it was frozen today, but the beavers were keeping a small area open. I saw two of them this morning. 

One beaver kept popping up here. 

And this is by their lodge where they are keeping a small area open. It will be interesting to see tomorrow whether they can still manage to keep it open!

Sunday Adventure

We did go out today. The drive was more than a little scary. We only got an extra little dusting of snow, but the further north we drove the worst the roads became. Husband is such a good driver in the snow, but even the main roads were snow/ice covered and the motorway, in parts, was a nightmare. It was tempting to turn back but the exits from the motorways were worse than the actual roads so we kept going. 

It was beautiful when we finally got where we were going. There was sunshine! The skies were beautifully blue. We had a good walk. I ended up walking more than husband. We went to park in the car park by the beach, but it hadn't been plowed and husband didn't want to get stuck so he drove to another car park that had been plowed and I walked along the beach to meet him there. We did some more walking then. 

While I was walking along the beach I saw lots of ice balls in the lake. Amazing to watch. I actually got more than a little distracted by them. Hope you can see the video below. They were quite large!

A couple of phone photos of the sunshine! Such blue skies!

The drive home was a little less eventful, as the road crews had been through and, although it was below freezing, the salt on the roads melted most of the snow. 

So glad we made the most of the sunshine as when we got back home it was cloudy. 

I'm off to bed. Really tired. Walking through snow is quite tiring! 

Saturday

No sunshine today. There was almost a tiny bit, but only a glimpse and then it was gone. A bit of snow. We did go out for a drive about. I didn't take many photos. I have a couple of phone ones I'll share further down. We did get to see five eagles today so that was nice. They didn't stay put long enough and were quite far away, that I didn't get photos, but lovely to see nonetheless. While we were out and about we stopped at Yoder's store, an Amish bakery and goods store to pick up some bread and a pie as a treat. We don't do it often, but their baked goods are so tasty! While we were driving back down the snowy country roads we did see an Amish cart and buggy in front of us. Quite nice to see. 

Most of the afternoon was spent lazily. I did a bit of sorting that I've been putting off in-between watching some television, reading and fiddling with photos. Nothing too exciting. We have no great plans for tomorrow. It's a sort of see-what-happens day. I had big plans of where I wanted us to go for our Sunday Adventure. Unfortunately, the area we were going to is under a Winter Storm Warning so we'll see in the morning how much snow fell and whether we'll go there or not. We shall go out somewhere. 

A phone photo from today. 

This is where we saw some of the eagles. There were three perched on the last tree, one adult and two juveniles. They have a nest pretty close to here. 

I mentioned the Cooper's Hawk on a previous post. Here's a couple of the photos. Even though it's a predator it is a really beautiful bird. 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Well, it finally happened....SUNSHINE!!

There was actually a sunrise this morning!!! So happy! It was really cold.  But when I looked out of my back window and saw the promise of the sun I bundled up with lots of layers and headed out. 

I got to see a sunrise and some sunshine! It was absolutely wonderful. As cold as it was I was the only crazy person out early and it was so peaceful. Some phone photos. 

The beavers had been busy overnight as it snowed, and I could tell that there was fresh work at the beaver lodge. 

You can see where they have piled up fresh mud on top of the lodge. The weather is turning colder, the lake is freezing, and I think they know that they are going to be inside for a while. I was lucky enough to see some of them this morning. Wonderful!

I came straight home after my walk. The roads weren't the greatest. Clouds rolled in and then the snow started. Goodbye sunshine. It's been snowy and bitterly cold all afternoon. We're under a gale watch too so the winds are pretty strong. 

I got some household stuff done, had a nice warm bath and have been sorting through some photos this afternoon as well as messaging with my sister, catching up on all the news from home. 

I'm not sure what the weekend will hold. It depends on the weather, how much more snow we will get. I am prepared not to go far and do some crafty stuff. Husband is a good driver in the snow though and I do have him home for a couple of days so we shall see!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Can you believe we're almost at the end of January? 

It snowed again last night and most of the day today. They seem to have caught up on the roads though, so I did at least go out for a walk. It was snowy and the trees were covered with white. It's just below freezing, and the snow is thick, wet and fluffy. This lot we are getting now is Lake Effect Snow. I think that's when cold air passes over warm water and causes snow. We get it as we are just close enough to Lake Michigan. I'm hoping to be able to make it out for a walk tomorrow, but I'll just see how it is in the morning. We'll be going out somewhere at the weekend so if I have to stay inside I will. I suppose this is when meal planning pays off as I have everything I need for the meals for the next couple of days. Well, in reality I have a few extras on hand if I don't want to go out but this makes things easier. 

The roads were mostly clear when I came home. I made it just before another round of snow fell and covered the hill outside. I thought I heard one or two cars struggling to get up the hill but then the trucks came through and cleared it off - at least for a while. Husband cleared the driveway and pavements when he got home so it should be easier to get out of the driveway in the morning if I do go out. 

A couple of phone photos from my walk today. I didn't take too many. 

Thursday is a housework-y sort of day and I got all the usual things done. Wasn't sure I would as I got a little distracted by a Cooper's Hawk that landed in the tree when I popped outside to fill the birdfeeders. Obviously, the birds weren't around for a time while he was visiting! I think it might be the same one from the other day. Hopefully, I'll get photos sorted and add a couple to a future post. 

Midweek

I did get out for a walk yesterday. It was a longer one and I'm glad I went for a longer one as it snowed overnight and all day today so I stayed home. Yikes, the day seemed really long! I'm glad I didn't take the car out though. People were struggling up the hill until the snow plough came through later in the day. The snow has stopped for now and I'm hoping we won't get a lot overnight so I can go out for my walk tomorrow. I did watch the birds in the garden for a bit. Yikes, they were going crazy! Probably because they can't find food anywhere else. 

This lovely woodpecker has been stopping by the last few days. It's a Northern Flicker. They are really beautiful and have such a range of lovely colours. Their underneath is yellow. They even have a little red heart on the back on the necks. This one is a female as it does not have red by its beak. 

I didn't get a lot done today. I should have, but I couldn't seem to get motivated. I did do some tidying up that I've been putting off. I got together some things I need to post to daughter - a couple of things I've picked up and a couple of things that got forgotten in the Christmas box. Including this cute box I picked up at the Dollar Tree. 

Isn't it adorable? I've got to think of something different to put inside it now lol. 

It was pretty chilly today - obviously, as it was snowing - but I'm trying to keep the heat down (it has to be on as we can't not have it on - too cold and water pipes and such). I've been wearing what are supposed to be pajama bottoms during the daytime. They are so comfy and warm, too warm to sleep in lol. 

The penguins make me smile too lol. I have a couple of different pairs. 

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Monday Blues

Not a particularly productive day. I had high plans. Didn't work out. It didn't help that I spent the night on the sofa again last night. Sigh. I'm actually dreading bedtime tonight, but I'm so tired I really want to go. I'm hoping I can get to sleep between snores. I'm not sure what else I can do. I wear earplugs already! I've sure lack of sleep didn't help with the energy levels today. 

I went for a walk. Yet another grey day. There is actually no sunshine forecast for any day this week or next weekend, so I think I'm not going to mention it again until the sun actually does shine! Won't that be a red-letter day? It seems so endless, these grey days of winter. 

I didn't see a lot on my walk, but this duck made me smile. It caught a fish! 

They don't tend to eat fish, though it wasn't long ago that I saw a female mallard catch and eat a frog!

I did manage to get to the post office and drop off all my packages. Tomorrow, I have to do a food shop. I'm hoping it's not too busy. We might get snow on Wednesday and sometimes that makes the shops busier. I've written a list for tomorrow but I'm not going to jinx it by showing what I plan to do. Things never seem to go to plan!

Hope everyone had a good start to the week. 

Sunday Adventures

Still grey. We did have a few snow showers today so at least there was a tiny bit of colour around. We did get out for a drive and a quick walk along the beach. It wasn't the greatest day out but at least we managed to get out. 

I came home and got Ebay packages ready for shipping tomorrow. I've been trying to work on my meal plan and becoming a little uninspired. I'm going to get it done tomorrow so I can go to the shops on Tuesday. Tomorrow will consist of something that is entirely in the cupboards and/or freezer. I think I have at least Monday taken care of. I got another post added for my photography project. Not sure it will be done by the end of January, but I am making progress and it will get finished!

Tomorrow I will get up in the morning and go for my walk. It looks to be another grey day, but I shall get out anyway. There is a tiny bit of snow on the ground. 

This week I am going to try to fill up the box I have started for the charity shop. It's halfway there, but my goal is to fill it up so it can leave the house. I've got one more food cupboard to sort and then I'm going to keep working on the freezers. We have a small one with our fridge and a separate chest freezer. The goal is to have them both cleaned out. As some point I'd like to be able to turn off the big one and just use the smaller freezer. Another reason I have to stick to making meal plans! 

A couple of phone photos from our day out today - looking for reflections

Yes, it's Another Grey Day

Surprise, surprise. It was a grey day again. Not enthused about it. We did get out, but I didn't take a lot of photos. I wasn't feeling inspired. It was windy and cold. We walked, but I was more than ready to get home. 

Husband went out with son in the afternoon and early evening. I took a nice bath, read some of my book and played around on my computer. Nothing really exciting, but it was relaxing. I did get a couple more posts done on last years' Big Project - A Year at Asylum Lake. It's really slow going. I need to work on it some more. I am determined that it will be done. 

Tomorrow is expected to be another cloudy day, this time with some snow around. At this point, I'd rather that than rain. We are going out to a Water Treatment Plant. Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. It's a place where wastewater is recycled. There is a part that can be extremely stinky in the warmer weather BUT there are usually lots of ducks and water birds around. It's quite a large place with lots of open fields around.  It is open to the public with a permit for birdwatchers.  It is near the lakeshore, so the plan is to go there and see what birds are around and then maybe go to the lakeshore for a walk. 

A video of yesterday's walk. It's speeded up so hope it doesn't make you dizzy!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!