Thundersnow

 

Last night out of the blue it snowed, it was only plus 2 degrees but just got cold enough to drop some of the cold stuff.  Half an hour later we had the strangest electrical storm with sheet lightning and thunder - two things we don't generally get on Vancouver Island.  We never lost power though so other than trying to catch the bolts of lightning we just listened to the storm.

Then at 1am I heard a weird thumping by the heat pump (our form of heat which only works to minus 10 degrees Celcius and uses the temperature of the air to heat and cool your house).  This had happened once before and since I was awake due to a bout of insomnia I got up and had a look.  Ice had formed inside the heat pump fan and it was having trouble functioning, soon to burn out if not fixed.  Fortunately, I knew what to do. Throw the air conditioner on - it sends the warm air out into the fan on the pump and within an hour the ice had all melted and I didn't have to do much of anything.  A service repair man told me that little trick last year when I was panicking in a snowstorm to try and thaw it out with hot water.  And no, he didn't charge me for a service call.  

Thank you for all the kind words on the last post.  Yes, I qualify for surgery.  Now to get it done, which is being made more complicated and possibly set back due to Covid.  We are supposed to hear from the surgeon this week about more dates but the date that has been thrown around is Dec 22.  Yes, in hospital for Christmas and maybe out by New Years'.  Not what anyone wants but I just want the surgery over and to be recuperating at home away from Covid with my husband and my dog and my Mom.  There is even a likely chance if I do get surgery before Christmas hubby will not be allowed in the hospital to see me.  These are the sucker punches that keep coming but I am a big girl and I am once again pulling on my big girl panties whether I want to or not and making sure I get the best possible chance at a long life and this is what is required to do that. Tenacity is required and I have that.

In the meantime, Christmas decorating continues.  The tree is up and a bit like a Whoville tree from the Grinch, if you put enough stuff on it it looks good.  I have rearranged a branch or two since these pictures were taken but it was completed on Sunday.  And we ended up with 1000 lights on the tree :)  The tree is a combo of family ornaments and a ton of vintage glass ornaments which I've collected over the years.  I will give you more glimpses of my vintage collection including books and candle holders over the next few weeks.  For now - here is the tree, mantle, and antique store cabinet with lights.  The lights look brighter in person, we have lights all over the place now, especially the bedroom and living room.  

Our cases on the Island are rising so I am kind of self-isolating.  I have to go to the hospital for bloodwork.  Separate visit for chemo.  A separate visit to my public health nurse for biweekly cleaning of my semi-permanent IV(PICC line), drive-thrus are ok, and I am accessing my one pharmacy which is where I pick up all my required pills and can still buy a dozen eggs or pick up milk or other things.   I can pick up our grocery order as that is zero contact but they never have everything so there is always another local grocer that we have to go to for most products but hubby is doing that.   That is pretty much it.  Thankfully I have lots of projects at home, plus lots of entertainment.  And a husband who is amazing and doing anything I can't.

Did you know that YouTube has tons of old movies on there for free and can be played on most smart devices?  If you ever wanted to get an inexpensive tablet I highly recommend Amazon Fire Tablet.  I've had mine for 2.5 years, watch movies, play words with friends, keep up on Facebook and access the internet.  No, it is not a gaming platform but a very inexpensive way to get some free entertainment.  I take it to my appointments which last all day and read books on the kindle app.  Really for the price it was an amazing deal (hubby got mine for my birthday 2 summers ago).  Just a thought since they will be on sale this week.

And finally, in an effort to reduce food waste while at the same time avoid going to the store unnecessarily, here is my pandemic salad/slaw.  A tiny bit of romaine (last of a head), a couple of radishes, a sliver of onion, a couple of slices of chopped cabbage, a little bit of carrot, one tablespoon of caesar salad dressing, and black pepper.  It doesn't look like much but serves the purpose of a healthy salad and actually tasted pretty good.  Carrots, radishes, and cabbage are staples here no matter what.  I have in the past added a bit of chopped apple to the salad but forgot to last night. Raisins and nuts can also be used to round out the slaw.  

We still have a raging storm on, what is called a weather bomb which is bringing a lot of rain and high wind up to 70km gusts.  I've got to go get dressed up like a mummy to take Mom to a Dr appointment - but at least the snow has melted!

Stay warm, safe, and healthy everyone!