Monday night – up very late looking at assisted care info for my parents and writing a lengthy email to my siblings.
Tuesday – slept in until 8 a.m. It’s -29 C on the lake today. Too cold to make pots. Too cold now to walk outside. I’ve got a niggling dry throat too.
Tried to figure out how to get photos from my iPhone onto my new laptop. No success so far. I often wonder what the designers mean by “user friendly.” It should be simple. I plug the phone into the computer and and click on yes when prompted to upload photos to computer. I’m confused when the message on the screen says there are no photos on my phone. There are too. Over 800. Meh! I have to do something else and try to figure it out later. Technology is not my forte. Manual labour is more my thing.
I went online to pay my driver’s license and after a finally getting to the part in the drop down menu where I choose what it is I wish to pay the SAAQ, all selections are in French only. Thanks to Google Translate I figured out that I needed to pay my “permis de conduire.” Most websites in QC are in French only. English is merely a courtesy not extended very often, but at least some government websites try to have an English page.
After all that I found out that my driver’s license can not be paid on line after all. SIGH. I have to make a trip to town for that plus a few more errands. Round trip is 80 minutes plus the time needed to get the errands done.
I wonder what kind of work that I can get done today?
Later…apparently none.
The truck’s transmission is not happy and the heater fan broke today. Now I have no transportation. Gah!!
I talked to my dad and mom is starting to eat a little but now dad is sounding congested and started to cough when we were speaking. Oh dear.
Wednesday – Another cold day is upon us. It’s currently -20 C with a windchill making it feel like -28 C. The temperature is supposed to drop this afternoon and then the winds will pick up to 60 km/hr giving us a windchill of -35 C.
I feel frozen in my chair. I’m wrapped in a big wool blanket and the fire is going but I can feel the wind whipping through the place. We are right on a lake and the northwestern winds hit the length of the cottage. Slowly we are making improvements with insulation.
I decided the best way to get warm was to move so I did. I revisited an old workout DVD and practised yoga.
My parents are constantly on my mind. I have communications with one or both siblings each day. We have to get organized and make a plan. I need to write some email. My mind is completely scattered. I’ve started sorting receipts over on the coffee table, I’m cleaning my desk too, and I’m very aware that there are important things to record in my calendar. There is a pile of stuff on JF’s desk that I need to file.
Communications first.
Thursday – I felt it coming on earlier this week. I definitely have a cold and I’m starting to cough. I also have DOMS from a tough abdominal workout yesterday so I really feel my abs when I cough. Ouch.
It was -35 C this morning at 7:00. I have no idea what the windchill was. Five hours later it has “warmed up” to -23. That’s pretty amazing if you think about it. This cold (outside and the one in my chest) is a best treated with sitting in front of the fire under a wool blanket. The reality is when one is sick one needs to rest.
Talked to mom today. She is up and doing dishes and eating a bit more. That’s good news.
Tax receipts were sorted and bundled yesterday and the filing was done. The desk is clean-ish. I think I’ll defrost a chicken so I can make chicken soup on the weekend.
Friday – Thank goodness! The weather has turned for the better. A paltry -10 C at 8:00 a.m. Other good news – our sort-of-feral cat pooped in the litter box! Yay! She’s getting old. Fourteen this year. She’s very outdoorsy and had needed to recently be re-trained to use the box. We had a different box last year, and you know how that goes with cats. Something different = possible threat to cat’s life. I’m not sure how the cat can perceive a litter box as a threat, but that is what I’m told. I’ve observed her jumping 5 feet straight up into the air at the sight of a leaf on the deck, so yeah, new box = threat to life.
My cold isn’t too bad today. I’m not done with sneezing and blowing, but I have some energy so I shoveled snow for over an hour. There’s more to do but I was too tired to continue. We sure got a lot of snow last night. The trees are weighted down with ice and now this thick layer of lovely, clean snow. It’s very pretty.
I’ve been quite busy all day long with all sorts of things – dishes, recycling, compost, cooking, planning, social media for business and I even got a little surprise. I found out my friend’s son, Jude is having a photographic exhibition on Friday, January 16 at Cafe des Artistes in Buckingham. I’ve been invited to come and sing a few songs. Once upon a time I was a rock star. Actually, I wanted to be one, but it didn’t happen. I suppose the closest I got was “troubadour who released one CD.” But that was years ago. Man, I am rusty! I hope I don’t embarrass myself.
Saturday – Sinuses blocked. I slept with my mouth opened for a good part of the night and woke up feeling like I had been in the desert (on a horse with no name) with my mouth opened to catch all the dry, hot air. I thought I was getting better but I feel extremely tired this morning and not really motivated to move.
Temperature on the lake at 9 a.m. was -26 C.
Errands in town today – groceries, heater fan for the truck, kitty litter, return DVDs to rental place. After that I’m going to cook something akin to winter comfort food (Green Lentil Dahl maybe) and huddle under the wool blanket on the couch for the night. Tomorrow I’m getting together with Chris to see what tunes we can work up for Jude’s photo exhibit.