Let it Snow...and Rain...and Freeze

Yes indeed, we have had some truly awful weather this week which all started last Sunday with the 'Winter Storm'...Well not really a storm but about a foot of snow which made Monday morning a total pain in the arse to get to work hampered by the fact that the snow came down late in the evening and the snow clearers seemed to have forgotten how to do their job properly. The roads were a mess, it was all compacted and really slippy. I know I am not alone in whinging about the the state of the roads, you could pretty much talk to anyone here about the roads this week and they will all say the same thing. I am not sure what the problem is, maybe they have got complacent over the past couple of years where the snow has not really made an appearance until the end of December, maybe they have skimped on the budget or maybe they just don't care, but god knows we pay enough taxes here to get the job done properly. It was typical that I had stuff to do on Monday. I had to get the car to the garage for repair, and after work I had a hair appointment in down town Dartmouth, where the pavements were even worse than the roads, so dangerous to walk on...At least I had my snow boots on and my cleats on the bottom of them. Tuesday it was like driving on ice and finally by about Wednesday it started to get better, we had more snow, not too much thankfully and now we have rain/freezing rain all weekend.

Right, enough weather chit chat, on to more pleasant things...My band Home Free in the Sing-Off have reached the final I am pleased to say. Their latest (non sing off performance) video below, fingers crossed they win on Monday. A few of my favourite shows wrapped up this week, The Voice finished with a massive 4 hours of finale over two nights, which was to be honest hard going with much filling! Strictly finished in the UK with Abbey taking the Glitterball trophy as I thought would be the case, although I really wanted Natalie to win, she should have won based on the show dances alone and finally Survivor finished over hear last Sunday, Sadly no one I liked made the final, but it was a great season.

Note to self...Do I watch too many reality shows?....Nahhh....There is no such thing as too many reality shows in my world. Celeb Big Brother Starts Jan 3rd and Dancing on Ice...I cannot wait!

Rob and I went to Anne and Smiffy's Christmas Open House last night, as always great food and company, we ended up bringing a few snacks home with us including a healthy portion of Anne's mum's famous bean dip...yummy and some home-made jam and peppermints...Finished off the bean dip today. The healthy eating went out of the window yesterday and I guess it might wane a bit over Christmas. This year Robert and I are spending it with Rachael at her place, I am looking forward to the food especially Roast Potatoes, something I haven't had in about 2 years now. In fact the last time we had them was Christmas 2011 when my brother came to stay. Mash potato is really the thing here when it comes to potatoes.

Rob and I have had a lazy day today as we didn't get back till around 1.50 am last night. Nancy popped over for a visit to drop pressies off and catch up as we haven't seen each other in a while. She also brought with her some of her home-made shortbread...Which was very tasty! After she left Rob and I spent the rest of the afternoon vegging out and watching more of Breaking Bad...We are only 3 episodes away from the end of it now and I am distraught at the thought of it being over, I could literally watch it forever. I said a couple of weeks back it was right up there with my faves...Strike that. It is THE best US drama I have ever seen.

Well I guess this is it, my last update this side of Christmas. So Merry Christmas to all my readers, friends and family...enjoy and eat loads! See you on the other side!

Season's Greetings!

Mostly Venting!

Another week on and I am no nearer putting up any Christmas decorations! I just can't get festive this year. I think the tree not going up is a given now, I may get the tinsel out though and a few lights just to show willing.

Work has been crazy busy again this week and I was pretty dead by Friday! We have a winter storm a brewing for tomorrow hence I am updating earlier this week in case the power goes out. Depending on which weather forecast you choose to believe we could be getting anywhere from 10 cm to 50 cm of snow, quite frankly I don't care any more. I just hope that it comes and goes quickly and I can get about my daily business on Monday.

The weather forecasters on the news news annoy me so much I practically want to hurl something at the TV every time they come on. They just love the drama of snowfall, the build up to the approaching storm has been talked about for days now. They always remind me of an episode of 'The Vicar of Dibley' when they keep mentioning the 'Great Storm' at the parish council meeting. (For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, see video below). I think it boils down to a couple of factors, firstly in recent years they don't have snow like they used to round here, so any chance to big it up they do. And secondly, I believe they miscalculated the severity of the last 'Great Winter Storm' know as White Juan in 2004 so now they tend to forecast for the worst just in case.

Gripe one over! On to gripe number two...This week Canada Post announced that in the next five years they will be phasing out all home postal deliveries and that everyone will have to use community mail boxes to pick up their mail. Two thirds of people already collect their mail from community boxes, but in the more densely populated urban areas, home deliveries are still in operation.

The reason for this change, according to the 'numpty' spokesperson on the news is due to falling revenue and the fact that people use the mail differently these days, Internet shopping etc. He said that since 2008 Canada Post have delivered one billion less pieces of mail...Which makes me beg the question, if they have had less to do, why does it take them so damn long to deliver stuff?! The term snail mail most certainly applies to the postal service here. And as for these community mail boxes, what happens to all those people who are not in walking distance of them, who are old and infirm, who cannot see, who cannot drive? This is just not acceptable. Why did Canada Post not set about improving their service from 2008 when the mail started to decline in volume?! All they have done is let it perpetually decline to point now where more people will lose their jobs and to top it all business postal rates will be increased dramatically in order that their mail still be delivered 5 days a week...at no extra cost to the tax payer (that was another sound bite from the spokes man on the news). Disgusting!

Venting over, I am going to move on to something more enjoyable. One of my favourite talent shows is back on the TV. If you have followed my blog since the beginning you may remember me banging on about it before. It's called The Sing-Off and it's the only acapella singing contest on TV. The groups are amazing. It blows my mind every time when I hear them sing as they are so talented, no musical instruments just their voices. This season, I have a stand out favourite group called 'Home Free' who specialise in country music. You can check them out below! I defy you not to love them and not to smile watching them sing.

Finally, Guess who are back? I haven't seen them in the longest time...The deer. They have been round nearly every night in the last week. I have fed them apples and carrots and just last night we had a rare visit from the stag, he came pretty close, the ladies all seem scared of him and didn't encroach on him eating the carrots. They are just so beautiful, it's so lovely to have wildlife like this literally on the doorstep! No photos sadly as it's been way to cold to stand out there for long, plus it's been dark every time they come.

Late Again!

I dunno, I just can't keep up right now.
Sorry I am late again with yet another very meagre update. Still not much to report, I am definitely creeping further and further into Winter recluse mode. I did make it out briefly last week to the camera club, but only for half a meeting, Apart from seeing friends who I haven't seen for a while, which was great, the meeting (well the first half anyway) bored me rigid! I saw Dave next to me nod off at least twice, and I nearly did myself.

The speaker had some fabulous photos, but public speaking definitely wasn't his bag. He was talking about the technique used for creating his liquid art shots (dropology). I was (at the very beginning) quite interested to hear about how achieved the results, but less than 10 minutes in and I couldn't wait for him to stop speaking.

I can't believe it is now December 9th and I still haven't put up the Christmas Tree or any decs. I am undecided about whether to put the tree up at all right now because as you might remember a year ago, my little bundle of fun Shakespeare spent most of Christmas diving in and out of the tree, well one year on and he ain't so little, in fact he is heavier than Hamish, the tree will not survive if he attempts the same manoeuvres this year.

Our first snow came down today, only a few centimetres. When I left work this evening there was a thin covering on the roads, and just that small amount was enough to send the Nova Scotian drivers into meltdown. It took me the best part of 40 minutes to get home (normally about an 8 minute drive). as I crawled along the highway, a spotted a car and a truck on the side of the road who had evidently collided causing a large about of damage to the car...Unbelievable. Then it was bumper to bumper all the way to my off ramp. The only good thing is that now the first snow is out of the way, the driving will get better. The first snowfall seems to throw them completely every time! Overnight the snow is due to turn to rain, ice pellets and freezing rain...Wish me luck in the morning!

I have just finished watching I'm a celebrity get me out of here tonight...What a great year it has been for that show, loved the people in this year and so pleased to see David Emmanuel in the final, shame he lost to Kian from Westlife, although they were both worthy finalists. Steve Davis was for me the funniest contestant this year and who would have known he was such a nice, funny guy (if not a bit clumsy) and not boring at all.

Finally a quick shout out to my friend Sarah, I hope you are reading this Sarah, or perhaps you will in a few weeks when life settles down for you....I hope you landed back in New Zealand safely and the pre-move went smoothly in the end. Cannot wait to catch up with you on Skype soon.

I will leave you with a couple of photos snapped with my phone of my beautiful fury boys! Hamish has a new den and Shakespeare, well, this is his favourite position most nights in the living room...Hard to believe he is so naughty...lol

Super Cute! Click to view larger and cuter!

Ho Ho Ho...Something for the Girls!

Hello....I am still alive!
Sorry to those of you who stopped by on Sunday and Monday to see what I have been up to...Truth is I haven't been doing anything and have therefore had nothing to write about!

The weather is depressing me and even though it was sunny one of the days over the weekend I still didn't do anything. I have a list of jobs as long as my arm that that need doing...but didn't and I keep putting things off, which is actually not like me at all. Since getting our Netflix back up and working...Praise be to the new modem/router thingy, Rob and I have become addicted to the series Breaking Bad. and we have been watching it nearly non stop! If you have never seen it, I recommend it. It is definitely right up there with all of my 'all time' faves now.

Below is a trailer for the series as well as another funny seasonal ad...For the girls.