March 11, 2007

Spring is definitely in the air. The snow has fallen completely from the part of the roof with southern exposure. The part of the roof with northern exposure boasts an impressive, one-foot thick ice sheet. The ice used to be snow cover and has been transformed by mild temperatures and rain into a sheet of ice that overhangs menacingly from the roof. Now that the warm weather is beginning, it should fall in the next few days.

Yesterday was beautiful! The sun shone warm on the snow, the evergreens boasted deep green cover and the sky was brilliantly blue. It was a wonderful day for being out and about.

Luna, Janus, Imp, Elf, Benny and Bim were all here on Saturday. It is a long journey from theirs to ours, but they made it in good time and with good cheer. The grandbabies have grown! They are alert and curious, aware of their hands and totally delightful. Luna and Janus are holding up well, if a little tired. They make a happy family. They stayed overnight and after a blueberry pancake breakfast, prepared by Attila, they loaded their considerable amount of gear and the six of them headed off into the sunshine for the drive home. I called them yesterday evening to make sure they had arrived safe and sound, and so they had.

Yesterday afternoon, after our descendents had all left for home, I struck out on my daily walk. It is one of the sweet indulgences I succumb to, when not working. This year there is no snowmobile trail heading off into the nearby bush, so I am confined to walking the roads. No matter, since the road is a glorified trail through the bush and is quite beautiful in its own right.

The snow, on such a day as yesterday, has given up her strength. Every step breaks the surface and compacts her crystals that immediately begin to melt. The surface of the snow beneath the trees is crystalline, and sparkles brilliantly in the sun that penetrates through the bare and waving branches above.

The time changed on the weekend, we in Ontario are following the American lead in changing to DST on March 11, 2007. The clocks sprang forward by one hour. This morning Attila and I arose at 6 A.M. DST, in the dark. We breakfasted at 7:00 A.M. DST, in the dark. When Attila left at 7:30 A.M. DST, there was enough light to make out the landscape and see the door handle on the car. This will take some getting used to.

I have given up my search for the cable I need to transfer my camera images to my computer. I called Fuji and within a week another cable arrived in the mail. A wonderful company to deal with!

My days have not settled into any sort of pattern yet. I have been home full time for one and one half weeks. The time has flown, as I have sent out numerous applications for employment and prepared the house for grandbabies visit.

March 16, 2007

It has been an exciting week!

I applied for a job as a customer service rep, aka bank teller, wrote the test and failed it along with everyone else who has applied for the job! Since I am in excellent company I can only pity the bank manager who cannot hire because no one can pass the test. It was a “test” asking questions about one’s interest in “persuading” others, among other things, which seems to me is a round about way of asking if you enjoy high pressure sales. Instead of advertising for a customer service position, they should be upfront about it and change the job description to customer marketing representative.

The snow came off the roof on the north side of the house, and sheared off the deck in one fell swoop. I was sitting at the computer when it came down; it was thunderous and shook the whole house. Now Attila has to patch it up, as it ripped holes in the side of the house. We have to keep the weather and the critters out. Right now there is a door leading out of the second story to the non-existent deck. We will partially wall this in and put in a window instead.

Not only do I enjoy my days here at home, it actually improves the quality of our lives in significant ways. My allergy prevents us from buying readily available products such as bread, so that having time to bake improves our diet and saves us a lot of money. Also, health care becomes feasible, as I can use the car during office hours to visit the laboratory for my prescribed blood tests. Telephone calls to service companies such as Bell Telephone become possible, because I am able to call during office hours. Life is just so much easier when someone in the household can attend to issues with limited hours companies.