What a difference a day makes. Temperature wise that is. The Canadian pre-occupation with the weather seems to escalate in the winter. We have to pay more attention to survive and to go about our daily routines. None more so than in our household.
Last week we were experiencing -20 degrees and bitter winds and then more snow to cap it off. Settling in to watch a movie Friday night after a busy week at work we tried to keep warm as the Arctic blast that was howling outside was making our TV room freezing. This room is situated above the garage and is always cold and in summer stifling. I think the builders must have bricked over the vents. Well.....the resident handyman went to the garage to bring in an industrialized sized heater that I had never seen before. "I always knew it would come in handy" says the junk collector of all time.
It came in handy for about five minutes.As Lovely warm air wafted into the room so did all the lights ,tv and computer go out. We sat there in silence thinking it must be a neighborhood thing. It was a fuse of course and it had been overloaded so my "handyman" went to the basement to sort it out. Should be back in a moment and I will move the heater to another plug!!!!
Fortunately only one side of the house was affected and I could still use the kitchen.
While I was waiting on my electrician/husband performing a miracle I made a big pot of Chili and did the chores usually relegated to Saturday morning.
Lots of running up and down stairs to find out if things were working again resulted in a call to a friend who would make it sometime on Saturday to sort us out.
What does one do when the house is cold,(the furnace was struggling as well) no television, no computer, well you just go to bed.
Back in operation by Saturday afternoon I decided to leave the writing until today as we were off for dinner and a 50th birthday for an old friend. I am not a "party girl " any more.I would have been happy to have sat by the fire with a good book or watched an old movie but I always enjoy meeting up with old friends.
Two different venues were planned. After Peter cleared the driveway and the car of the accumulated snow we drove in horrible and messy conditions to a Greek restaurant that was enormous. We had table 94!!. Obviously very popular and new with very nice decor. The two couples we met there had made the reservations and had made it into a celebration for my birthday . The wait staff sang Happy Birthday. Very nice.
Then it was off to our next party. It was nearly 9.30 and it was still snowing. Peter did his" duty"
and cleaned the car again and drove very carefully as the roads had not been plowed yet.
Talk about culture shock. We went from the latest in dining and decor to something out of the sixties. My friend Alice is a pool/snooker aficionado and plays in tournaments. I was surprised there was no sawdust on the floor. A large bouncer met us at the door and stamped our hands for entrance. A live band was so loud I knew it was an evening of just smiles as hearing what anyone was saying was out of the question. It was a beer kinda place and I made the mistake of ordering a red wine.
My handyman/electrician/editor's eyes lit up as he saw at least 12 tables for pool. There was a table of cheese and crackers and a large cake with a small pool table on it for the birthday girl.
Peter is not a handyman/ electrician but is an excellent editor and has done a fine job on Madelaine. His other talents apart from his Art is he plays a mean game of darts and is an excellent pool player so I knew I had lost him for the rest of the evening. Yes he cleaned up.
I danced with a friend and listened to these old rockers play and they were excellent...but loud.
I have had diarrhea of the mouth this afternoon but I find all experiences where I can soak up the atmosphere are great for a future story so I will store away my night at the pool hall.
The editing is done and Liz is busy making the chapters into a finished manuscript. I am tweaking the epilogue and adding a bit more. February should see us start on Body Perfect.
Talk soon,
Slainte,
Pam
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