holy crap

Hard to believe that just one month ago I was happily kicking 2013 out the door and welcoming 2014. Sitting cozily at home, eating chips, making resolutions, and thinking that the new year just had to be better. Silly me.

Let's get the weather out of the way first. Bloody hell. So... second coldest December / January on record. In those two months, we've had 21 days below -30 (not including the windchill). Almost 50% more snow than average. It's making everything else so much harder and I've turned into a very grouchy bear. And February is supposed to be cold and snowy. Ugh.

Then there's the job situation. Too much of a good thing. I start a new job at Deer Lodge Hospital library next week. Super happy to get the position but really, really sorry to be leaving Children's. So sorry that I'm going to stay on one day a weekend until my term is up at the end of April. And I'm staying at Silver Lotus. Not giving up that job until I have a permanent position (and maybe not even then because I really like it too!). So basically, overworking. Which under normal circumstances would be fine, but then...

The broken jaw. This picture really doesn't convey how much of a mess Rufus is. You can tell that his mouth is wired in a slightly open position. You can sort of tell that the left side is swollen. He's also drooling excessively and grooming his legs and chest like crazy to try and deal with it, which is making his skin raw. He won't eat so he had to be syringe fed this morning. And this is day four of a six week process. He's clearly miserable and there is only so much I can do to make things better. Going to pick up a couple of preemie t-shirts today and see if wearing one will help with the grooming. Picking up some chicken or turkey on the way home and will make some broth so mix with his food. Hopefully it will be more enticing. Other than that.... lots of love.

*sigh*

So.... 2014.... not really diggin' you so far...

january theme song

My favorite song off their latest album, which I've been listening too ALL THE TIME since the beginning of December. As usual, I haven't bothered to find out much about this band or listen to their other album but I do know that they're playing in Winnipeg on April 7th. Thinking I might go if the budget allows. Haven't been to see live music in ages.

ten books

To help keep Resolution #1 on track, I came up with a list of books I'd like to read this year. In no particular order...

1. Anna Karenina. Started in October and it got put aside over the holidays. Loving it and will finish. 500 pages from now.
2. Vimy. On loan from my sister. Have had it quite a while.
3. Quiet. Um.... because I'm an introvert?
4. A Scanner Darkly. I don't read much science fiction and don't know the genre very well. But I've really like what I have read (Bradbury and Gibson mainly) and think that Dick is the next logical step. 
5. Pippi Longstocking. Okay, fine, not exactly keeping with my resolution but we just got this in at work and I adored it as a kid. I totally wanted to live in an old house with a monkey and a horse. Got the old house...
6. Wolf Hall. Recommended by Elizabeth but also referenced in a Vanity Fair article about the King James Bible. Piqued my interest.
7. North and South. As a change from reading Pride and Prejudice over and over.
8. Burial Rites. Just sounds interesting. I like historical fiction. With murder. Set in Iceland. 
9. Tombstone Blues. Totally looking forward to local author Chadwick Ginter's follow-up to Thunder Road. 
10. At least one of the Smiley novels. Want to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy because it's such a classic but feel like I should start at the beginning.

I'm happy with my list. Have a couple of Canadians, nice mix of genres, something old, something new. I'm sure I'll be reading more than 10 books in 2014 so please send recommendations!

38 degrees below zero (with the wind chill)

My shift at Silver Lotus was cancelled today due to the blizzard that blasted through the last couple of days. Loads of snow + frigid temps = no customers. I love working there but I'm very happy to have the day at home. Have spent an hour and a half shoveling and have at least another hour to go. Following the new NY mayor's advice.... getting low, using my knees. May have heard that advice a time or two before (right, mom?).

This afternoon is a Downton Abbey-a-thon. Re-watching the first three seasons (while knitting, doing laundry and drinking even more coffee) in eager anticipation of the start of season 4. Two more days!

Then noodles for dinner and back out to shovel. Possibly followed by a hot bath. Actually kind of a lovely day.

Here are a few random pics from the last couple of weeks....

Christmas Eve with O. and his family.

Downy woodpecker at my mom's feeder.

How the cats are spending the winter.

George Harrison, who goes home tomorrow.
Waiting for his person to fly in from NYC.

6 weeks into winter... 10 more to go?!?

six resolutions

1. Read more adult books. Goodreads sent me my 2013 year in books by email. Apparently I read 33, which seems pretty good. But 13 of these were young adult novels and 5 were graphic novels. Not being dismissive of these books, they're just fairly easy reads (Maggot Moon excepted). As were the 7 Ian Rankin books that I couldn't put down. Feel like now that I have my brain (mostly) back, I should be taking on something more challenging.

2. Clean up my email accounts. All FIVE of them. Yeesh. Student account, work account, Hotmail and gmail, and the account I give out to organizations when they insist. Every one full of junk.

3. Get back on the budget bandwagon. Totally fell off the wagon since getting a job in April. Kind of ironic. Spend an hour today setting up a spreadsheet for 2014 and since I've kept a budget diligently from 2005 to 2011, this resolution is more of a reboot.

4. Eat healthy and exercise bla bla. Ditto for this one. Didn't fall off this bandwagon; more like I was shoved. Knock on the head in August really set me back but now that I'm feeling well again I need to get going. Our crappy December (coldest in 80 years, twice as much snow as usual...) has been a convenient excuse for staying cozy in the house and eating carbs but no longer! Going to walk at least one way to work every day, swimming on Sunday mornings (once I wax my legs!) and weights twice a week. Which is not up to where I was before but it's a start.

5. Make a decision about school. My decision is mostly made.... just need to think on it a bit more. And then, you know, actually act on it.

6. Write letters. Since Canada Post announced major changes to its service, I've been fondly remembering all the letters I've received and kept over the years. I love, every once in a while, digging them out and reading them. I also have a stack of blank cards and paper that I've been moving from apartment to apartment and house to house since working at Smithbooks in the early 90s. Even though there's a good chance anything I say in a letter will be said in an email before the letter arrives, I still plan to do some writing. So check your mailboxes!