It's a snowy day at the farmette. The white stuff is coating a layer of ice that fell over night. Pellets against the windows woke me up at about 3:30 a.m. and I never really got back to sleep. Arrrrgghhh.
Anyhow. I went out this morning to gather in my snow gauge and it was cemented to its fixture by about an inch of the frozen stuff. Once I took care of feeding the birds, I had to boil a kettle and go back out melt it off.
Can't say I should complain. There are people right across the country who are mourning their husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children and friends who died in that horrible disaster in Tehran.
It beggars imagination to think of how much talent and promise was wasted in the blink of an eye. It's so ridiculous that we have people in power in the world who have so little regard for human life.
Okay. Rant over. Back to regularly scheduled farmette things. Given that it's a brand new year, I thought I'd reflect on some of the amazing things I've experienced - good and bad - over the last six months.
Summer time was busy with the garden, several fairs, cool trips and a fun birthday outing to the Blyth Festival. Gotta say, that was a highlight - hanging out with my two favourite people and enjoying both a scrumptious brunch and an entertaining play.
Later in summer, we lost our Lily. Poor wee thing. She really was one of a kind, with her quintessentially feline uppityness (a word?) Anyway, we had 15 years of having her around and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Along the way, we tarted up the old farmette house with a fresh kitchen counter and a spanking new office for moi. Yay. I love my wee freelance writing business and now I'm comfy surrounded by four buttery walls, lots of great books and bits and pieces of art and photos that sooth me during my sometimes frenetic work schedule.
Then, it full steam into the fall, and a big surprise celebration of older sister Barb's 70th birthday. It was a great day, organized by her daughter Melissa. Many members of the family and friends turned up for a gorgeous day of frolics and fun.
Late fall had some sombre notes with the loss of sister Sandy's father-in-law Cliff and her lovely dog Maya. It was tough sledding since they passed within two days of each other. Cripes. But we picked ourselves up and managed to get in our girl's weekend at Stratford, where Karen and Leanne joined us for some commiserating, hugging and laughing. Oh, and a stunning outing to see Billy Elliott at the Festival theatre.
Then came winter, and the unexpected addition of two wee furry ones when some heartless person dropped off our Fred and Wilma, who were only about two months old. That's okay.
Their loss is our profoundly wonderful gain because we've now got a pair of cuties to play with, feed and love.
Finally, we had a terrific Christmas and New Year, with a lovely skate thanks to the Thornton family. Again, I have to say...this is one of my favourite photos of the year.
There's me, trying to stay upright on my shaky new skates while Erin glides effortlessly away on one leg. Thanks again Sandy, for the great shot.
So that's a wrap. 2019 is in the books, and a new chapter for 2020 has begun. All the best to all the family and friends for a healthy, happy and safe new year!