Sore thumb, Percy goldfish, Cinnamon cat

 What a start to the weekend. Two weeks ago I was chopping veggies and made contact with my thumb. No blood! I've been watching too many cooking shows and was careless. Friday I was poking holes in a cooking bag with a fork and hit my thumb. (Freezer dinner!) I hit it hard. I screamed, and someone who doesn't hear very well heard me from the basement, where he was watching a football game beside a cozy fire. There was a lot of blood in the sink. JB brought me a nice fat bandaid and we carried on. 

Thankfully I'd already wrapped my present from JB! The one with black tape shows the time someone couldn't find the regular tape! More tape has since been bought!

I was taking out my frustrations with the fork, methinks. It was a frustrating week. I had an appointment for a haircut, and he was 20 minutes late taking me. I sat there, trying to cool my jets, but anxiety kicked in. It was awful. You go there to relax. I think he fit in a spouse, while he had his hair cut, she slept in the chair. I had to go ask for water, they used to provide that. They had a bottle of warm Perrier. 

Still no booster vaccine booked: Funny COVID–19 vaccine story. I still haven't sorted out our taxes:  Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)😓. The bank hasn't reversed the mistake I made, and I requested the correction a week ago Wednesday. Ah, well. It's only money. Interest rates are pretty low right now, so there is that.

The news is awful. Of course that is the nature of the news cycle. If it bleeds, it leads (see above 😏)! There is Hope from B.C. They'll have a long recovery.

🌦British Columbia's Storm Damage

British Columbia's rain has finally stopped. They had a good update regarding agriculture:

UPDATE: 

 Poultry: chickens; 61 poultry farms in the evacuation zone. Good news: 97% of laying chicken survived. Also, 98% of the turkeys survived. 

 Dairy farms: 98% of the cows from Sumas Prairie survived the flood. The rugby association players cleaned up 100s of stalls, removed stuff from basement. Also, the hockey team has been working like this. People helping people. 

Sadly 110 beehives were destroyed, but they can be rebuilt.

The damage doesn't affect most of the ski resorts, Jean. This damage is in the mountain passes. Jesse and Cluny are signed up for ski lessons. They just have to hope for colder temperatures in order for the ski hill to lay down some snow.

My Cinnamon baffle on the fishtank is working to keep him out. Sadly, it was too cold for him to go out for a pee Saturday morning (or so he said), and he began working on the styrofoam, picking at pieces with his claws and tearing it off. Little dweeb! I put another book on top. That solved it. 

The silly thing is that I've always fed them from that corner. Percy goldfish keeps going to that spot every day. The smaller, younger ones get it, but he's been fed in this corner every winter for several years. I'm having to clean the tank more often, as he is so huge.

I've been playing outside in the sunshine. This is the BEFORE and AFTER! 

We shall keep on carrying on!

Saturday's Critters

My grandies name the critters these days. I post a photo, and ask for suggestions. 

Our weather has been variable, this morning it is -9 C., and things are sparkly. We've had snow, then rain, melting the snow. The trailcams show me when it snows, sometimes triggering the cameras. The critters tend not to go out in the rain, though.

 Chad coyote is first up. This is a nice, healthy one. 

This Chad coyote is afraid of the trailcam light.

The pumpkins haven't been as yummy as they were. I have my suspicions. Gerald, our slightly older buck. He could be three years old. Their antlers grow new tines with time.

Carl is the younger one. He could be two years old.

We had three coyotes at once. The triplets are back. The one pooped, scraped up debris and scared off his buddy. His other buddy had a possessive pee. Ah, nature in the raw!

 

 We had 4 coyotes 4 months ago, they are back! I had a surprise. There were four coyotes again this time. The 4th seems an outsider, not part of the tribe. Maybe he is the one, above, that is afraid of the trailcam light. They sure were inspecting the coyote poop!

 

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! Saturday's Critters # 416

I'm still decorating!

We are being very kind to ourselves and one another, since we are still fighting health issues. Some popped a half-eaten box of chocolates beside my chair!

 

My buddy and I went outside to play in the snow. I wore my beautiful red snow boots for the first time this year.

They match my bright red gloves – sent by the Red Cross seeking a donation from me. The meadow was snow-covered. It poured rain on Thursday, no more snow.

The rhododendrons are wrapped. Mostly to prevent Bambi from trimming it!

I was going to do lot outside on Thursday, but it poured rain. I had my haircut. Last time I had a haircut, Oct. 30th, it dumped 9 mm! This is a trend.

Yes, I'm still decorating. We've no guests expected, but it is satisfying. I stuffed my basket with pine branches. I popped in a red ball. It needs a little something else, doesn't it?! 

I gave Mama bear a ball to hand to her cub.

Hanging out these balls, I noticed the lights reflect the green, blue and red from the baskets.

Crock pot chili! Back in 2004 my mom wrote out a recipe for this for JB. He was retiring in 2005 before I did in 2007, and could get dinner on with this. I've modified it some, but it's a sweet memory. My mother and JB had a great time together. 

I love the crock pot. You throw stuff in after breakfast, and can smell it all afternoon.

Back in the day I'd make this carrot bundt cake. Crazy Cake for birthdays is now a tradition! JB can eat it. Do you have a favourite holiday recipe?

Funny COVID–19 vaccine story

 I tried to set up myself for a booster shot. We had our 2nd dose June 9th.They opened it up to 70+ citizens, and booked JB into a clinic at Perth Legion, after a certain number of days. I booked myself, then read the fine print, only 70+ folks. Back to square one. 

In the meantime, they've added 5 – 18-year-olds to the roster. Clinics abound. 

The news was leaked, they were opening it up to 50+. Back to the website. It's a portal Pomelo, another for-profit, I bet, providing the service. 

JB insisted I book anyway, just to get a slot, as they were opening up. The announcement came down, people 50+ can book as of Dec. 13th. I was booked in Dec. 11th. They have been saying that you will be turned away if you aren't certified. The email has a handy link where you can cancel. I cancelled.

Please ensure you are eligible for your vaccine. Please see COVID-19 Protection & Vaccines - Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit  for more details. 

My appointment info arrived in email. Can you read the fine print? Only kids for this clinic. 

I found the list of local sites and dates. There were zero appointments in Perth, by this time.

I had to resort to Smiths Falls. I didn't realize both Dec. 18 and 30 were for kids until I looked it up. It didn't say so on the booking portal. Not until they send the email. You have to open this up on another page: list of local sites. Dec. 21 began at 16:45, and I won't drive in the dark. We had another doe killed on the highway yesterday afternoon, just as I came home from my hair appointment.

I mistakenly made it for Dec. 30th. Back again to the portal. Dec. 21st was booked up. I give up, for now. It's important the kdsi get their vaccines. I shall be patient.

In the meantime, we are still wrestling with 💰Canada Revenue Agency😓, as well as the bank.  

More of our snowy day

Monday the sun shone after the night storm. The frost on the back deck caught my eye. I went out in my slippers to capture it. Today we anticipate rain!

This could be my new header! The backyard...

The front yard:

I noticed a cat has been skating on the goldfish pond!

By the time I went outside, after my workout, the sun was gone. I wish I'd seen the cat on the ice!

The driveway was beginning to melt when the sun went away. Cinnamon and I went down to the trailcams. Cinnamon was quite happy to come walkies with me. 

Cinnamon roared down the hill, amid the coyote tracks!

Cinn headed to the end of the dock. It is a ritual! I was going to pop him onto the ice, to show him it was frozen. I thought better of it.

The coyotes headed along here, off the dock, onto the ice. You can see Cinnamon's tracks compared to theirs. He kept sniffing everything,"Doggie, Cinnamon! Smell the doggie!" I guess that was silly. He's never met a dog, he may have encountered a coyote.

You can see where the coyote slid on the ice! 

Heading around the frogpond to trailcam #3, I could see where they had crossed the ice.

This spot, under the trees, and with the warmth of the sun, was a bit wet. You can see another coyote skid mark!

Cinnamon seemed pleased the ice is frozen. I doubt he remembers from last year, he was quite put off by the temperature change. Little twinkle toes, sliding gaily on the ice. He approached, quick and sprightly! Lo and behold, look who figured out the ice was safe all on his own!

The driveway didn't require shoveling. 

The tracks remained from the wheelbarrow, in which I took out the garbage.

I chucked out some cinnamon raisin bagels. Apparently they were popular.

Today we anticipate rain. I'd rather have snow, but that's just me. British Columbia is still cleaning up after the rain and Storm Damage.