Surprise blooms

One of the greatest gifts the previous owners of our house left us, besides a home we love, is a garden. They were originally from the Netherlands and very much into the yard. This Mandarin Azalea surprised me this year as it did not bloom the past two seasons. Being partial to the color orange, this plant amazes me each and every time I drive up to the house. It also matches the road construction signs we have near our house.

It's beginning to look a lot like winter

The weather today was certainly not winter-like, but the signs of winter are here. Literally. These driveway markers are multiplying like Republican house seats. Different snow plow companies get permits for driveway plowing and once you have paid the bill, up front, they put these markers at the bottom of the driveway so employess know which driveways to plow after a storm....up to several times a day.  It seems like a luxury for us as we tend to be more "do-it-yourselfers" but, with the amount of snow we can get, it's worth every Canadian penny.

Speaking of "do-it-yourselfers"....Paul insists on cleaning the gutters himself, along with help from the kids. Me? I look up and thank God we have good healthcare coverage.

"I'm almost fluent" word of the day 9.3

This is one of those words that most English speakers would probably figure out after a few guesses...


climatisation


Which means....air conditioning. Which is...something we have been without for the past four days. Which makes....the mom of the house very cranky. 


Finally the "part" is in the the repair man is in the house. In a few minutes I'll be presented with a facture which means invoice -- however each time I see the word facture it reminds me of fracture which is usually what it's doing to the checking account. Today though, if lots of loonies means nice cool air, that's okay. Just in time for the start of fall. Hopefully the heater is working.