A couple of lazy days

I am reading Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth and yesterday I purchased An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor. I love sipping tea on wickedly cold days listening to the wind whip loudly through the evergreens. It's great when I don't have to go out. I can just read or make music. I've been reading lately.

Jacques is disciplined. He worked out and went for his walks depsite the nasty weather. I know it was nasty because he had on a ballcap, with earmuffs AND his zipped on furlined hood and downhill ski pants.

I just made my self another cup of tea, finished off the adult slush leftover from the staff party last week, ate some caramel popcorn, some homemade tv snacks, and puttered around the kitchen preparing the strata for tomorrow's brunch.

Chatted with G and P in Mtl. Their very first Skype call. I kept checking my hair. I had gone out earlier today wearing my awesome Christmas gift tuque so I had serious had head and I kept checking my hair. I usually don't care but geez, I could see myself while we chatted.
Low battery on laptop. My cue to get off this thing and get back to real life....well an Irish Country real life!
Later!

Christmas morning

Dawn is my favourite time of day. I love its beauty, its promise. All is quiet as I wait for the first birds to appear at the feeders. A second cup of coffee tastes and smells even better than the first now that I've been awake for awhile reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Wouldn't you know that a bluejay would be the fisrt in the lilac tree, a pit stop to check to see if the coast is clear, on his way to the seeds I spilled on purpose onto the snow beneath the small birds' feeder. Next, comes a morning dove which oddly made the bluejay flie away. I thought the jays were supposed to be bullies. That jay is a wuss. He just flew to the neighbour's yard. We are talking seconds between incoming flights, kind of like Schiphol airport in Amsterdam or O'Hare in Chicago. Another dove, a chickadee, where are the juncos? I usually miss this splendid show. At 7:34, I am on my way to school. What a luxury to be able to just sit here and watch.

The eastern sky was pink moments ago and as the sun rises above the horizon, the bare trees on the hills are glowing. I want to go out for a walk up the lane but I don't want Jacques to wake up to an empty house on Christmas morning even though we exchanged our small gifts before going to bed last night after returning from the toy fiesta at his sister's place. Yesterday, snow buntings kept ahead of me on my mid morning walk up the lane. I am going to try to walk up the lane everyday this vacation.

More birds. I'm out of practice and I need to get my bird book. A dozen goldfinches are scared away from a couple of passing crows. A junco landed right in front of me on the porch.

I have two birdfeeders that are made especially for small birds. They have outer cages which offer protection from larger birds. Jacques gave them to me for my birthday in October.

I just spoke to my brother on Skype. What a great invention, now anyone can call me up and see me in my jammies and bedhead with remnants of last night's mascara flaking beneath my tired eyes.

I can't believe that Jacques hesitated about buying me this tuque. "Have you seen my other hats?" I love it! I remember the sock monkey tuque with matching sock monkey puppet puppet mits I bought for yard duty. Jacques refused to walk with me in the village the first year I wore that get up. It is still on of my warmer ensembles. I can feel that this new tuque offers some stiff competition. The wind is picking up and I want to test this baby by walking across the field.

Come on, get up, Jacques!

Merry Christmas!!!

First day of vacation

I wrapped gifts until past ten last night and I woke up at 4 am. I got up around 5 and read Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill, a Montreal writer. A talented writer. Her tragic story about a neglected 12 year old is a surpringly beautiful read. I loved her images but I was a little disturbed when she got mixed up with a character called Antoine.

I went back to bed around 8 and managed to get some shut eye until 10.
I finished the novel and started being active around noon. I made Tv snacks, rumballs and éclaté de canneberges ( cranberry jam). Oh and chorizo chips and cheese chips. I'm going out tonight and bringing the last 2 items to the gathering along with stuffed vine leaves and adult holiday slush.

Roasting tv snacks for Christmas

Was up early again this am. Checked ingredients and my pantry inventory. Was at grocery store at 8am to buy missing ingredients to make tv snacks recipe.

Heading out to snowshoe before lunch time.

My heart was broken a second time

Last Thursday, we received the news that Yogi had tested positive for peritonitis. On Friday, we received news that second tests pointed to the fact that he was not actively fighting the virus but had most likely been exposed to this potentially deadly and incurable disease. When we had brought Souris and Tit-Minou in 5 years ago, their blood tests were negative. Jacques and I decided that we didn't want to live with the fear of having another deadly ill cat and the possibility of passing it along to Souris.
With a heavy heart, I called Yogi's previous owners and brought him back.
I now know why people pay around 1000$ dollars for pedigree kittens. Next time, I want proof before bringing a pet in our home.
Yogi had been in quarantine in our shop in the basement with each of us making hourly visits. Our baseement is still sealed off and I'm doing my best to disinfect it with industrial sodium chlorite without poisoning us.

I realize that I was so stunned by Tit-Minou's death even though she had been fighting the cancer for months that I jumped into getting another kitten without fully grieving. If things had worked out with Yogi, everything would have been ok. I was hurting less for Tit-Minou.
Now I feel a bit raw.

As my friend Héllène pointed out the other evening, I had Spike 17 years on his own before introducing other cats. We can be a 1 cat family for awhile.