Snowbound

 We did not get the 12" to 18" predicted, thankfully.  We got our usual snowstorm, totaling around 6" at the Homestead.  It rained Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, before turning to very wet snow around noon.  The temps were still high enough that the snow did not begin to accumulate until much later in the day.  It snowed from around noon Wed. to midnight Thursday, however, and that does tend to add up. In the good old days we would have had to shovel our driveway and two turn around lots, as well as the sidewalk in front of our property.  With no students arriving anymore, we only need the one turn around (for us).  The town now does the sidewalk with a small tractor plow and salter, and my big-hearted backyard neighbour does our driveway.  I only had to do some cleanup, as well as the front steps and mailbox area.  Best snowstorm we ever had!

It's been plenty cold since our 24 hour warmup on Tuesday and part of Wednesday, and very bright.  Candlemas celebrations took place during the snowstorm, with a lovely wood fire.  Our Brigid figure is out, surrounded by fresh flowers, and will hopefully succeed in breaking winter's back by the middle of the month.

My February reading is well underway, with the first three authors producing very long books: Silverberg with Vol 4 of his collected shorter fiction; and massive novels by Piers Anthony and then Harry Harrison.  I'm just starting in on the 500+ page novel by Anthony.  Being a very short month, it is doubtful if I'll get to read any outside books this time.

I have finally restarted a long delayed major project.  I am in possession of thousands of 35 mm colour slides, both from my family and from my mother's sister's family.  I now have a very handy slide scanner, and have begun to transfer the images to computer.  One example below, from around 1961 or 62.  The project will never be finished, but so far it has been a lot of fun reliving old memories.  I have been sending some of the images to cousins and my brother privately on Facebook.

Himself as a cub scout.  Actually, our early 1960s living room is far more fascinating than I am.  I had forgotten about our goldfish.  For people born too late to know, those three small dials on the b & w TV were for brightness, horizontal tuning, and vertical tuning.  Those were the days....

 

And speaking of funky interiors from the early 60s, here is a photo of my grandmother (my mom's mom) in the living room of mom's sister.  Most photos I am working with were taken in Sudbury.

 

My grandmother.  Curtains were the in thing!  And the colour orange, of course.

 

And one final family photo for today.  Taken at Lake Penage in the summer of 1976, here is Deb as the beautiful bride, with her mom and dad.  Lois is still alive and at a care home in nearby Kingsville.  She made Deb's dress.

Deb in 1976 with her father and mother.  Deb has two older sisters, and was the last one out the door, so to speak.  After the wedding we headed to university in Windsor, and have remained in the area since then. 

 

Just the tip of the iceberg in my discoveries.  Many more already scanned, and a nearly infinite number of slides remaining.  I don't scan all of them, but cull them with the use of a slide viewer.  Some are near duplicates so I discard the others after choosing the best one or two; some are poorly exposed and don't scan well; others are of no family interest.  Even so, a lot of scanning is still going to happen.  I've scanned about 65 so far.

 

In other news, there isn't very much to report.  However, my mother is having some serious right eye problems, and has to go to Toronto in mid-February for treatment.  More on that as the story develops.  Her required treatment is not available in Sudbury.

 

Though we have seen many good films lately, I am taking a break from reporting on them for now.   Reading, practicing, and scanning slides are taking up my time nicely.  I am also still playing some fabulous computer games, and recently finished one called Goetia.  The game was nearly impossible to figure out, but just wandering around old houses, haunted forests, and cemeteries and underground crypts was fun in itself.  Deb and I are currently playing Samarost 2, a very fun and funny game from the creator of Machinarium.  And I continue on my 2nd time time through Kentucky Route 0, and am about to begin my 3rd time through Dear Esther.  So many truly amazing and wonderful games out there today.

 

Mapman Mike