what was I up to?

1 Work, work, and more work. Sometimes the monotony is palpable and yet there's a certain comfort in the paycheque and the consistency.
2 The chiropractor says that the ligament in my hip is sprained. I concur and hope that the stretching and light walking will help.
3 Tula loves sleeping on her back. It looks dog-like and very submissive. She stretches her from legs high above her head and apparently isn't ticklish at all because we scratch her in her armpit and she purrs even louder.
4 Sara makes amazing cookies. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies to be exact. Crispy on the outside and gooey and soft on the inside.
5 Izzy doesn't want to go home and she's sad. Uncle Nick works hard to make her smile and when she does, Grampa says, "Isabelle, you have a beautiful smile." She smiles brighter even though the tears.
6 Turtle or hare? Turtle.
7 Are we moving into spring or is winter still fooling with us? In the early morning there's ice on the windshield but by afternoon it's warmed up and sunny.
8 The tulips are up about two inches or more in the one pot. Tula appears to have messed with some of the other planters and it'll be anyone's guess if there are flowers this season.
9 I miss G. It feels like she's been away forever and we haven't really had a chance to catch up in ages. I missed her call today because I was working and my phone was doing a crazy hangup so hopefully tomorrow we can talk for a bit.
10 Nick and Sara are spending the weekend with Chris and family just up the road. It's a strange feeling to know they are 10 minutes away but still it feels as far away as China.
11 No work for me tomorrow. We have been planning a date day and it's been put off long enough. How does this sound? Breakfast at IHOP, a walk in the woods, a bit of shopping and possibly an afternoon nap. mmmm, yes to all.
12 I'm so appreciative of this man that I share my life with. He makes me smile.

leafless, running again, and snowing again

1 Willows in winter.
2 It's been fun getting back onto the treadmill. I'm trying to do it every other day alternating with gentle yoga but my head wants it every day. 
3 Another snowfall, another 4 inches! Winter just seems to have settled in and in making itself very comfortable, too comfortable. Mother Nature needs to step in and sort this one out fast!

again, winter, and still looking

1 The grandkidlets stayed for another night and we had a lovely time of it! We managed to get in extra stories and lots of snuggles.
1a Kes decided that sleeping is for losers and fought the good fight, but in the end sleep won the battle.
2 It's still winter out there. The snow piles just aren't melting and the driveway is icy. Good news is that the snowman isn't melting either.
3 We are still looking for a cat. It's strange how we thought it would be easy but somehow the right one just hasn't come along. We can wait for our beauty.

just a bit of fun, food, roads, and it's a date

1 We have a bit of fun just puttering around and then we're off on our dump date. He loads up the truck and trailer with branches from a tree we've "pruned", and pruned harshly, and we are off!
2 I have a chance to whip up a pot of turkey chow mien with our leftovers. It's perfect and light for our late afternoon meal.
3 The roads are wet but not too slippery on my way to work. I'll see what it's like when I leave in a few hours. So thankful for good solid winter tires. 
3a I miss the kidlets and all of their noise, but we are recruited to watch them on Tuesday so Daddy and Mummy and their other grampa can take in a movie. What will we plan to do with them? 

in the heat, Sundays, and red and white

1 We spend so long lingering on our deck over coffee and breakfast that it's pretty warm out by the time we are ready for some of our talked about tasks. We decide to plant the dogwood but once we're outside Mr P gets distracted and ends up on the hillside in the front cleaning up some dead branches . We try to pace ourselves but the heat is a little more than I expected and I quickly head for shade and cold water. I think we're still acclimatizing.
2 It's Sunday which means family dinner! Our lovies come earlier today so our meal is earlier than usual which is nice in the heat.  Mr P marinated some pork ribs last night and grilled them this afternoon. Ithey were done to perfection with the bits of bbq sauce crunchy and caramelized.
2a Izzy and Kes play out on the deck in the water with hoses and buckets, shovels, cars and best of all bubbles! I love how eager they are to water plants and dump water on themselves not caring that it's cold and that their clothes are wet.
3 We planted a dogwood shrub that the kids gave me for mother's day in a spot by the front door. It was a thoughtful gift and we're looking forward to seeing it grow through the seasons. It has variegated leaves in the summer and once the leaves are gone in the fall it will display its dark red branches and that should be especially lovely in winter. Red and white...how Canadian is that?