Spring Spruce Bog

Spring is in the air when Spring Spruce Bog comes along. And it certainly is spring today. The water is running in rivers down the roads, cars are a muddy shade of grey with a windshield wiper wide view of the world, and the pristine snow roadside is an attractive black brown. Ah spring. I was happy to see Phyl is once again doing her pottery. A while back she had sold her kilns but now she is back at it. We went mid afternoon, a perfect time as the crowds had dissipated and we had plenty of room to look and chat. Even little Ella joined the craft fair shoppers although in her dreams I'm sure she was somewhere else.

Professional Brick Carrier

You think your job sucks ....



(Thanks Hans)

Correction

I said in an earlier blog that the temperature in Dawson City was -41 degrees Celcius on March 15th. I was just corrected with a picture to prove my bad!

So Sick of Winter

Need I say more??

Women in Art

Just found this on someone else's blog (thank you windrosehotel) and really enjoyed it.



500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art”—nominated as Most Creative Video at the 2nd Annual YouTube Awards—is an awesome video, submitted by Philip Scott Johnson on April 22, 2007

Music: Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Nominated as Most Creative Video
2nd Annual YouTube Awards

For a complete list of artists and paintings visit http://www.maysstuff.com/womenid.htm

Higher resolution version at
http://www.vimeo.com/1456037

Dropped into Natasha's new house this afternoon. She has just moved in and is thrilled with it. It is very nice and built by one of the best house builders in town - Horizon Construction. Of course, her husband Derick, who is in university in Edmonton, has yet to see it.
Met Tash in the early afternoon in Starbucks. She said that with all this snow, she is doing very well work wise - she is a physiotherapist. Actually went to meet Deb there and we were going to plan our next big trip which will be to Naxos - once again. Greece keeps calling me back for some reason - maybe I'm part Greek, not part Hungarian??? Was going to take my computer with me and phoned Starbucks to ensure I could get a connection. They told me to bring the computer and I could probably hook into an unprotected internet site - yeah right. So I left the computer at home. As it turns out with Natasha there, we talked house decorating instead. If anyone has rented a house or apartment close to Naxos Town/Agios Georgios, please let me know. That's what we're looking for.
Don't want to go on about the weather, no, really I don't, but, BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH. Dawson City had the coldest temperature on record for March 15 today at -41C. That's where SR is now, trying to open up the mine. Old Crow was -65C with the wind chill.
We sat at around -15C but that wind was chilly - don't even want to know what it was with the wind chill.
Picked up two good movies last night. Changeling (directed by Clint Eastwood): it was very good and Angelina's lips were very big and red. It is based on a true story and very interesting and a bit sad. Also rented Australia (with Hugh Jackman, who is pretty easy on the eyes): it's an epic tale with good guys, bad guys, damsels, horses, cattle, wars ... just about everything and kept my interest for its almost three hour length.

In Like A Lion

Driving into town today I looked around and thought what a vast country we live in. The east is being plummeted with snow storms as is Washington state, temperatures are well below normal in other areas and here we are in the far north and the temperature is -1 degree celcius and calm - something that lifted my spirits as I am well through with winter. Oh for the warmer temperatures to descend upon us and the vast amounts of snow we have had can start melting away. I washed my car yesterday (I do that when I can no longer see out my windows) and unfortunately, with this warmer weather, the road snow has melted and mixed with the sand that had been dropped all winter to prevent sliding and the mud was being sprayed onto my clean car. But, even that I could handle. IT WAS WARM.
I went into The Country House to look for new bedroom curtains (yes, I am trying to help the economy with my purchases!!) and when I came out it was like I was in transported into another world. There was a huge snow squall - thin hard snow being pelted around in huge circles by the turbulent north wind. Visibility was about 20 feet. My windshield was covered with frozen snow which needed to be scraped off before I could see. What happened to my beautiful, hopeful day?? As it turns out, it wasn't a squall, it was weather which has now lasted 8 hours and is going on strong. After my shopping I came home and retreated into the shelter of my house only to sit and look out the window at the wild weather.

Just before dinner, I decided that although it was still snowing I should shovel what has fallen to this point or I may have a very hard time shovelling when the snow stops - not a pleasant job. The chaotic wind had caused three foot drifts in the driveway. The snow banks are more than six feet high so when I toss the shovelful of snow over that bank, half gets blown back onto the driveway and if the other half doesn't reach the topof the snowbank it rolls back down into the same spot I have already shovelled. Whew! What usually takes 10 minutes took 1-1/2 hours.

Now darkness has fallen, the wind is still blowing hard from the north, the snow is still falling and the drifts are again forming. Well, I won't even think about it again until I depart tomorrow, which won't be too early as my Man U game starts are 9:00 AM at which time I'll be sitting with the fireplace on, sipping a cup of hot coffee and I'll be transported, at least for a couple of hours, into the warmer weather of England, watching an exciting soccer game with good looking muscular men in short pants! Snow, what snow??