Maddy is not happy about winter

Although our winter has been snow free for the most part, we finally got a good storm on Sunday night. Maddy was definitely not impressed when we told her that she had to go out before bed.

"I am NOT going out there!"

We had to shovel out the door so she would even consider going out. As it was, she only went 2 feet, did what she needed to do, then jumped back to safety.

Overnight, the storm raged. The wind blew and it was almost assured that Monday would be a snow day. The kids (and I) were not disappointed. Wendy, however had to go to work, so Adam got out the snowblower for the first time this year and did the driveway. Maddy again was faced with her nemesis at the back door. 

Not quite so afraid, she waited for me to shovel a path

With over a foot of snow in the back yard, Parker had to make a racetrack set of paths/tunnels for Maddy to have a place to run. Although it works for her, when she goes outside we can't see her when she is "in the zone" since the snow banks are too tall.

The snow drifted quite a bit out front, so it seems it will be sticking around for a while. We are expecting more snow over the next few weeks, so it is finally not green everywhere.

At least we don't have to shovel this area...

Noises in the night

Although not big as storms go, last night we had a fair amount of wind and a lot of rain. Around the time that Obama was giving his address on TV, we heard some sudden banging noise that shook the wall of our bedroom.  I immediately went out into the rain to see what it was, but Parker insisted that it was the BBQ cover flapping in the breeze. No, it wasn't that, but I could not see much.

Ten minutes later, it happened again. Out I went with a better flashlight - this time it wasn't raining, so I waited... and caught the noise in progress. It was the house.  Way up high.

Peering into the darkness with my Canadian Tire special flashlight, I could detect some type of movement. I soon confirmed that it was the aluminum siding (actually the fascia board aluminum capping) that appeared to have come loose. Well, nothing could be done at night about it, so off I went to finish watching Obama and hope that the noise didn't continue all night. (It did...)

Fascia piece loose at the very peak of the roof

In the daylight this morning, the evidence was quite clear. A repair needed to be done before more rain and wind hit.

Yup, it's broke.

There were several nails that appeared to have popped and the piece needed to be re-attached. After dinner, Adam and I got out the ladder (not used for years) and got it ready. Nasty piece of work to get up to the top, but Adam took on the task. I was glad to be the official "holder of the ladder".

Look up...look way up!

Adam fixing the fascia board

Adam identified that it was actually a series of screws that were popped. He got them back in then used some roofing nails to make sure the piece was secured. A little construction adhesive was added for good measure.

Back to normal

The hardest part of the job for me? Getting the damned ladder down. The mechanism was so full of dust that the ratcheting part didn't work very well - at least until after it went up. Might only have a small bruise to remind me of the job well done.

Maddy's visitors

Maddy was in heaven with all the attention this week. She started off Sunday with a play date with her large dog friend, Abby (Maddy can walk underneath her, so she is quite big in comparison). Tired her out completely! She just had time for a quick nap before the arrival of Eric's parents, brother, and sister-in-law. They were on their way home from a tour in Italy and stopped in Toronto.  They stayed at our place for a few days while they recovered from the 9+ hr flight.

Maddy with Eric's dad, Paul.

Maddy decided that she loved everyone and was ready to receive a scratch from anyone, anytime. And there was a lot of that going on...everyone was home all week due to Spring Break for the kids.

Maddy with Eric's brother, Dave.

Maddy with Eric's sister-in-law, Sandra.

Maddy in her glory.

We had several big meals and sat in the living room a lot. Both Wendy and Parker practiced their piano for everyone, while Maddy demonstrated how to play with toys.

Eric's mom, Dianne.

The family all together for a concert.

Maddy also had a short play date with her neighbour dog friend, Penny (a dachshund). After all of the activity and the lack of sleep (everyone was home all day), Maddy finally remembered that she had started the week by losing an hour of sleep due to the spring-forward time change.  She was so over-tired that she kind of sunk into the couch. Anyone that has ever had jet lag should recognize this feeling!

What true jet lag looks like.

With all the talk of spring, and all the melting going on in the back yard (we had mud puddles everywhere), you'll never guess what happened?  

We got snow.  

Again.  

After everyone was headed back to Winnipeg on Wednesday in a major snow storm, I drove back home from Pearson airport (after almost 2 hours of driving on city streets - all the highways were functionally blocked). It was miserable for the whole day, but we woke up the next morning to a pretty back yard. Looks a little like a postcard from the Swiss Alps (without the mountains). 

After the storm.

It has partly melted since then, but I am not holding my breath for spring coming any time soon. The weather was just the right temperature, though, for Maddy to make some interesting patterns in the yard with her nicely trimmed (not bushy) feet.

Maddy tracks.

Back at it, again!

No, I am not talking about the weather... although there is yet another storm warning in effect right now (could be 25 cm of snow overnight). Maybe the kids will get another snow day like they had last week.

Wendy and I are going to be running another stained glass instruction evening for some friends in a few weeks, so I decided I needed to start looking at potential beginner projects that didn't look much like beginner projects.  I plan to have a series of projects for the participants to select from, and when they arrive for the 3 hr session, I will have all the materials ready for them to get right into learning how to do stained glass. After a few short hours they will be able to take home their very own piece.  We've done this a number of times (for our Iceland fundraising), but this time is just for fun.

Below is one of the projects that I am thinking of suggesting.  Since it looked pretty simple to me, I decided to try making it.  How could I honestly say that it is easy to make if I had never built one?

8" Koi stained glass

It worked out quite nicely! Even better, it took only about 2 hr to make (the first hour was rearranging my workbench so I could actually make something - what a mess it was!). I used opaque glass that would be fine to hang either in a window or on a wall. The feature colour is orange, although the other side of it is mostly red.  Although I've seen real koi in various colours, I prefer the orange myself. Wendy actually likes this one, but we can't decide where to put it.

I think it will definitely go on my project list. Comments?