Eeeek! Is spring EVER going to arrive?
This was the view on my cloudy, snowy walk to work this morning.
Our days are much longer now, but daylight is not the problem. Sunrise is at 6:00 am and sunset is 9:00 pm, but it just keeps snowing!
If you don’t hear from me for the next month, send snowplows! 🙂
We recently enjoyed some hiking in the Okanagan.
The weather was glorious (especially after our chilly northern snowscape) and we enjoyed it immensely.
There was a little snow at the higher elevations, but mostly there was just some lovely melting.
There will soon be lots of grapes and a new wine season …
… time to enjoy some some summer sippers. 🙂
And an update: we have now returned to the Northwest Territories and have brought some favourite bottles with us. Wonderful to have the warmth of that valley with us as we continue to face up and down temperatures and more snow.
How is your spring coming along?
Having recently reblogged a post from Jill Dennison about the issues with Facebook, I was chuffed to find a similar one from Curmudgeon at Large. Wry and funny, I hope you enjoy it, even though you might find that it’s hitting awfully close to home…
FOAF has found another winner. It undoubtedly appears elsewhere but, like pizza, is too good to pass up. CALLER: Is this Gordon’s Pizza? GOOGLE: No sir, it’s Google Pizza. CALLER: I must have dialed a wrong number. Sorry. GOOGLE: No sir, Google bought Gordon’s Pizza last month. CALLER: OK. I would […]
This post is in response to Brian Lageose’s Three Word Challenge. The idea is to write a story based on three words that Brian has assigned. Mine are: elusive, bawdy and trampoline. For whatever it’s worth, here’s the result (and yup, I’m still thinking about the personal implications of that word assignment … 😉 ) And do be sure to visit Brian’s site – https://brianlageose.blog. You will be happy you did. 🙂
Jack kept squirming in his seat. For some reason, he was uncomfortable. He vaguely felt as if he might throw up, which was really odd, because his girlfriend had just made his favourite pasta for supper, carbonara. He loved carbonara and always enjoyed it.
He considered the situation.
Suddenly his stomach gurgled and then he really did feel close to yakking, but somehow he also didn’t feel ill sick. It was more like … like … what was it? Guilt sick?
Why would I feel guilty, he asked himself.
Jack examined the last few days for any signs of a moral hangover but couldn’t think of anything.
“Is everything okay?” his girlfriend asked. She sounded a bit alarmed. “Have I done something to upset you?”
He stopped the ferocious gnawing he was administering to his fingernail and regarded her. He realised that he had been chewing and vacantly staring. “Oh no. Everything’s fine. I just am suddenly not feeling very well. My stomach is bothering me. That’s all.”
It occurred to him that he wanted to keep this one. She was always so pliant and concerned about pleasing him.
“Okay. Is there anything I can do for you? Get you an antacid? Carbonara is pretty rich.”
“Not really. I think I just have to ride this out. Sometimes my stomach bothers me and I don’t really know why.”
Suddenly, Jack leaped up and sprang for the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. He just made it to the toilet before bringing up the morning’s toast and everything else but his shoelaces. He heaved until he was empty and then draped himself over the edge of the toilet. He was exhausted and sweating.
Finally, he leaned back against the bathtub and hoped that he was finished.
Ten seconds later, a wave of nausea wracked him again, and he scrambled desperately for the toilet.
If he could just remember why he felt so guilty, he could stop feeling so sick. He thought he had a piece of it, but it slithered elusively into his mind’s attic.
If only this heaving would stop, I’d be able to think clearly and then … and then I would have the answer and then I wouldn’t be sick, he thought.
Thoughts bounced around in his head like they were springing from a trampoline.
What did I do?
What was it???
A dress. A green dress.
Emerald green. Yes. That’s it.
But what about it? Why did I think of it?
You know why, said the mouse.
It peeked at him from around the edge of the toilet bowl brush, its delicate white whiskers trembling knowingly, its wise gaze unflinching and unruffled.
Did that mouse just talk to me, Jack asked the room.
Yes, said the mouse, I did. Don’t you remember me? We talked a lot about that green dress. Or more specifically, about that bawdy relic who was inhabiting it. She was way too old for you. And way too forward. And besides, finding women in bars was never really your thing. Don’t you remember?
Ohhh yeah, Jack said. Yeah. I remember now.
Just then his girlfriend rapped on the bathroom door.
“Are you all right in there? Is there anything I can do?”
She rattled the door handle.
Jesus Christ, thought Jack. Can’t she leave me in peace when I’m sick in the bathroom? Just leave me the fuck alone, he raged silently.
“Jack?? Are you okay? Are you able to answer me?”
He heard her fiddling with the handle, trying to get the door open.
Fuck this, Jack thought as he started furiously ripping up floorboards.
He forgot about the mouse.
He forgot about the green dress.
He forgot about everything.
As the floorboards came up faster and faster, a heavy, clear plastic glinted at the edge of the light.
It covered something green.
****
Jack awoke to the sound of a sports recap show. He was stretched out in his recliner but felt uncomfortable and cold and his neck hurt. He was ravenously hungry.
He rummaged in the fridge and found some leftover pasta from dinner.
He vaguely remembered having had a fight with the maker of the dinner and he somehow thought she had left, but just then he was too hungry to think about it.
He finished his plate and began to shuffle off to bed, the notion that he was forgetting something twitching at the edge of his memory.
He felt so tired!
But tomorrow is another day, he thought. I’ll think about it then.
This is a timely post by Jill Dennison. Have a read, but as Jill advises, hold on to your jaw.
via Facebook RX
I’ve been taking a break from the northern -20° climes …
… and experiencing much warmer weather in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. 17°C to be exact.
This is the NK’Mip First Nation winery and resort just outside of Osoyoos. M and I didn’t stay there (or swim in the pool), but we did stop for a really fantastic lunch. Osoyoos is about 45 minutes’ drive – through stunning wine country – from our home.
The grape vines are still dozing, but they will soon be fully awake.
After buying some favourite wines, we moseyed back. This photo is of a reflection over Osoyoos Lake.
Here it is again, right side up.
Having a break from the continuing cold weather in the north has been wonderful. *Sigh* 🙂
It’s March! And unlike some other places in North America, the weather has been very stable here. According to the old saying, March came in like a lamb, but it has remained very lamb-like with bright sun that just has that budding spring quality to it. I hope it doesn’t go out like a lion. 🙂
It’s gradually been getting warmer – we’ve had two days together of +2°C – with some minor melting occurring. Standing in the sun has been very pleasant and after all the cold, it feels really wonderful.
Still, we’re choked with snow, even though the warming temperatures have caused it to compress and pack.
This is a photo of the beach at our part of Great Slave Lake. You really can’t tell where the beach ends and the lake starts, although you can get an idea from the placement of the lifeguard’s chair.
Soon, however, the fact that our days are lengthening quickly – with the time change it now gets dark at about 8:00 – will bring about a sudden tipping point, and all that snow will melt rapidly.
The southern parts seem to be experiencing extreme ups and downs in temperature and precipitation, but here we are seeing a gradual climb into a lovely spring.
Has your spring started? Is it a lamb or a lion? Or are you heading into autumn now?
Have a very happy Valentine’s day. 🙂
On a recent -40C morning, I was impressed by the blanketed quiet and ice fog-dominated atmosphere. The only sound was the crackling of my clothing and bag as they became deep-freeze cold. It was dark as I walked to work, but later as the sun began to rise, it looked like this:
An ice foggy morning.Visibility wasn’t great until the day started lightening and it became a little warmer. It was one of those mornings that produced some rather heavily frost-encrusted eyelashes. When I came inside, I briefly held them with my fingers to melt the ice.
The ice fog disappears.Hiding under all that fog was an intensely blue sky and the whitest white snow, almost blue itself. It turned into a very beautiful day with almost blindingly bright sun, even though it was incredibly cold outside.
It may be cold, but these vistas melt me. 🙂
What can melt you?
A couple of weeks ago we did some dogsitting for a friend of ours. Nan is a northern girl who looks to be half Exquimaux or Siberian husky and half German shepherd. She is very tall with incredibly slim delicate features and very soft fur.
No matter what her DNA says, she’s an amazingly even-tempered pooch who could probably turn the most determined dog-disliking person into a canine advocate. Gentle and cuddly, she loves to play and run and be fussed over and petted.
I’m afraid that M and I spoiled her just a little bit.
Of course, we’re missing our Rudy who passed away a couple of years ago, but maybe it’s time to bring another canine friend into our lives. 🙂
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 