Unpredictable Whether

Dear All –

just a quick little note to say that our “faux Spring” which enabled Bruce to do all that digging has disappeared under 15cms of snow! Greg has been diligent in keeping lots of seed out for the birds, and we have more species than I can keep track of vying for fortifying food – even that Greater Spotted Woodpecker was at the suet balls, chasing away the Starlings!

I made some Brownies for our wood-chopping neighbour, for he has brought us a load of scrap wood and a load of large branches for when we get the bread-oven fired up. And then he brought us the contact information for someone who sells flour in large quantities! He has even taken away a bunch of scrap, on the trailer that he mysteriously left here for a few days! He finds this place and its occupants fascinating, never knowing who he is going to meet, and what country they will have come from – for that matter, both he and our nurse got surprises when they realized this week that the fellow guests they were meeting were actually French for a change. They are so used to meeting foreigners here. I think our wood-chopping friend was quite pleased that he had remembered my brother’s name – and so a bit disappointed that he was gone already. “So who comes next, and from where?” he asked expectantly, over his weekly cup of tea. Greg told him that it would be two friends from England this time. “And what do they do?” He’s been amazed at the variety – inventor, theologians, thespians, RCMP-turned-photographer, scientists, paleontologist, environmental civil servant, chaplain, cardiologist, mothers-of-four (it’s funny how many of our friends have four kids!) – and really, no wonder he’s amazed. It quite a bizarre list.

The wheat-free Brownies (so I can have some too) turned out Fantastic…I had to set some aside so Greg and I didn’t finish them up. Then we spent the day Sorting. Greg was outside in the barn all afternoon, sorting out workshop things, and I spent the time sorting the laundry room. With handy IKEA storage units, we can now actually see the floor and the laundry – and I thrive on having things in their proper place!! (an eternal battle…) Greg finished off the evening working his way through stage two of his Christmas present from Bruce…leaving one corner of the laundry room looking and smelling a little like a still (albeit a tidy one)…and the neighbouring horses were a bit surprised to received a mysterious pile of damp barley this evening. Made all the more dramatic by the black eye-patch Greg now sports when needing to protect his eye. Gregoire-the-smuggler.

He is keen to go tobogganing tomorrow afternoon – not only another ‘first’ with which to challenge his retreating vertigo, but really the first time in many years for either of us…brings back fond Canadian memories of ‘tubing’ and of cafeteria trays on icy ski-slopes…I think we’ll stay moderate and use a red plastic tobogganing sled this time though. Start back up gently.

Winter delights to you all,
K