Gratitude Monday --Inside Edition

Yesterday was cold. Snow was persistent though so thin one had to know it was there to see it.
I did not have to go out for anything and for that I am grateful.

Also, I got some writing done. I am grateful for that, too.

Gratitude Monday -- Warm and Easy Edition

The thermostat is behind me as I sit at my desk.
If I am cold I can turn around, press an arrow, and get more heat.

It was -27C here on Saturday. We went out into the world to Red Deer and saw "The Hateful Eight."
A wonderful movie and I strongly recommend it, but if you are already cold watching a movie set in a mountain blizzard does not help.
Further, the theatre itself was cold. It wasn't just me, either.Husband wore gloves and a tuque during the show.
Despite it warming up considerably yesterday--for which I am grateful-- I still tapped up the house temperature a few degrees.
It felt good.

Today it is back to the usual temperature, at least for now.
If I am too cold I can increase the heat easily. I need only decide to do it, and for it I am grateful.

Gratitude Monday - We Are Warm

Our furnace quit the other morning. It was 66F in the house when we got up. In June no one cares about the furnace. In April, we care.
Mike made the call for repair at 7 a.m. and we were attended to at about 3 p.m.  It had been a very busy day around the plumbing shop. Many furnaces had chosen that very day to give up the ghost.

In our case it was the motor. Burnt out.
We'd had something repaired about six weeks ago and the repairman warned us something in the motor had been acting odd. We noticed that at times the motor sounded like it was working too hard. It sound like a car in second gear being forced to go 60 miles an hour.
We smelled an ozonish, burny kind of odor from the furnace from time to time and had complained about it about two weeks before the motor quit. My guess is it would still have needed replacing.

A new motor comes complete with some extensive housing. There is no way to just replace the motor proper. The rest of it comes with the package.
It's expensive.

Now what in the world does all this have to do with gratitude?
Plenty.
The furnace was fixed the same day it blew. In this country, that's big. I'm very grateful it was attended to.
I have a furnace that works and it's still having to warm the house. We've got snow and cold.

I'm grateful to be warm.
The shop called the next day to apologize for the upcoming cost. It was explained there was no other way and the nice lady wanted to spare us the shock of the repair bill. She had been directed by the shop owner to make the call.
That's good service and I am grateful.
She further noted that due to the cost the shop would only charge us 10 percent over its cost for the part.
I have no idea what the usual markup is. I do not want to know because as it stands now we got a deal, and for that I am grateful.

Gratitude Monday -- Inside Out

Pretty Cold

They weather's taken a turn for the nasty lately with snow, blowing snow, and plunging teperatures.
I am so very glad to be able to stay indoors.

A Tasty Way to Warm the House.

When this is what greets you outdoors:

The day warmed to a paltry -18C.

Roast is an appropriate response.

Lamb with garlic, apricot, and jalapeno, among other spices.

It was -35C this morning. I stepped outside for a quick few swallows of coffee. Bracing does not do the feel of it justice.
It's the kind of temperature that lends itself to things that take a long time to cook. Roasted lamb sounded like a good fit.
I wanted to do something different so I looked up assorted recipes for a jumping off point. Starting it at 450F without liquid might be fun. It was.
The above pic is how it looked after 20 minutes, uncovered.
I rubbed whole, old style mustard and olive oil on it so I guess I cheated a bit, but it felt right. I stuffed fresh garlic in the flesh, then chopped up some apricots and threw on a jalapeno pepper sliced on the long side. A few other spices such as parsley, cinnamon, black and cayenne pepper and paprika, plus some fresh (sort of ) lemon juice rounded it out.
After 20 minutes I poured some white wine over it, turned it down to 325F, covered it and cooked it another hour while I decided what veggies should be roasted with it.
Forty minutes after the veggies--potato, turnip, carrot--went in I took out the roast and let it sit. The veggies went back in at 350F for their big finish and 20 minutes later all was ready. The spice combination, for the record, is a keeper.
I should have taken a pic of the roast once it was done, but didn't.
The food was good, the house was warm and inviting, and all is well in my world.
Winter weather has its pleasures.

Gratitude Monday - The Roof Over My Head

This is my house in summer.

We have snow. More than we need. It is cold. Very cold. The forecast was for -38C overnight.
I have a place to live. I have a roof over my head and a furnace that works and a nice, warm husband.
Not everyone is as fortunate as me to be sheltered when the weather gets nasty.
I have a home. I am grateful.

Edited to add:

We made it uncomfortably close to -40C. That's the same as being uncomfortably close to 40 below F.

Yay!

Edited to add again:

We did it. -40C .

Yay.

If You Were Wondering...

...how much snow we've had, then these photos will answer your question.
Well, to be honest it only half answers it. This is the amount we've had since I cleared away 6-8 inches last week. I've been too lazy to go out and shovel, plus it just keeps coming.

I think the snow hat makes the bird house look rather cozy.


This is just weird. This hole in the snow formed all by its lonesome. I've no clue how. But I like it.


For perspective here's that hole in the snow. As you can see it's on the front porch railing. It looks like it's made a snow bridge.
You can see on the railing how it's piled up out there.

I hope this tides all my poor, snow-deprived readers over for a while.

In Protest

It's finally here.

It's been snowing and it's all very fluffy and wonderful.

The temperatures are cold and normal and all is right with the world. It makes me happy.

There'll be other times for pictures of snow and cold.

Today, as a gesture of protest against the icy oppression of normality, I give you the above.

It's another peek at Abraham Lake from out west of Rocky about a half-hour from the Banff National Park gate.

Gratitude Monday - The Sensual Pleasure of Baking

Cattails have such personality. The photo has nothing to do with today's post.

It’s almost normal weather here. It’s gotten cold and we’ve finally got a bit of snow on the ground.
Yes, let the record show I am happy to have snow on the ground. It’s December in Canada. We are supposed to have it.
Baking is a lot more fun when it’s cold. Mike made a Swabian Rum Cake on Saturday which has to be soaked in rum once it’s cooled. I baked panettone in the bread machine, rhubarb cake, and date squares (AKA matrimonial cake) also on Saturday.
A day of baking for the sheer joy and later enjoyment of it is one of life’s simple, beautiful pleasures.
It’s tactile in that ingredients are handled and stirred. It appeals to the aural sense in scraping sound of the mixing as well as satisfying sounds of chopping and the beep of stove and bread machine when the creation is ready to come out.
The olfactory sense can be joyously overwhelmed during preparation and baking. We who cook by feel often consult the gustatory sense during the process. It is always rewarded at the end.
I’m grateful for the normal weather and for the chance to enjoy it through the kitchen. Baking is a sensual pleasure at the best of times and much more so on a cold and wintry day.

Green Scene

It's good to be reminded of the abundant life which surrounds and sustains us. It's all gone cold and dormant now, and that's good, too, but the occasional reminder is good for the spirit.

I was going to say something about denial. I changed my mind when all I could muster was "Denial is a cow."

Hoofed mammal, two stomachs, chews cud, gives milk. No, can't quite get what I was trying to say with that.

Maybe I mean it's sacred. Or a good source of leather.

Whatever it was I am not denying the cold. I like it. It's good for writing. But I do think that as the days get colder and darker we need to be reminded it's only sleep, not death, and it'll be green and vibrant again.

Happy days of cold everyone. Enjoy it for what it is because it's all we've got.

What Does -40C Look Like?

The heated pet bowl was covered with snow. We use this so the birds can have drinking water when everything else is frozen.

The frost fairies were very busy.

And to answer the question literally:


It's Fahrenheit on the left and Celsius on the right.

Monday Gratitude - A Simple Pleasure

I had to laugh last evening as a TV weather forecaster described the current cold snap. Temperatures are projected to hit more than -40 C (same as 40 below F) and he called it unseasonably cold.

No. It’s winter in Alberta. That’s seasonably cold.

I’m grateful for the cold of this season. I’ve always believed that if we have the proper winter weather, then we’ll be rewarded with proper summer weather. I have no idea if that pans out, but it gives me great comfort during howling blizzards and -40 temps. I don't have a photo of a howling blizzard for today so this mountain winterscape will have to suffice.

What I do have is a house and a furnace that keeps it warm. If I’m too cold then I can bake something. I’m grateful I learned how to bake and I’m grateful that we have hundreds of recipes around for me to ignore.
If I don’t feel like baking my husband will. He does the Christmas baking and likes to try new recipes out during the rest of the year.
And if we’ve got plenty of baking around, then a pot of stew on the stove warms the house and fills it with an inviting fragrance.

Good food made with joy is a simple pleasure of life and a wonderful way to enjoy the seasonable cold. For that, I am grateful.