It is cold here at the little house in the city, -22C. It is also windy. I have a thermostat. This is heavenly.
As cold as I think it is here, Attila has a full scale deep-freeze going on at the country house. It is -32C there at the moment. There are snow squall warnings, although when I talked to Attila it wasn’t snowing, it had earlier. It is after 9:00 p.m., and he has been busy since he got home from work, firing the masonry heater, and toting wood to burn in the little wood stove downstairs. He will be firing the masonry heater again during the night, and then again first thing in the morning. He eats bits of this and that when he gets short breaks from his heating obligations. He is in good spirits, which is more easily accomplished because this cold snap is due to end by the weekend.
Today I attended a Yoga class. I haven’t practised Yoga for over thirty years! This was a beginners class and geared to seniors. I really enjoyed it, and will probably attend weekly. The best part is that it is held within walking distance of the little house! I did not walk today though!
After I returned home from my class, I fixed a quick lunch. It was time to visit the laundromat again, and this time remembered to bring my soap. I brought the clean wet laundry home and hung it all over the house.
Terra and Lares dropped by for a few minutes, as they were in town. We had a pleasant little chat. They have asked Attila and I to dog sit in February, which we will do for them.
No walk today! This morning as I sat at the table eating my breakfast, gazing out the window, I spied the young girl from down the street heading for the school bus. She was clearly having trouble keeping warm, particularly her face. The wind! I had thought I might go out, but when I saw her having such a time in the wind I decided to stay indoors. Tomorrow I will walk.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
The Little House in the City
-23°C
Date: 9:00 PM EST Wednesday 7 January 2015
Condition: Clear
Pressure: 102.9 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -22.5°C
Dewpoint: -28.5°C
Humidity: 59%
Wind: NW 17 km/h
Wind Chill: -33
The Country House
-32°C
Date: 9:00 PM EST Wednesday 7 January 2015
Condition: Clear
Pressure: 102.8 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -31.0°C
Dewpoint: -33.5°C
Humidity: 79%
Wind: calm
Quote
“Hold a book in your hand and you’re a pilgrim at the gates of a new city.”
Anne Michaels
Maggie, I suspect that doing the yoga class counts as good exercise for the day–especially a day this cold when the wind is blowing.
Although the separation is a challenge, it certainly seems from my side of the screen that being at the little house in the city is doing good things for your spirits this winter.
Wendy, my spirits are definitely brighter this winter! Isolation is a terrible thing for when it is not by choice. Thank goodness Attila does not feel isolated at the country hosue, as he is in constant contact with people at work, six days a week, and enjoys it most of the time. So although we miss each other very, very much, this is working for us this winter. It isn’t perfect, but it is a very good start.
You might be right about the Yoga, and I did walk to and from Tank 🙂
I had pleasant moment as I was leaving the Yoga class. I was talking with another woman as we walked out of the building, and the parking lot was very icy. She grabbed my arm for balance, and we walked arm in arm, carefully through the slippery areas until we came to the dry pavement. Such a little thing really, and it left me with a very warm feeling!
It’s 4°F and will get much colder before the night is over. Weather like this makes me nervous because the electric source isn’t always dependable in these tiny mountain communities when it gets this cold. I carry a flashlight with me at night so I can easily access my oxygen tanks if the power should fail and my concentrator stops operating. I’m on 9L02 now – there’s veryveryvery little wiggle room for me. I called my upstairs tenant. He’s lovely though we rarely see each other. I alerted him to my concerns. He’s a dependable source for rescue. Sorry to yak on. I’m a little scared tonight. My three children arrive tomorrow for a long weekend. I’m so excited. More than ever I realize I need to find someone to move in with me. *sigh* Thanks for letting me yak. xo
Reenie, yak away please!
I hope your power stayed on over the night!!!!! It might provide you with peace of mind to have someone there with you to deal with emergencies, particularly during bad weather. Or someone available at the other end of a cell phone call. Or some sort of emergency service that sends someone over at the drop of a hat if you ever hit that big red emergency button. The service seems logical to me, if there is such a thing where you are, because then you don’t have to adjust to someone living there with you, but you are assured of assistance within a given time frame, hopefully minutes, if the power were to fail. You have enough on your plate without having to worry about power failures!!!!
There are generators that kick in automatically if the power fails, all our neighbours at the country house have them (we do not). When the power goes off there is a cacophony of motors running, loud enough to be heard inside our country house.
How wonderful that your three are arriving tomorrow! Enjoy yourself this weekend Reenie!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen/felt it THIS cold before. Wow. I haven’t checked the temp but they said it would be -30 to -40 F with wind chill factor… and I believe it. I let the dogs out but my hands almost iced right up just holding the door open for them… for all the people and animals and birds and creatures of this land who live outside, either by choice or by fate… I say a prayer today for them.
Bex, what a beautiful and compassionate concern, for those warm blooded beings who might be suffering in this cold. The homeless, on the streets, living in their cars, living in tents… how bitter this cold must be.
When I lived in downtown Toronto, a homeless man lived under my front porch. I rented the ground floor flat. I never complained to the landlord about him, he never showed the slightest interest in having contact with me or my children. He would find things he thought we might need, like children’s clothing, and leave them on our doorstep. I was never fearful about his presence. I think it was fairly warm in there during the winter, it was quite protected from view and from the elements.
Around that same time I was aware of a homeless man who lived in the sunken garden at the MacDonald’s restaurant on Bloor Street, near the ROM. He was invisible to almost everyone. The last time I was there, some years ago, McDonalds had removed the dense growth in the garden, thus evicting the homeless man. I doubt they made any effort to relocate him into decent housing.
Gosh, I know I commented on your post earlier. I wonder where that got to?
Anyhow, glad to hear that you’re enjoying your yoga! DH and I intend to do some active things this winter, once we get past the various more expensive things on our ToDo List, like getting Squee spade.
I’m hoping to get back to walking the dog in the evenings, once it warms up just a little. I think it’s supposed to be a bit better by the weekend.
I had a look at the logs Teri, the last comment I have on record for you was on the post before this one.
The weather is supposed to improve by the end of week, according to Environment Canada, I sure hope they are right! At 7:30 this morning it was very cold, but the wind wasn’t up yet, so I hurried into my warm clothes and took my walk. As I approached home at the end of my walk the wind was just starting to pick up, not it is howling, and it is snowing heavily.
In an earlier comment you mentioned walking on a slippery icy parking lot at the yoga class.
A lady blog writer in the USA that I also read wrote about walking in ice and snow and she commented that she uses the “Yaktrax shoe ice-traction devices for pedestrians, professionals and the elderly while walking on snow or ice. Patented abrasion resistant skid lock 1.2mm steel coils that fit over one’s shoes”.
The URL for this product is: “https://www.yaktrax.com/product/walk”.
They are a bit pricey at $19.99, but if they keep one from slipping, falling, and breaking a hip, they would be worth the money.
It’s just an idea. I have no personal experience with these devices, pro or con. Where I live, Australia, we never have snow or below freezing temperatures so I have no need for things like this.
Randy, thanks!
You know, I had Yaktrax provided by my employer many years ago, and had forgotten that they existed. They don’t last long, when worn constantly, as I did at work,, the rubber snaps on them eventually. I ordered a pair this morning! I think they will last quite a while because I will not need them on a regular basis, the sidewalks and parking lots here at the little house in the city are often clear of ice and snow in the winter. I will have a pair of these with me though, just in case!