Long Time No Update!

Almost a week since an update, good grief! I blame the weather... we've had a good bit of snow here... the last storm brought about 25 cm... they forecasted 40 cm, so I'm a little disappointed, but that's ok. It's also been cold and we haven't seen the sun in days... well until today... its finally sunny out and today, I don't feel near so blah as I have for days! Funny how that works!!

I finished caulking all the windows last week... and that helped some.... last weekend Shawn and I installed that plastic film stuff over all the upstairs windows (except the one over the hot tub, which needs to get done yet)... everything you need to install the plastic comes in the package. Tape, plastic, a cutter tool and a tape measure. You put up the tape, cut the plastic, stick it down and then turn the hair dryer on hot to remove the wrinkles. It has worked amazingly well! We'll do the downstairs ones yet too.

The goats are doing ok.... they are annoyed by the weather and have been staying inside their shelter a fair bit. They are both wearing their fancy blankets. I bought two more blankets in the next size up last week, in purple and Bert is wearing one of the new ones... Ernie is still in the smaller size, but I did notice its getting shorter across the back. (It takes a very cute goat to pull off the colour purple and Bert does a great job!) (I got the different sizes in different colours so in the dark, in the cold, in the wind, it would be easier to tell which blanket goes on which goat!)

The Rogers guy is supposed to come out today and do something about the coax cable running across our driveway. Its a huge pain in the ass... moving it because the snow removal guy MIGHT come... so like 6 or so times a day we're out there moving it out of the way and tying it to a post or moving it back so we can have internet access. Pretty classy. Obviously there's no way they are going to get it buried now til spring, so we're just looking at them installing another length and running it up the fence line, behind the stonedust pile, around the white and red sheds and across the new fence line and down the side of the house. This means we'll have to walk across it, but no one will need to drive across it ... not the snow plow that would chew its into a million pieces. Hopefully it works out the way I hope... because otherwise it might just drive me nuts.

Speaking of the snow removal guy... he does a great job!! He generally comes in the evening, between 7 - 9pm... but he did comes the other day after the big snow around noon. We managed to get out to get Shawn to work that morning (Monday?) but getting back in was a real trick... and technically I should have just been stuck. It was so deep the bottom of the van was scraping the snow. A Hagey lecture came back to me, an oldie but a goodie, about EASING the car through the deep snow... don't try to give it much gas... blah, blah... I'm sure you all can recall this particular lecture ;) Anyhow, to Daddy's credit, it did work... I eased it back and forward and back and forward, finally getting all the way up the hill and was able to pull straight under the tarped building. Who knew Hagey lectures could be useful? :) I may have to re examine my entire childhood now ;)

This weekend we have some stuff planned... Friday night we're going to the Centrepointe theatre and we're going to see the Nepean Choir, A Festive Noel with the Northwinds Brass. Should be fun.

Then Sunday night, we're back at the Centrepointe Theatre to see the 22nd Annual Festival of Carols, presented by the Salvation Army.

We're looking forward to having an excuse to go out... I like time alone, but with winter and stuff I start to feel a bit stir crazy and going out and seeing neat Christmas musical performances is fun. Its very different now that Shawn is the only other human I see regularly... unless I go out shopping or something!! Not that I had a big social life before we came out here, but we did have regular enjoyable visits with my parents on Friday night... and my family on Sundays. I did also interact fairly regularly with people at the boarding stable... nevermind not seeing my girl daily now!!

That's the thing when your kids are out of public school... you don't automatically get to go and see different performances, though I imagine and hope they will be in my future again... getting to see shows my daughter is involved with!! :)

The dogs are doing fine... they love this weather, the freaks! Buddy often forgets how old he is and runs around crazy in the snow.. then comes in, lays on the couch for a while and when he gets up his shoulder is a bit stiff... nothing horrible... just the mind not aging with the body. They do enjoy being able to just run out the back door... as do we... when its cold we just stand at the door and watch them and don't have to freeze! :)

Oh Shawn and I made vanilla fondant last night... twas easy and fun! I found vanilla bean at Bulk Barn and I put a whole bean (cut up with scissors) into the fondant. Of course, its very rich and you can only eat a bit at a time, so this batch will likely last us a while and I won't be in a rush to make another. It's really just pure sugar :)

I'm probably forgetting stuff, as usual... but that's all that's coming to me for now. I should go out and check my goats and wait for the Rogers guy to arrive. Super fun.

** Updated at 2:30pm... The Rogers guy arrived around noon and ran a big long cable around like we wanted. The signal strength is of course slightly less, but it should get us through winter. Now the cable is just a minor tripping hazard in 2 places, instead of a snow blower hazard... I'd really rather trip and fall than have one of my main means of communicating with the outside world severed!! Priorities! ;)

While I was waiting for the Rogers guy, I also got my Christmas cards written, stamped and ready to mail off... Shawn hasn't done HIS yet... but I did mine *neener neener*. ;) I'm going up to the post office later, so I'll get them sent off early... yay :)

I also wrapped a couple presents, but I'm not telling anymore than that.. .secret Christmas stuff you know.... don't want to RUIN Christmas!! ;)

Need to go clean my goats... I trimmed their feet a bit this morning, but I don't feel I did a good job... I brought them up to the white building to do and they both had way too much fun in there, jumping on the stack of hay and doing all sorts of things they really shouldn't. Ernie was entirely unable to stand quietly while tied... so while I managed to get his feet trimmed, I had a hard time doing Bert's with him leaping and jumping all around me! Brat. Next time I'll enlist Shawn's help... or maybe we can get a "goat stand" built sometime soon... maybe TWO :)