ENDURING WINTER - WAITING FOR SPRING

Last Friday we had a little of everything - we woke up to snow which later in the morning became heavy, but by later in the afternoon we had passed through sleet and settled on drizzling rain and a wind from the southeast.
By bedtime, the wind had backed around to the northwest and was howling in off the Bay of Fundy. Saturday morning dawned very cold but with the wind gradually lessening. The high winds had coincided with high tide and the phase of the moon which means a higher tide than usual, and the damage to facilities at the harbour here was extensive.
Compare this photo with the one I posted in my last post - the view that sunny summer day was taken from the same level as the structures in the photo above are built on - the ripped off shingles were caused by large items such as a small shed and the small craft mooring pontoons which were in their winter storage positions nearby being thrown against them. The buildings are seasonally used storage for the Lobster Pound Restaurant and a building used as a Gallery for artists. It would appear the Lobster Pound itself and the Restaurant and washroom buildings must have had water in them too, and their raised septic bed had damage.
There was as well some erosion damage to seaside embankments on which homes are located. This points up very clearly the peril coastal communities the world round will face in the future due to rising sea levels coupled with increasing intensity of weather systems affecting us.

The weekend was intensely cold, at a consistent minus 18 celsius but the biggest factor in enduring that cold in an old uninsulated house like mine is the wind factor and that was variable settling down a little Saturday only to start to rise again Sunday evening and peak last night before settling again.
I did my usual thing - wandered around with a supply of left over quilt batting strips and a butter knife, tucking batting into all the drafty cracks I found, and keeping doors to the outside and to unheated parts of my house covered with heavy drapes. Both days I was a sight to behold with a knitted cap tied under my chin and two layers of clothing topped by a nordic fleece dressing gown - yikes - thank goodness no one was out and about visiting and thank goodness I didn't have a chimney fire - what a sight to behold! But today, it is rising to a balmy minus 11 and some gentle snow is sifting down out there and snow heralds warmer weather!

Have spent my time searching the internet and writing ideas down for improving my old 1820's house for next year. The old house has at best a layer of birchbark under a layer of shingles and many of the windows really need replacing, but so does my bathroom floor and that must come first.
I'm looking at another woodburning stove and have found something I just love - it is a compact oven cooktop and is small, sleek and nicely designed and engineered - it would be compatible with my old kitchen and could be installed in front of the bricked up fireplace and bake oven combo. It is manufactured in Vermont so I have sent an email to see if it is possible to buy in Nova Scotia.


I also have been checking out a new site that my daughter has launched as a Kindle book lending  exchange now that Amazon has allowed lending to take place. Check it out at http://www.kindlelendingclub.com/   - if you already have a Kindle or are considering buying one, borrowing books makes a lot of sense - even if you can't finish it in the allotted two week span, then you will know if it is a book you'd like to buy and can go ahead and purchase it from Amazon instead. I've put the link on my Blogs and Website sidebar, so go check it out.

It's now finally warm enough in the house to be able to attack the hand applique I'm doing, so I must go now and first bring in more wood; and second spend a few hours at quiltmaking.
Cheers everyone - winter will be over soon!
Keep warm!   Janet