My New Year Wish

A whole year has passed since my last post to this blog. Lost interest, perhaps, too busy, perhaps not. I suppose that just too many things get in the way.

It has been a strange year, both for weather and other things and events both local and abroad have led me to be very introspective. This does not lead you to be very interested in posting blogs I guess.

A very wet Spring and Summer led to an absolute explosion in mosquitoes. This meant that just going outside was a fight with a unbeatable foe and very unpleasant. The end of the year from October on was more pleasant when the bugs finally started to give and the weather was still fairly pleasant. Then early came the Winter, in November and the snow up to now has been as much as we had all of last year. Little have we seen the sun and as the New Year approaches, we hope for a speedy return to Spring.

Tiger Tubs our little cat got sick a year ago and still carries on with the help of his medication. This was a blow to us and has meant a worry some year. He has good days and bad days, but we hope that he will continue to maintain some health.

My New Years list is now firmly in my mind and I can only hope that it becomes reality, although my natural pessimism dictates that it is unlikely.

1. That our family will come together and become closer, putting aside the petty and embracing the bigger picture. We all of us have regrets in our life. Imagine if you could go back in time and correct such regrets. Why not take the opportunity to prevent future regrets. We none of us will be here long and when it comes to the end we will wish that we had been closer to those we love and should love, then it will be too late. The world seems to delight in making life more difficult for us all, why fight those close to us?

2. That our friend's will have better lives and will become closer to us. I have remade two friendships from the past in 2010 and this makes me very happy.

3. That a certain person in my immediate family will have better health. We are thinking of you.

4. That my cat, friend and close companion will be healthier and have a long life.

5. That we will achieve all we want in this New Year of 2011 and that our friends and family will have all the luck and happiness that they deserve.

In 2010 we more or less went through the entire house and renovated and redecorated. Then we put the house on the market for a short while to gauge interest. So, come the Spring of 2011 we will be re marketing the house with a vengeance as we have decided that it is time for change.

Hopefully once sold up we will be moving to Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast. It is a much prettier and more interesting part of Canada AND we will be near the ocean again as we have missed it so much. Perhaps when this happens I will start this blog again to let everyone know what's happening

In case anyone is wondering, the picture on this page is not of me. Not sure who it is, but as the spirit of this blog is about family, the two central adults are my Mum and Dad.

So a happy New Year to you all.

The New Year

The record warm November temperatures fall off a cliff sharply to leave us with a December that is much colder than it should be. We woke to -30c this morning and the world seems like the ice age has set in for the season. Of course this is the New Year, when the 'death' of the year and much that is upon it, brings promises and celebration of new life to come. Doesn't make it any easier though when you have icicles on your nose.
Saw some robins yesterday. Poor confused things must wonder why the heck they are still here. We do! Extra bird food going out this week to keep the birds and squirrels happier than they would have been, but still many will die.
Of course this week is the start of the Copenhagen summit on climate change and we can expect nothing from this as usual. Going through the motions is all there is. Canada's prime minister will be there to shame Canada once again in the eyes of the world.

Didn't get the chance to get rid of all the fallen leaves this year, but most of them are gone. We won't see them again until the Spring anyway, and that seems an awfully long way off.
Everything else is done as much as it is going to be and apart from shoveling snow, not much else will happen outside.

Our poor little cat has developed diabetes and is being treated twice daily with insulin. I hope for the best here and d all we can for him. Diabetes in cats is a purely man made disease. Reason being that we feed them on dry 'kibbles,' which are rich in carbohydrates. Cats are meat protein exclusive, they are just made that way and of course we neglect that at our (or the cat's) peril.
I strongly advise anyone who cares for cats to switch them to a protein rich, low carb diet. For myself, I wish I had done this a long time ago and researched feline diabetes before we experienced it.

So enough soap-boxing. The Christmas holidays approach when everyone will get involved with huge over commercialization and yet more re-runs on the tele. Well, having said humbug, I now want to wish all those that know me and read this ditty a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from me, Helen and of course Tubs. XX

A New Home

Welcome to our new Blog home. As I said in my last post, I was not happy with Yahoo profiles, so thanks to my nephew Steve I found this one here at Google. I'd appreciate any feedback such as bugs found etc so I can make it better for anyone that might be bored enough to want to read my blogs.

So the 30 degree September days are gone and what's left in it's place are damp, windy days with less than half that temperature. To be honest, its more like Autumn now.

The picture above is a Northern Flicker, a kind of woodpecker. Just lately we've been seeing a few of these scuttling around our lawns. Normally we don't see them much, but a couple of times a year we get them passing through. Nice to see them as they are such a pretty bird.
Plenty of hawks around at the moment too. Think they are off to milder climes although some hardy souls do stay and brave out the Winter.

Soon will come the wonderful job of picking up leaves. I usually leave it until there are plenty on the ground to try and minimize the number of times I have to do it. It's a laborious job, but made easier by our lawn sweeper which picks up loads and allows me to dump in bulk.

OK, I'll keep this short as it's our first post here and I really only wanted to test it out.
We'll be back come the Winter to let you know how things are going.
Oh, by the way. If any of you remember a previous post about Clementine, the cat we rescued. You will be glad to know that she has been adopted by a loving family. So nice to see that this story at least has a happy ending.