My Christmas List (so far)

1. Boots from Cloudwalkers.

Pecan Boot (WW Width) Was: $99.00 (Now: $74.00)
Size 9WW

Style # 4918329A

Polio - I'm emailing you a coupon for the store that carries these - don't know if boots are included though.

2. Level. I've wanted one for a couple of years. Preferably one that's at least two feet long. The laser kind that projects a beam is cool, but they are expensive!

3. Electric drill/screwdriver. I'm kind of partial to Black & Decker, Skil, and Dewalt. Again, expensive items I know. I don't need a huge number of bits, but a small selection is nice.

4. Bras. These are very personal and there's no way in hell I'm giving out my size on this blog. A gift certificate to Avenue or some other place I can shop in Champaign is nice.

5. Not candy.

weather and taxes? God, I'm getting old ...

Well, we supposedly had "hurricane force winds" last weekend, but we slept through most of it and never lost power or anything so it was less than dramatic. Sandbox kept asking when the rain was gonna start and complaining that "this isn't a hurricane, this is crap!" We did have a couple of trees go down out back, ones that were already lame from previous storms I guess.

This weekend we had snow, lots of snow. It started Saturday afternoon and seemed to go on for about 24 hours! That's probably a slight exaggeration, but it was a long time. Sandbox and I went out in it Saturday night to shovel the driveway. He worked very hard and were out there for at least on hour. In the end, we were proud of what we accomplished.

However, it was snow-covered again by morning.

Today, we all had the day off in honor of Remembrance Day which was officially yesterday. I guess it's a combination of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Sandbox got to sing in a couple of Remembrance Day ceremonies during the week and met the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Her outfit with the tartan flair kicked ass. (no good picture available)



I have not given much thought to a Christmas list as have other family members. I guess I think others are more organized than I and have done their shopping already. Also, I usually can only think of stores (as opposed to items) because they are the ones I don't have access to up here. But I may come up with a list and put it up.

The cold weekend convinced us that we could no longer put off buying winter coats for the twins.

We went to the big mall in Dartmouth today to look at coats. Old Navy was having a 40% off sale which is not too shabby, and we found one for Sandbox. he bears a striking resemblance to his older brother.
The store where we found Easel's coat was not having a sale per se, but any coats over $50 were tax-free. Considering the taxes here add about 15% to your purchase, that was also a good deal. I must say, she looks very grown up.

Mission accomplished, and now we're back home.

monkeys, singing, and Noel

Just a brief post to let you know I'm still here. I've changed my screensaver to the cutest sock monkeys. I'm kind of really into sock monkeys right now - don't be surprised if you get one for Christmas. I'm just saying..

I'm feeling that crafty urge I get once in a while. I suppose I should sew buttons on the DH's pants and other needlework chores I've neglected before I start some footwear/primate project.

Last weekend we had our master class with the Anonymous Four. We sang Byrd's Ave Verum, one of my favorite anthems in Latin - completely in my range- and it went very well. They commented on how nice it was to see young people singing this music (meaning, of course, Sandbox and Easel) and the twins got applauded. We did a good job, if I do say so myself, and I do. The A4 sang later that day and if you're interested, here's what they were up to http://thechronicleherald.ca/Entertainment/974646.html

I learned today that we will get our first taste of coastal living this weekend as we "welcome" Tropical Storm Noel. Here's what they're saying right now:

So that'll be interesting. Of course, we moved here from "tornado alley" so it will actually be interesting to see how these phenomena differ. We don't live right on the water or anything, and the last forecast I saw said the worst hit will be the western shore, so I'm not worried about massive waves. But I've been told to prepare for power outages. So I guess I'll go fill some water jugs, unpack the candles, and buy some cold cuts.

Enjoy your weekend!