It's a snowy but mild day at the farmette. We got seven and half centimetres this morning. Add that to the 28 centimetres we got yesterday, and you're talking real depth. Fourteen inches total for the old-schoolers (like me).
All this meant getting the shovels and blowers out. While we've gone NOWHERE for three days, I actually had to clear the deck and sidewalk for fear it'd snow so much, we'd never get out, à la Newfoundland. Actually, it didn't get anywhere near that, but it was a pretty good dump by Grey County standards. Here's me in full clearing mode.
I find listening to my walking playlists (comprising good Canadian bands like Walk Off the Earth and the Arkells) helps take the edge off the grind of removing the white stuff as well as making it go much, much faster.
Anyhow, Christmas obviously took on a different look this year thanks to COVID-19. While Zooming is not as good as being there in person, it's certainly better than nothing. And we actually had a lot of fun, thanks to niece Erin and her personalized game of Jeopardy.
She played Alex, and had devised categories and answers that fit our different interests - like Paws and Claws, What's Under the Kilt, Fast Cars and Neighs and Hays. Erin's going to correct me, cause I actually can't remember from yesterday (cause I'm OLD) - but you get the drift.
Gotta say, we had a hoot making up whopper answers - at one point sister Sandy said - with an almost straight face - that the pouch that hangs in front of a kilt (sporran) is a testicle warmer! It was pretty far from the disciplined regime of the real game, but produced a lot of laughs when we all really needed it.
The order of play was based on age - oldest to the youngest, and it turned out that the first one to play (Rob) was also the winner, so he gets to have bragging rights for the entire year.
Then, it was time for presents, and Sandy and the girls got their home-made knitted cowls and mitts courtesy of moi. The picture's kind of blurry, but see? They're all kitted out for the coming snowstorm.
The Thorntons got us some beautiful, locally-made tumblers, loose tea and an infuser that looks like a cat - imagine.
The girls were in a festive mood, so Erin got her reindeer antlers on, and Rachel had fake glasses with holly and a red nose. Cute, eh?
All in all, while it was a much truncated version of the usual celebration - about an hour and a half - and while we didn't get to feast together, we still had a fantastic visit.
Next year, hopefully, we'll have the pandemic behind us, we'll all be vaccinated up and the orange peril - who's still causing all kinds of grief by exonerating his crooked cronies - will be a thing of the past.
Most importantly, we'll be able to party like it's 2021. I hope all the friends and family are having a safe, healthy and entertaining holiday. Until next week.