Calendars are very popular gifts at Christmas.

So can somebody please give Mother Nature one? Preferably one with the North American holidays on it. And maybe a kitten or puppy one, since she would probably like one of those. Not a Sports Illustrated Swimwear one. Or maybe.

Anyways, Mother Nature seems to have lost track of the season. Sing along with me here, 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...'. That's WHITE Christmas. Not green. Not brown. Not even plaid. WHITE. White means snow, which we have had in abundance for a month now. Until the last day or so. Now the temperature is up to almost 11C, the birds are flying home from the south, and there's talk of an early start to baseball season. What do we have to do to get an old fashioned take-it-to-the-bank-it's-going-to-be-a-white-Christmas kind of Christmas?

Oh yeah...stop global warming. Um...never mind.

She might still like a calendar though.

We're in the home stretch now.

Christmas is a mere day and a bit away, and since it's Christmas Eve Eve we can really feel the rush of Christmas spirit building. The house still needs some work to prepare for the big supper event, but the bulk of the shopping is wrapped up (pun intended) and we're settling in for a casual day of organizing and decorating.

We'd like to thank everyone that has welcomed us to our new home, and made us feel like a part of the community. You can't have Christmas without good friends and neighbours, and this year we will definitely be having a festive season thanks to all of you.

Do you hear the sleigh bells ringing?

That's the sound of Christmas being only 5 days away. Actually, 4 days away, since it's 12:22 am now. Are you ready?

My friend Jen dropped by work today to say hello. She was on her annual one day get-it-all-done-in-a-day shopping excursion. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow - my day off. Hit the internet and hit the stores in a one day, no holds barred combat shopping experience. So...if you're near Bayers Lake tomorrow watch for the streaks of light going past you. That'll be me.

A busy day on the social calendar

Yesterday was a busy day for Jeannette, what with the Bonds Christmas Cookie Exchange - a great idea since it involves each participating family to bake and bring cookies, that are then put into the selection, and you can then exchange them for an assortment from the ones brought by the other particpants - and then the annual lighting of the tree at Newport Corners.

During all of this she managed to get an invitation to join the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (or as Charlie Farquharson used to call them Sympathy Orchestra, "always going along threatening to break into a tune") as a Violinist . Now Jeannette hasn't played the violin in a few years, so I have a feeling she's a little rusty. There may be some noise coming from the house over the next while, so if you're passing by and it sounds like the cat's in trouble, it's probably just practice hour.

Ha ha ha, ha ha, ha, now that's a real knee slapper!

That's from an actual recording of Mother Nature watching me try to get my car up the driveway yesterday morning. With the 5 - 10 centimetres of snow that had fallen overnight it made the whole experience rather futile. Ultimately, I gave up after about 45 minutes and tried the Vue. That only took 15 minutes before I was on my way to Halifax.

We've been told that the amount of snow that we've had so far this year is as much as we had all of last year. No kidding. Timing is everything. It is still beautiful though, if you have the day off.

Know of any good snowblower deals?

It could happen to anyone

If you have a driveway that's covered with a couple of inches of snow, and sloped so that most people avoid it unless it's sunny and dry (see August in the dictionary) you may find yourself slipping, and then stuck in the snow. That's what happened today. Luckily the fine folks at CAA sent a tow truck to get the Vue out.

You can laugh now.

Did I mention that we live in the snow belt?

Another drive home in a snowstorm. Inevitably not to be my last. This is snow country, and it is beautiful, if not somewhat buried by now. Once again, very reasonable drivers all the way up the 101, with speeds staying within safe limits and a safe trip for all concerned. The CBC on the radio, a bit of snow hypnosis to battle with, but otherwise no problems.

I am glad that we chose here and not Wolfville, however. That would have been a bit much in this weather, since they're right in the heart of it.

Looks like things will even out

After entering the retail sector by joining Blacks Photography it looked like working on Boxing Day was going to be a given. That would mean only 1 day off for Christmas. Not exactly what most people would call a festive season. Things seem to be in the process of changing for the better, however. The Nova Scotia government, a minority government at that, announced today that they would support a bill by the rival Liberals that would make Boxing Day and New Years Day, along with Christmas Day, a holiday for retail workers. Woo Hoo!

It kind of balances out the whole Family Day in Ontario thing, that you may recall was announced shortly after we move here.

Bubbly anyone?

The hen's new home

We dropped the hen off to her new home this afternoon. She has 5 roommates, a warm and safe place to spend the winter. Thanks to the Bonds for taking her in. It's a great relief to us, especially after this taste of things to come this winter.

Ssssssssssssssssss

That's the sound of the air coming out of the climate change balloon. Mother Nature has given the movement a bit of a shot in the stomach with the recent snowstorms across North America. It's been years since we've had this much snow this early. I was a kid the last time you could take to the hills on a cafeteria tray in November. With these events people may be more inclined to return to apathy and reduce their commitment to the cause.

Al Gore et al. may have to pound some big drums to stay on track.

It's hard to snuggle up for warmth when there's only one of you

Since we have just one hen, and since the cold weather is gradually taking over it has been decided that the lone hen will move over to a neighbours to live with 5 other hens. This should ensure a happier hen, and a hen that stands a fighting chance at getting through the winter. We are definitely saddened by the prospect of losing her, but relieved that she will have some company.

To anyone who was expecting fresh eggs, sorry to disappoint you but production has now officially stopped for the winter.

Here kitty kitty kitty

Bring back the hen!

In the ongoing saga that is having hens we are now back down to only 1 hen in the henhouse tonight. In the morning we had 2. When we got home this evening and Jeannette went to put them to bed for the night she noticed that only 1 hen was ready to be tucked in. The other one was no where to be found.

When I went out to look around for the her I only found a set of feline footprints through the fresh snow. They were strategically placed and appeared to be placed very cautiously, at one point all 4 paws were together in a standing/watching pose.

Needless to say, the hen is gone and it looks like a linx or wild cat has something to do with it.