Snowmageddon and more

February 9/13.

I had so many other things planned for Friday (usually my fave day of the week), till the massive snowfall hit, forcing changes galore.

Instead of doing what we WANTED to do, it was all hands on deck to dig our way out!

Spent most of the day shovelling, salting and scraping. The snow just kept on coming!

Every time we thought the shovelling was finished,

more snow arrived.

And just as it looked as though things were settling down and the sidewalks were passable,

the plows came by and PILED tons of hard-packed snow up against the curb,

all along our street!

Sam managed to cut out a small walkway from the street to the house, (before emailing members of city council to complain).

The sidewalks are a mess.  Luckily, the forecast seems to be for milder temps soon, 

so we may see some melting. Let's hope so anyway.

Meanwhile, I'm taking a break inside, where it's warm!

Our other recent problem has been our poor 15-year-old Devon Rex cat, Tru, - suffering from an eye infection. (the eye that looks red in this picture is from camera red-eye - it's actually the OTHER eye that has the infection).

Travelling vet, Dr. Musson, came to see Tru, examined her and prescribed several medications, an eyedrop, eye ointment, eardrops and a pain med. I've been busy administering all these things on a regular basis to try and keep her comfortable and hopefully, end the infection. If not, she has to be seen by an opthamologist. The poor cat has been wandering from room to room, yowling, very restless and uncomfortable.

In between snow and cat emergencies, lots of other things on the go too. My sister Carrie dropped by for a quick visit one evening with her son, Lee (centre) to give my son, Max (right), a couple of belated birthday gifts. He got a new denim-y t-shirt and two gift cards - one for Tim Hortons and the other for iTunes, all of which made him very happy! Lee has been busy applying to five different college programs (mostly for health and fitness) and has already been accepted at a couple of them! He also just got his G1! Congrats Lee!

I'm always so glad to see Carrie. Her schedule of jobs is very full, and we can't get together as often as we'd like. We're planning a dinner out to The Friendly Greek soon to catch up on everything. Carrie just survived a miserable problem with her car. Canadian Tire fixed the battery in the middle of the snowstorm. Five minutes after leaving the premises, the car broke down! Turns out, it wasn't the battery at all, but the alternator! She was stuck, freezing to death at Lawrence and Keele at rush hour for ages, until her boyfriend, Paul, came to her rescue. Carrie picked up the car at CT yesterday after putting out a pile of cash. To their credit, Canadian Tire knocked off the charge for the battery repair. Good move!

One night, Kate was invited to attend a winter evening beach party. She got all dressed up and looked gorgeous, but later, after starting the walk, she turned around and came home. It was just TOO cold for a beach bash!

It's also been a busy few weeks of follow-up appointments at Princess Margaret Hospital for me. Every six months, I have a series of visits to doctors, just to make sure all is well. It's been exactly two years since I discovered the lump in my right breast. Hard to believe that much time has gone by and so much has happened.

I wore my cancer-pink hoodie for one visit to see Dr.Koch, (radiation oncologist). She confirmed the mammogram looked good and that I'll be back for another MRI in June.

Also went to see the medical oncologist I nicknamed "The Nutty Professor" (because he reminds me of Jerry Lewis in the old sixties movie I love so much). I heard his voice out in the hall, but ended up seeing Dr. Amir's associate, a lovely lady doctor, instead. She answered all my questions and arranged a visit to the nutritionist (again) to try and get my weight up. After the appointment, and all the talk of food, headed for Druxys in the lobby for a grilled cheese sandwich and a tea,

before going to my favourite flower shop on Broadview at Danforth to get something pretty. The doctors tell me everything has to work together to keep you well - mind, body and soul. Flowers are good for the soul, especially in the bleak mid-winter!

One day, Sam and I went for Dim Sum at Pearl Court Restaurant on Gerrard. Haven't done that in SO long.

The food is delish. We had lots of shrimp and scallops.

Then grocery shopping at Loblaws. (what else is new?)

Seems I spend half my life at No Frills or Loblaws to keep the house stocked with food. Always lots of meals to cook. The tropical balloons in the background made me want to take off for a warmer climate! 

One of these days, I'm heading for Greece! Always wanted to go there.

On February 6th, dropped by the just-renovated Urban Nails for a new shellac job with Tom, the master! (you can see him snapping the pic in the mirror!) This time, they tried a different method to remove the old shellac. Usually, you dip your nails in a bowl of Acetone before having the polish scraped off.

Instead, Tom wrapped each nail in cotton, drenched with Acetone and then covered them with tin foil. They say it works better and faster to disintegrate the old shellac. What weird looking fingernails!

In the end, I was happy with the results, as always. I never knew how relaxing it is to have a manicure until I finally stopped biting my nails!

Wonder what in tarnation lies in store for NEXT week? (No more snow, OK)?