We had a warm spell. The temperature actually climbed up to nearly 4 degrees C -- that's PLUS 4 degrees, not minus 4 degrees which would be considered quite balmy for this part of the world in January. The first problem with an unexpected warm spell in January is the YUCKY result ...
... of melting snow. What was once all white and pristine becomes dark and dirty. White snowbanks become SCHMUTZY snow banks (that's LD language for brownish-dirty-blackish-looking). The second problem with an unexpected warm spell in January is the fact that IT DOESN'T LAST very long, and then all that melted snow turns into ... ice. This is my driveway:
Ice from one end to the other. The street at the end of my driveway isn't any better. Ice is ... in case you don't get to experience this weather phenomena in your part of the world ... VERY SLIPPERY. The king-sized bruises on my hiney will attest to that fact! This is inside the bus shelter at my bus stop:
More ice. If you don't want to navigate your way into and out of the bus shelter, you can wait at this bench beside the bus shelter. Oh, wait ...
... more ice! An entire sidewalk of ice! Entire sidewalks of ice everywhere in this city! I managed to do the most spectacularly graceful ice ballet in my driveway ... resulting in black and blue hiney on the left side ... on my way to the bus stop. Then I managed to do an even more spendidly graceful ice ballet ... resulting in further black and blue hiney on the right side ... on the sidewalk on my way home at the end of the day. Fortunately no broken bones. Since then, I've been very conscientious about putting my ...
... Yak Trax on over my boots! They may look like putzy truck chains for feet, but I swear you could walk up a perpendicular glacier in them things! Now if the bruises would just hurry up and heal and disappear.
... of melting snow. What was once all white and pristine becomes dark and dirty. White snowbanks become SCHMUTZY snow banks (that's LD language for brownish-dirty-blackish-looking). The second problem with an unexpected warm spell in January is the fact that IT DOESN'T LAST very long, and then all that melted snow turns into ... ice. This is my driveway:Ice from one end to the other. The street at the end of my driveway isn't any better. Ice is ... in case you don't get to experience this weather phenomena in your part of the world ... VERY SLIPPERY. The king-sized bruises on my hiney will attest to that fact! This is inside the bus shelter at my bus stop:More ice. If you don't want to navigate your way into and out of the bus shelter, you can wait at this bench beside the bus shelter. Oh, wait ...... more ice! An entire sidewalk of ice! Entire sidewalks of ice everywhere in this city! I managed to do the most spectacularly graceful ice ballet in my driveway ... resulting in black and blue hiney on the left side ... on my way to the bus stop. Then I managed to do an even more spendidly graceful ice ballet ... resulting in further black and blue hiney on the right side ... on the sidewalk on my way home at the end of the day. Fortunately no broken bones. Since then, I've been very conscientious about putting my ...... Yak Trax on over my boots! They may look like putzy truck chains for feet, but I swear you could walk up a perpendicular glacier in them things! Now if the bruises would just hurry up and heal and disappear.Despite my complaints about dirty snow and hazardous ice, the return of sub-zero temperatures brought great beauty to the city in the form of ...
... hoar frost. The arctic air rolled in quite foggy, and the moisture from the fog froze and formed the most AMAZING ice crystals on exposed surfaces. I love hoar frost! It's got to be one of the Creator's most artistic gifts to humanity. So here for your viewing pleasure, hoar frost on northern Canadian shrubs and trees:
... hoar frost. The arctic air rolled in quite foggy, and the moisture from the fog froze and formed the most AMAZING ice crystals on exposed surfaces. I love hoar frost! It's got to be one of the Creator's most artistic gifts to humanity. So here for your viewing pleasure, hoar frost on northern Canadian shrubs and trees:
My desk was composed of three parts ... one for each of three walls. The fourth wall was occupied by a one-part similar desk plus a door and window. As a result, I had a hell of a lot of desk SURFACE, but no practical space. Please bear in mind that I have a very SMALL office. (This was the tidy corner. The opposite corner of my office was where stuff got PILED 'cuz I had no storage places.) Since the desks had to come out in order for the new carpeting to go in, I figured it was a perfect occasion to make these nightmare desks DISAPPEAR. So ... abracadabra ...
Desks be gone! (If only it was that simple ... that sucker was damned HEAVY to haul out of there!) And old carpet be gone. If you're thinking "hmm, those two walls are different colours" you're absolutely correct. Actually, all FOUR walls were different colours ... all variations of pink / mauve / blue. This picture doesn't show the areas where the previous resident painted AROUND furniture and bulletin boards. Once everything was out and the walls bared for all to see, it was pretty grim. As it turned out, somebody swiped a piece of new carpet from the sidewalk in front of our building ... the piece was already measured and cut for my office ... and I had to wait over a weekend for the carpeting store to order in another roll. 
So I took advantage of the carpetless floor and painted my office ... all four walls the same pale shade of orchid, kind of pinkish pastel mauvish something. Okay, so I didn't go out paint shopping. There was a whole gallon and a half of the stuff in a storage cupboard in the back room.
Even if I might have PERSONALLY chosen a different colour, it certainly lightens and brightens my office! Not to mention covers up a lot of ink splots, scratches, stains, bad patch jobs, and previously unpainted areas. So are you ready for the official unveiling? Step right this way ... through this door ...
I have a newer (although somewhat ... er ... EXPERIENCED) and smaller desk in this corner ...
... which means I now have room for a bookcase and filing cabinet in this corner ...
... not to mention an easy chair (which needs a good vacuuming after all that carpet-removing dust) in the third corner!
It's almost TOO exciting! First chance I get, I'm going shopping for a nice friendly cushion for this chair. And a new end table. And a wall clock. And ... well, I don't know, but I'm sure something FABULOUS will jump out at me! Don't worry though, I didn't throw out EVERYTHING from the old look. I'm WAY too sentimental for that! My dancing chicken (who doesn't dance anymore because his batteries ran out) is still with me. He's on regular guard chicken duty from the top of my new bookcase.
And my pastel picture ... which I've decided isn't so bad after all because it's a portrait of the downtown Vancouver waterfront. Recognize the sails? The seabus terminal? Well, maybe you don't ... but I do, and I have a few very pleasant memories about that part of Vancouver. When I'm lonely for the Big City and Big City friends, and hungry for some great sushi, I can look at that picture and remember ... imagine ... dream ...
What? Where was I? Oh, the carpet? It looks GREAT! And NO DUCT TAPE to be found, or tripped over!
Only one last problem. Rocco the (MY) fish is still living in the bathroom while my office staff and I haggle out a custody agreement!
NOTE: before anyone thinks about reporting me to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Fish, Rocco's water is NOT yellow. Our bathroom has weird beige walls and flourescent lights and consequently Rocco's water LOOKS yellow. But it's not. Honest. It's a bad room for lighting. Don't ever look at yourself in the mirror if you drop by to use our facilities! Oooh, what a good idea ... a mirror for my office wall ...
We have snow aplenty here right now. I am NOT a fan of shovelling snow, nor a fan of blowing snow, nor a fan of snow filtering down into my socks because the piles of snow I have to wade through are higher than my boots. However, I AM a big fan of the beauty of snow. The other night, I happened to have my camera with me, and snapped a few photos of snow on trees and bushes as I walked home. 
It was a such a nice evening. No wind. The smell of wood smoke in the air. Only minus ten. And fluffy white snow carpeting everything. How can anyone possibly seriously dislike snow when it's this beautiful?
... and especially the worn areas repaired with duct tape ... and the worn duct tape repairs repaired with ... yes ... MORE duct tape. No amount of carpet cleaning is going to help this sad floor!
Here is one of the kind young fellas from a local flooring company removing the old carpet.
Oh my gosh! Our hallway looks better already!
Here's a shot of the new carpet next to the old carpet ...
... wow! What a difference! We were convinced we needed to have the entire place painted too, but this new carpet actually makes the walls (which are a pale shade of orchid-purplish-pinky something or other) look brighter. We might not have to paint! Well, at least not the entire place.
... getting to know one young fourteen pound cattus horribilis named Sylvester. Yes, that is a picture of the beast on top of the refrigerator! I finally put duct tape upside down on top of the refrigerator to dissuade him from jumping up there. He just doesn't take NO for an answer! (And you can certainly tell from his expression what he thought about being commanded to GET DOWN NOW !)
Sylvester is definately a brat cat, but he is gorgeous, and very very loveable ... especially when he's asleep! Aside from getting to know Sylvester ...