Hot Days Ahead

    In fact, there's a heat warning in place for most of my region, as temperatures will hit 34 Celsius tomorrow, and not drop below 30 for a high at least through the weekend. Overnight lows will only be in the mid-teens.

   Luckily, we have A/C at home (which is already cranked up), and I've got some cold-meal dishes planned to see us through. I'm not a fan (so to speak) of hot, hot heat like this, and would prefer temps in the upper teens. However, there's no change of snow, and it's not going to be -34, so I'll take some solace from that.

TTFN

Back. At Least For Now

    Been away from here since March 10th. Have been battling some health issues, NOT related to COVID, which meant my extended absence. And while I'm back, it's only going to be for a short time, since my issues will require another, hopefully shorter, absence from work. For obvious reasons, I will not divulge the nature of my complaint.

   Suffice it to say I'm very glad to be back behind my desk, even if it's just for a few weeks.

TTFN

Away Too Long Again

    In fact, it's been 9 days since I posted anything, and it's time for another excuse as to why. We've been extremely short staffed, and I've been extremely busy helping out in a couple of areas outside my normal duties. I'm not saying why we've been down in staff, other than 1 person was taking some much needed holidays. Suffice it to say, we were all helping as best as we could.

   Recently, we had a late winter storm roll through yesterday. And while it didn't drop as much snow as first forecast, we still got at least 10 cm, or 4 inches. I ended up having to shovel twice, and I know I tweaked a shoulder, and my back. The snow won't last long, as it's supposed to get up to 5 on the weekend.

   Hopefully Old Man Winter's done with us, and I can get the summer tires put on the car soon.

TTFN

Welcome March!

    And it looks like it'll come in like a lamb, rather than a lion. Although it was -22C this morning with a windchill of -33, the cold snap won't last long. In fact, the temperature is forecast to rise to zero overnight, and we're looking at single digit highs for the balance of the week.

   In fact, the next 2 weeks should see temperatures at or above zero. That likely will change as the month progresses, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we got another cold snap, and even a storm or 2. That said, it is March, the days are getting longer and spring is just around the corner.

TTFN

An Interesting Sunrise

 

  I managed to grab that shot just as the sun was peaking above the horizon. I don't know how well you'll be able to see it, but what caught my attention was the apparent beam of light shooting upward from the sun.

   I know, we've had literally billions of sunrises (and sunsets), and I've posted enough of them here and on social media. But again, it was that light-beam that caught my attention.

   Yes, I'm working this Saturday, it's my day to do so. Short post, I know, but I figured I'd better do something.

TTFN

The Things People Find

    In this case, a co-worker with my wife came across this rather interesting tit-bit whilst cleaning. She was going through some old papers and found it. And rather than toss it in the bin, she gave it to my wife to have me give it to management at our station. I did have to break one picture down into 2 parts to make it a bit clearer.

   My wife's friend says it goes back to the 1970's, but judging from one picture, it may be even older. Thanks Bev for giving us this.

TTFN

Staying Warm

    It's been brutally cold the past week or so, with windchills in the -50 Celsius range pretty much every day. And this morning, I did "dumb thing #2". Got in the car, scraped the windshield, got back in the car and started reversing out of my spot. And I forgot to unplug the block-heater and battery blanket. Luckily, the plug I lost was the battery blanket.

   All the cold has myself and my morning show host Danny in a culinary creative mood. We've been talking about food for some reason during our morning chats, and one thing that came up was soup as a warmer for the body and mind. I told him about one I do, chicken-chili, and he responded with a turkey-chili. Yesterday, he brought me in some, and it was delicious. This morning, I'm returning the favour with my soup.

   If you care to try it, here's the recipe:

1 can red kidney beans (drained)

1 can baked beans

1 can diced chili seasoned tomatoes

1 jar salsa

1 pack chili seasoning (pick your personal heat level. We prefer "mild")

1 box chicken stock

2 skinless-boneless chicken breasts

corn (optional)

Throw everything into a soup pot (crock pots work well too) and simmer for a couple hours. Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.

You could crush up some taco chips for a topping, or use sour cream.

   As with most soups, it's better on the 2nd day. And stay tuned! There could be more from Craig and Danny's Covid Kitchen in the future.

TTFN