Musings on a Small Life

 I hope everyone had a lovely, peaceful holiday, however you celebrated this year.   Unfortunately, with the approximately 60mm of rain on Christmas Eve, coming out of the west and pounding against the outer side wall of my unit, my master bedroom ceiling started leaking again, worse than before. Coupled with that was the water dripping behind the partition wall that separates my master bedroom from the home office, and that was so bad that water managed to seep down and completely saturate my carpet in a 6x2 ft area. It took 3 days of sopping it up with thick bath sheets and bath mats, plus running my (mercifully silent) heater all day, to dry it out. I was not a happy camper, given this has been an ongoing problem, now allowed to have become worse, for 16 months. Of course I sent texts, with pics, to my property manager and the president of the management company as soon as I discovered it, which was late Christmas Eve evening. Yesterday I sent an email for official record p...

Happy Christmas Eve to all! 2020 has been a challenging year for us in so many ways, but in spite of it all, I'm feeling blessed today:   I have a home of my own, and even though I loathe adjoining housing and where I live, and the unit needs so much cosmetic work (plus the roof, still waiting on that!), I  know I'm so fortunate to have it. The fridge, freezer and cupboards are filled with an abundance of food, both for myself and for Derry. We should be able to weather the impending province-wide lockdown (starting Boxing Day) without problem. I've been able to transition to working from home without impact to my salary and benefits. I HAVE a salary and benefits! That alone is tremendously lucky and something for which I'm grateful every day. I have terrific bosses and co-workers, and so that makes up for the mostly boring (to me) work. I've had more medical appointments this year than any other, most around a chronic issue that even with a complete change in diet ...

Not for Christmas, as my family is on the east and west coasts and I always find this season  challenging*, but for the impending work break. Today is my last day until January 4th.   Our province might be facing a full lock-down, we'll find out soon enough, so it won't be quite the same break as usual, even for me, especially if transit is as drastically cut back as it was during the first wave. However, I will enjoy the hiatus from my job nonetheless, and will appreciate being able to do my morning indoor workouts at my leisure, without any "rush" to get to the "office" for 8 AM. (Oddly, it IS hard to get my butt upstairs and at the computer for 8 AM; I'm often scrambling and half dressed. LOL. Right now I can't even fathom returning to a "normal" commuting schedule!)   I don't think Derry would want me to return to "normal," either. I brought a cat stand into the "office" and have it beside my work table, with the...

I popped out to do a few errands on Sunday, one of which included a stop at our nearby Pet Valu for Derry's treats. While there I succumbed to the temptation of a good price on a cat bed (hahaha--we all know how well received THOSE are).   When I got home I unpacked everything and put the cat bed down on the dining table while I went downstairs to put a load of laundry in the washer. When I came back upstairs, this is what I found:     Some Kitty, who knows full well he's not allowed up on the dining table (or kitchen counter), had already made himself comfortable. I guess he approves of his early Christmas gift!   Of course I laughed myself silly over this, and after I'd taken a few pics, he jumped down of his own accord.   I've now put the bed on the couch, at least for the time being, and he seems content enough to use it even after 24 hours.  Cats being the fickle creatures that they are, however, I expect the novelty will wear off quickly. No matt...

We had wet snow this morning, and for part of the day. (It's a slushy mess now.) I had popped out for a quick Starbucks run before work hours, and walked through the swamp on the way home.   It was pretty; great for a few snapshots! (Click to enlarge them.)     We're slated for rain this weekend, a "Texas low," apparently, so the slush won't stick, at least not this time. Soon enough. I console myself by the fact that we're very close to the Winter Solstice, after which we'll begin to regain daylight, and also by the fact that we're one day closer to Spring. :-) My "boss" knows where to hang out to stay warm, above. I usually have my little heater on in the mornings in the home "office," because the room is so cold and my back is to the window. (The room is very small, as all the bedrooms are, and there's isn't sufficient space to move the table anywhere else.) Anyway, Derry and I will remind you to please take our holiday e...

Hi and happy Friday! Pic from last weekend's walk along Lake Ontario Park. It's a dreary, rainy day (at least it's not snow...yet), so we've been snuggled inside. Me here in the home office, the "boss" in the guest room, below.   I've actually moved us into the guest room now for the winter, because the master bedroom is just too damp and too cold, being over the un-insulated, unheated garage. You can feel how cold that room is as soon as you step in, and after spending a few months last winter in the guest room because of the roof leak, I realized how much warmer and drier it is in there, even though it faces north. I would move in there permanently if the room were just a bit bigger, but it's a tight squeeze with just a double bed and a nightstand and small dresser, plus it no longer has a closet (I had a built-in bookcase put in when I first bought the unit). Anyway, I just consider myself very lucky to have another room to sleep in! The "boss...