Well, that’s dramatic isn’t it.
February 16, 2016 gave Ottawa a record snowfall:
CBC
The Citizen
The Globe and Mail
And my window/ street:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Last night, when @wtl came home, I knew he would be grabbing the shovel and heading out to do some community shovelling #ottawashovel. So I grabbed the second shovel, and helped a bit too.
I had already called a ” Snow Day” for our dance practices, as I strongly believe that if you do not HAVE TO go out, STAY HOME. Let the city do it’s work and don’t be adding to the vehicles on the road.
Emergency service workers, people picking up children from school, people trying to get home from work, you all HAVE to be out, but are more likely to stay off the roads as soon as you can. Otherwise, why would you put yourself and others into a situation that merely contributes to potential accidents and delays for the people trying to clear the roads.
 

I a very grateful that my back has healed enough for me to be a functionally walking and shovelling person again, so that I could help out with some of the neighbours driveways, and on a completely selfish note, I knew I would want to walk this morning, so I made sure to shovel my own sidewalk along our block to King Edward. And I was very glad to have it this morning as Sprocket could walk easily along it, and not be buried with every 3rd step.
Having gone for my coffee walk this morning – it’s gorgeous out, and great for a workout, walking along through the pile of snow- I wanted to make some suggestions and things to consider, based on what I have already seen between 7 and 8 a.m. this morning.
1 – Do you really have to drive today? REALLY?
2 – If you do have to drive today SLOW DOWN PLEASE.
3 – Pedestrians are taken care of LAST, so they are walking ON THE ROAD, because there is NO SIDEWALK for them. SLOW DOWN.
4- Even if there is a side walk, Pedestrians will also likely have to MOUNTAIN CLIMB to cross intersections, OR WALK ON THE ROAD.
5- SIDE STREETS ARE NOT PLOWED – Why are you trying to drive onto one?
6- Consider paying FOR PARKING TODAY if you really have to drive instead of trying to park on side streets.
7 – If you see someone has cleared some snow already- a path, a space for their garbage cans, access for their stroller/car etc., DO NOT PILE SNOW THERE!
These are merely suggestions, and some folks will take offence, and that’s fine.   And many folks will be able to stay off the roads today as they planned in advance as we were provided with advance weather forecasting that told us there “might” be a storm coming through.
Maybe one piece of advice to cover it all:

Be kind today.

All the best to everyone in this whacky holiday season!  Find some peace, enjoy some quiet and hug folks as needed.

 

And if you are having a tough time of it theses days – please see my previous post – Sloth Hugs…

It has occurred to me that in 2015, SO MANY of the people I know have been inundated with “LIFE“.  2014 did that to us, as did 2015, but this year has been little bit less melodramatic for us personally – sort of…. well…
Ok, that’s it… Sloth Hugs to you all…Image linking back to http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=75908 ’cause they had it and it’s cool – go there – give them traffic.
Back to my post.
After a few times, “back in the day”, of getting WAY TOO INVOLVED in situations that were none of my business, I tend to now be a bit more reserved in my “reaching out” to people who are going through “life”.
I care about what you are going through, but I also care to give you the space and time you need to process whatever it is in your own way.  I figure, if you want to talk about it, you will, in your own way and in your own time.
But just in case folks find my reserved behaviour standoffish – have a virtual sloth hug again.
Note:I even have proxy sloth huggers in place for in-person hugging if you ever need that from me – but I’ll need notice to make sure they are available….  And cookies and chocolate will occasionally elicit surprise “actual hugs” from me too – just saying…
My Yule Toast for us all…

May the darkness of winter bring quiet reflection, peace and rejuvenation to us all. And may the light that returns bring joy, glittering moments of sparkly happiness, and gentle smiles to our days.

And… here’s a Sprocket MinPin Hug too…

This weekend took me into new places, < never been the the Almonte Arena before>, taught me new things and helped me see things from a different perspective.
I’m not going to get too heavy into this, as I am just at the beginning of some of my “outside my comfort zone” adventures, and I’m not really into revealing all those dark side moments.  There have been a few this weekend, and I can say that the dark is needed to be able  see the light, and it is important not to dismiss it or ignore it. I’m just not gonna write about it today.
Since being grateful and sharing positives is something the internet needs right now, here’s some of the highlights from my weekend adventures.
Dancing in a crowded fundraiser performing a stick routine where there really was not enough room to safely do so with 3 other Belly Dancing For Fun dancers:

So, doing this kind of event has become pretty much second nature. We show up, text whoever has not arrived yet to indicate where the heck we are – thank goodness Siddiqah has been out there before and knew where the event was happening!
And we scope out the space make a plan, then I change the plan halfway through the routine as it’s not quite working as I had hoped. So the comfort zone gets shredded and reassembled as best we can…
We danced, we wrought havoc, we were applauded, and then Ameenah and I changed back into our civvies and headed to Ottawa’s deep south.
And then we shot arrows tipped with marshmallows.  Having no real inclination towards athletics,  Archery seems like a reasonable alternative, except when you know you’ll be “playing” with people who do sportsing and training and have a lot of muscles and weaponry skills. Thank goodness there was almost as many of us with nerd/ geek/ artsy skillz to offset the venn diagram.

Lesson learned -Bow arm:  rotate elbow outwards to get the upper arm the heck out outta the way when shooting the arrow.  Will revisit Archery games in January to try again!  Might actually make a personal arm brace too…
Saturday, I was in recovery mode from the above adventures, plus another journey I am on at the moment that involves trips to a fitness facility, guidance and accountability. I’m not going to get into this one too deeply as it’s really a test journey which may be short lived, or not. We’ll see, but suffice it to say, I have more pain from it than from the Dramatic Battle Bruises…
Sunday morning I walked cross downtown to hop on a bus to Montreal, then walked and bussed again within Montreal to attend the 2015 YOGA MUDRAS – HEALING & THERAPEUTIC ASPECTS by Amrita Choudhury workshop. I had no time to dillydally in Montreal so anyone I know who lives there, know that I had no time to see you anyway.

I learned a lot, and while I found sitting on the cushion really uncomfortable – I don’t do yoga regularly, and with the pain I have from the other things I’ve been doing, I was happy to go grab a chair for the latter part of the workshop.  There was a wonderful amount of information and lots to assimilate into my world. After we finished,  it was a bit of a blur as I then had to hurry to get back to the bus to head home.   PSA – Montreal busses could use some sort of announcement system for the stops. Nearly missed mine with the crowded bodies blocking my view of street signs <read stressful moment>!
 
Thank goodness for a wonderful husband who made supper and there was gelato and macadamia nut cookies and Moscato to bring me back into my comfort zones after a bit of a crazy weekend of new stuff.
And this morning, after another fitness facility visit < slightly less stress, but still questioning this whole concept>:

sorry… silliness.
#zeropeopleday.
Often Monday – sometimes shifted when i need to due to deadlines and workload.
And I am treasuring you.
Why.
Anxiety. Overworking. Burnout. Not treating myself with the courtesy I have just barely learned to give others….
It began with messages from my therapist I’ve talked about in a previous post, and continued as I have been trying to be consistent about keeping that “1 day off” per week.

And today has been a much needed day off. I did lots of little things today and am about to hit the futon with the book I am reading right now < Human, by S.M.Carriere, if you are curious>.
I am simply taking a moment to post about how grateful I am for being reminded to take time to recharge myself so that I can be a productive member of society.
And to also not feel guilty about it, since it’s part of the larger equation.
Other folks get it too- each in their own way, but with ideas to help find our own ways…:

• http://entreprenista.com/blog/liveandthrive/take-a-day-off-self-care-for-effective-entrepreneurship/
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-pritchard/is-selfcare-selfish_b_4344970.html
• http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1657

Anyway – time to get back to my #zeropeopleday – and the dog just grunted at me – she needs some snuggle time too!

Officially car-less…. first time since 1999.
Happy Halloween BTW – or Samhain if you are a little bit Celtic.

In the spring of 2011, we gratefully took in a rescue that was no longer wanted, and gave it a spa week to rejuvenate it and equipped it with some new accessories.
And the Silver Sunfire has served us well.
SS participated in the production of Scream All You Want, journeyed to many a local dance event, has taken us to family events and obviously, on our annual summer trip.

But, as with all things in life, the wheel turns and changes must come.
This week we made a donation.

With much reflection, we decided that SS should be sent on new adventures.  And we checked out a variety of options, and chose to donate to the Kidney foundation.
There are many ways to donate your car, and we encourage folks to check them all out. For us, it was the clearest and simplest and they were helpful on the phone and the pick up was quick and painless.
So, fare well, Silver Sunfire, on your new journey.
Oh, and tonight we try Zipcar.ca for the first time – so if you want a referral, let me know – there are discounts/ coupons or something…