The January freeze....

This winter has already felt interminable for me and we are really only 1 month into real winter. My nose and toes are permanently cold! Christmas came and went as did New Year's and here we are , mid January with days of - 20 to -35 weather not counting the wind chill factor. They are saying the January thaw is going to last about 2-3 days this year, not the normal week or so. (Thaw means +4C ) That means when the thaw occurs I have a day to catch up on laundry before my back pipes get too cold again. BRR! 

Unfortunately the long term forecast is not very positive. Oh well, for people who like to be out and play or ice fish in sub zero temperatures, this is a good thing. I am happy with -15 or under, starts to get pretty cold after that. Between the car freezing up or the pipes, well, let's say the spring thaw is welcome any time! (I again am open to offers for a warm holiday - please feel free to send on those flight tickets - I don't know, I say that every year and nothing happens? Weird!)

How do I keep warm or busy? Well, life at the farm market has improved dramatically for us. After almost 4 years of plugging away we are finally turning a profit. Last May 2014 Len and I took over the market cafe on Friday's and this has increased our baking sales, bread orders, preserves and of course we serve home made local food for breakfast and lunch. I am happy with the response we are getting and my handsome waiter definitely draws in the ladies and gentlemen!

I decided my 13 year old needs to learn to do more than text, play online games and watch YouTube videos, so we started sewing as part of her Christmas present. We currently share a machine and she took to it like a natural! She even started designing and sewing her own projects. We now plan to proceed to making reversible tote bags and if she really gets into it, who knows, maybe she can even sell some! The trick is to keep us both motivated when I would rather be curled up by the fire with a hot drink!)

Len is busy writing his novel and works for hours each day. It is pretty exciting and I enjoy reading the galleys at the end of each chapter. We discuss his thoughts in the morning, I provide ideas and feedback and he writes away. Who knows, this may put him on the map! Book tour, here we come!

I am not writing like I should but I always find December and January tough with that. December is so busy baking and market and orders and January so cold, but I plan to get back at it. I have a few websites to work on and plan to finally make those curtains which will greatly help in keeping our home from the blowing winds and cold. Tomorrow sounds like a good time to start!

I also decided we need to vary our diet. We eat well and we eat good food but really, one can only get so creative with meat and potatoes - and we have two freezers of meat, so there is a lot of that! I have begun to explore my culinary skills and interests and we are very happy with the beginning results! Of course there is one draw back, I don't think my husband will ever take me out for dinner again since he likes what I make more than any restaurant we have been to! Compliment? Sure. Reward? I guess I have to find other ways of him rewarding me! (Hint: I have been searching the web restaurant supplies for new equipment! I see a wok in my future.)

I believe that in order to inspire myself to write more (I started but it got pretty emotional for me) that I will develop my short stories and put them into a book. I believe there is enough for a collection and that should inspire me to do greater and more complete work on "the big book." Feel free to pre-order your books!

Well, my nose is dripping icicles and my toes have frozen together so I guess it is time to move around and cook again to keep the house warm. I am looking forward to Chinese New Year this year and plan to cook up a feast! If you're in the neighbourhood, pop on over! 

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