It's Been A While

It's been a while since I blogged again. I'm not sure where the time goes.

It was bitterly cold here for a few days. Now it's warmed up to the freezing mark and it actually feels balmy. It won't be long now until we see the first signs of spring. February is a short month and I'm glad. In March the snowdrops and crocus should begin to bloom. I can't wait to get out in the garden. I didn't get to do anything at all outdoors last year. I was still recuperating from the heart surgery. This year I can do so much more than I've been able to for a long time...at least I hope so and am going to give it a good try.

Hubby's van broke down one of the nights it stormed. Thank goodness he was only nine blocks from a service station. This time it was the alternator. The tow truck cost $100 and that was a shocker. We haven't needed a tow truck for years, so had no idea the cost. Then the alternator for a refurbished installed was $307. That knocked our socks off again. Thank God for angels of mercy here on this earth.

Brandon is off school until next Friday. He tried his end of semester exams this Wednesday and Thursday. He has an entire week off of school and he is happy about that. Jordan is jealous. He is in grade 8 and so he has to go every day except for Thursday when the teachers have meetings all day.

Other than that, no other big news here. Life isn't very exciting during the winter months. I'm hoping to get by and visit all of you soon.

What's Happening

Life has really been quite boring here lately. Nothing much happening and so, nothing much to blog about.

I've been making some new cards for my Etsy shop and this is one of them. Actually, this was my first try. I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. As some of you know, I love vintage ephemera and am always looking for a new way to use it.

The starter went on hubby's van last fall and we had a used one put in because it was so much cheaper...well, that was his outlook on it anyway. Me, I'm not so thrilled about used car parts, especially starters. Well yesterday the starter went again. Since it's been 2 months since the last one was put in, it wasn't guaranteed. He had the garage put another used one in. Price tag $75 for the starter. At least the fellow didn't charge us any labor, which was good. He could have. A smart business man looking to keep his customers. It didn't take him long, but am glad he installed it free of charge.

The boys haven't been doing much. Last Saturday they came over, but we didn't get to play any games. They went and shoveled Mom's driveway and sidewalk for her. Then we took a camera back to Wal-mart for her and boy, that is the last time I'll shop in that store. Might try the one a little further away, but the attitude of their workers is something to be desired. Even the manager was rude. I've found this in that particular store before and don't shop there myself. Only went there for Mom. Never again.

That's about all the news from here. We had one snow storm last week that dropped about 4 inches on top of the two inches we already had, but nothing serious. All around us this winter there have been storms that left a huge amount of snow. It seems to go all around us but am expecting we will get dumped on later this month or the first couple weeks of February. We usually do. Right now it's cold here and the temperatures are to continue dropping for a few days.

Mom is down sick again. This time with a bad cold and lung infection. Seems she gets this every year at least once and oftimes twice...spring and fall. She is improving though since the dr gave her antibiotics.

Looking forward to visiting everyone soon.

Prayer for Fallen Police Officer's Family

Please pray for the family of fallen Toronto police officer, Sgt. Ryan Russel. Sgt. Ryan Russell, an 11-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service was killed today when a man stole a snow plow and went on a rampage. Russell leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old son. The former member of the guns and gangs task force, promoted to sergeant at downtown's 52 Division about six months ago, is the son of a former Toronto police officer. He will be missed by both his immediate family and his police family.

For more information on the tragedy, click HERE

A Fun Afternoon With the Grandsons

The grandsons came over today about 1pm and Brandon brought his Nin*tendo Monopoly with him. We gave him this for Christmas. He collects Monopoly games and this is about his fifth or sixth. He loves Monopoly and while I got them a bite of lunch, they sat up the board. We had a lot of laughs while playing but after 4 hours the boys whipped me. I was down on my luck and out on the street.

The boys continued to play for about another half hour. When Jordan had stacked up $10,000 Monopoly dollars, Brandon surrendered. It had been 4 hours since we started the game. Brandon said his butt was sore from sitting for so long. This is not an easy task for him. Like me, he isn't still for long.

So, Jordan won and had stacks of money. He was ecstatic. It was a fun afternoon. After we ate, Brandon said he couldn't keep his eyes open and asked to go home. So at 6:30 pm, I dropped them off. Next week maybe we will play Clue or Scrabble for a change. We try to make a game date about once a week.

In other news, my battle of the bulge continues. If you recall, this was my New Year's resolution last year. I did great and lost 26 lbs by April. Then I had the heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. For months all I did was sit around because I couldn't do much. Well, I'm feeling great, doing more than I've done in years and the battle of the bulge continues. I have lost 2 lbs this week, which I'm more than happy with.

So fun with the boys and weight loss is on my list. What does your family do for fun and bonding? I would love to hear your New Year's resolution.