Tag: snow

December 23rd – Christmas Elves

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Today I am celebrating a visit from a couple of Christmas Elves (or angels).

Last night we received another dump of the white stuff , along with strong winds. Dan is working today and of course shoveling a ton of snow is not on my recommended post-op activities. Dan left for work this morning, anticipating shovelling when he got home, as our snowblower is presently not inclined to blow snow. For those who have never owned a snowblower, they are seldom inclined to blow snow. 🙄

Here we are snowed in. 😏

So, obviously I felt bad for Dan – until this lovely couple about our age showed up, shovels in hand. They offered to clean all of our walks and the city sidewalk for twenty dollars. I offered a bonus if they cleared a little path for Kat on the garden side patio.

Clean & clear! ❄️

They did an amazing job. They practically cleaned off the patio – I told them it was plenty good. I gave them each twenty dollars and was happy to do it. I have no idea where they put the snow. I went out to check after they left, just out of curiosity, and found that they had even shoveled off the cement in the back yard! Our entire back yard is practically cement. I can hear our neighbour out shovelling now. I sure hope our snow didn’t go over the fence, even if they aren’t our favourite neighbours. Naughty elves? 😏

Anyway, that is it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞

November 11th – It’s Here!

by annemariedemyen, posted in Wisdom - November 2021

The time has come. We awoke this morning to find our city covered in snow.

“My favourite (winter) outdoor activity is going back inside.” – Anonymous
“Some people spend their entire lives seeing the snow without ever seeing the magic in the existence of one snowflake.” – Emily Littlejohn

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” – Japanese Proverb

Take care and have a great day!

October 14th – Security

by annemariedemyen, posted in News & Views - October 2021

The news story for the day in Saskatchewan is the arrival of our first snow of the season. It is more of a preview than the BIG event, but it is definite sign that winter will not be passing us by.

First snow of the season 😲

I also have a bit of family news to share today. With Dom’s regular grandparent sitters unavailable this week, I was called up for active duty. It is not that big of a deal. Dom gets out of school at 3:22 and his Dad (son Mark) is here to pick him up before 5:00. There is barely time for a snack and a cartoon.

The challenge of this arrangement is that Dom attends school across the city from where we live. That means driving some distance to pick him up, and obviously the same distance to get back here. And… Dan is working this week. The driving is on me.

I do not love driving. Typically, I will do anything to avoid getting behind the wheel. But… this is for Dom. So I have been driving across the city and back. There is construction and trains and rain, and today there is the added joy of snow. If Dan was available he would no doubt be driving me across the city and back every day and I would be relieved and grateful and stressed out thinking about ever having to do this if he were not available.

But… Dan is not available this week, so it is on me. The rediculous thing is – I can drive. I have driven thousands and thousands of miles, much of it in hideous weather, through and around construction, and in vehicles far less reliable than our Jeep. When I do get behind the wheel, it all comes back. It is like riding a bike. (If I could ride a bike.) The thing is, I can drive, and when forced to do it I manage it rather competently. Then I am super pumped that I did it and I feel secure knowing that I am capable of doing it.

When I avoid anything it makes me feel nervous and insecure. When I actually meet my fears head on I become FEARLESS! Life is so complicated. 😂

Ready to roll with Dom!
Snack Time

Take care and have a great day. 💞

Day 12 – Weathering Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

Day twelve of my June ‘Accentuate the Positive’ celebrates the diversity of our Saskatchewan weather.

We seldom have dangerous weather but we do get damaging hails, occasional tornadoes, and our roads get treacherous during a winter storm.

In the past 14 days we have had +31c days, snow, more +31c, fog, thunder, lightening and rain, flash flooding, and wind! Now it is calm and sunny. 🌞

Wind gusts of 84km yesterday afternoon
After the rain yesterday morning. Our walkway beside the channel. We walk BETWEEN the two metal posts.
Rain yesterday morning. ☔. We needed the moisture. We also need to mow the lawn!
This snow was actually in mid April (this landing is about three feet off the ground). We did also have snow at the end of May but I did not take a picture of it. Snow is snow. 😬
Fog alert! This photo was taken about one short block to busy train tracks.
Sun shining down on the birdbath. It is usually a busy place on hot sunny days. 🌞
With the weather passed, our squirrel dropped by for a few peanuts. 🤗

Twelve days down, eighteen to go!

Wishing you a wonderful day, regardless of the weather and I hope to see you tomorrow. 💞

Spring Has Sprung in Saskatchewan!

by annemariedemyen, posted in nature, Uncategorized

I did not have far to go to enjoy some beautiful spring weather today. We are experiencing a very unseasonable warm spell. Yay!!!

It is +3 celcius today, a high of +5 expected tomorrow,  with minus single digits forecast for the next two weeks.

Kat and I went out for a while to enjoy the day. I worked at clearing our sidewalks and Kat’s patio path. It got so warm, I had to take off my winter coat to cool down. 🌞

Kat hanging out, enjoying the sun.
Kat’s path – the snow is about 5 feet deep in the back yard and on the garden so she didn’t have much room to wander and do her business. 💩
There was sun to be seen – just kind of hiding behind the tree and some passing cloud cover.

If the beautiful weather was not enough to make my day, I came in to find that Dan had finished the laundry I had started, before heading outdoors. 😊

Keep safe and have a beautiful day🌻

This Week in the Weather

by annemariedemyen, posted in nature

We seem to be on the fast track to some seasonal changes in our weather this week.

We started off with a couple of warm, sunny days.
Yesterday, Dom and I spent a while at a neighbourhood kiddie park. It seemed a bit chilly but Dom had a great time on the equipment and even took off his shoes and socks to play in the sand.

Today it is supposed to be 21 above Celsius. It seems rather cloudy but their are periods of sunshine. There is also wind! 54km to 74km winds. Kat and I have not ventured out for our walk. I am a bit concerned that one or both of us might get blown away (or blown over).

The exciting part is that starting tomorrow the mercury is supposed to drop out of the thermometer and by Sunday we should have one to two FEET of snow. With strong winds, they are also warning of white-out conditions across southern Saskatchewan.

Whoo Hoo!

To be honest, I have really been looking forward to snow this year. I will not have to go out and drive through it, in pitch dark, on my way to work. The fresh new snow will cover up the endless greige of autumn in Saskatchewan. Plus, and this is a big plus, I will be home so will have a chance to shovel it before Dan gets to it! I just hope I will be able to. Being out in the cold is hard on my lungs at the best of time and these last few weeks haven’t been the best of times, where my lungs are concerned. I can only take it slow and hope for the best. ⛄

Hope your weather is good and your spirits are high!

Still Walking🌬️

by annemariedemyen, posted in nature

Kat and I went for our regular walk this morning. We did 5km in 66 minutes. That included three stops to pick up Kat poo, one stop to visit with a guy who was cutting through the park with his Giant Tiger purchases, one stop to chat with Gaylene and Absinthe (her black lab), and about half a km for Kat to search for berries and/or squirrels along the path. It was minus 8 celcius, snow flurries, and a brutal northwest wind.

Granted, I was wearing several layers of heavy fall clothing, including two pairs of socks and two pairs of gloves, but I was still pretty proud of myself and my little dog. I don’t know how we will make out through the winter, but we do not have any heavy snowfalls forecast for this month so we aren’t ready to give up our walk yet.

Have a great weekend and KEEP WARM🌞

Winter in Saskatchewan

by annemariedemyen, posted in family, life

The mercury is dropping out of the thermometer so thought I would share a few pics of our winter season. These pictures are of years gone by as we have not gotten a lot of snow yet this year. We have however had a few days where the temperature has dropped to obscene nether regions so will take any sympathy I can get.☃️

On our way home from my son’s. They were having such a blizzard when we left that Dan could not see their driveway and drove over their lawn. We couldn’t resist sending them this pic when we stopped on the way home and saw this sign.😂
My favourite – icy roads at the crack of dawn😟

Winter is Here

by annemariedemyen, posted in Uncategorized

4:30 today and things did not look good. I went out to brush the snow off the Jeep. Damn, the new long-handled snowbrush Dan bought me last week was still sitting at home. I grabbed an oversized work-glove off the toolbox and improvised. The windshield was pretty much out of reach so I started the Jeep and cranked up the defroster to finish what I had started. One of the company installers finished clearing off his vehicle and came to lend a hand. Yay Louie! So grateful for good co-workers.

With the Jeep cleared off and toasty warm, I headed out on the icy roads. Driving through the industrial park has challenges at the best of times. Dodging semis, trains, half-tons and heavy equipment, I made it to the main road safely and was on my way.

You would think that living in a city with icy roads six months of the year, people would know how to drive on them. You would be wrong. I passed several gatherings of police cars, tow-trucks and the like. Sometimes there is a garbage truck to help pick up the pieces. If the weather is super bad, the city parks sanding trucks at donut shops around the city to remind people that the roads are icy.

I made it home and stumbled through the snow in my sneakers. In the porch, I passed my winter boots, sitting beside my new snowbrush. As Dan finished supper, I make a cup of tea and relaxed – until I remembered it will still be cold, it will still be icy and I’m pretty sure it is going to dark when I head back to work tomorrow. 😟