Winter made its first serious attempt last Saturday. The roads and sidewalks looked like this ...
... slippery and sloppy to get around in as the temperature hovered right at the freezing mark. It was very pretty later in the day as the sun disappeared and what had been water drips earlier solidified into ice.
Like rows of little diamonds. My cheap little digital camera didn't do it justice!
Last Saturday happened to be one of those days when you officially get a year older. I like to keep pretty quiet about the event, so took myself out for a glass of wine ...
... and some dinner at a local establishment. It was Szhechuan-style chicken. Very good. I had a second glass of wine and read my book and felt quite happily relaxed after a stressful work week. Just what I needed!
This morning, Miss Boots opted to climb into her "cozy cave" ...
... a fake-fur cube with a hole in one side ... after breakfast instead of bugging me to get out on the balcony where she usually spends some time telling off any passing dogs or wildlife. Smart cat! It looked like this when I left for the bus ...
... about 8:30 am with blowing snow and about 10 degrees below zero. Minus 10 is not particularly uncomfortable ... okay, at least not for me ... I'd rather have cold than heat any day, and that's probably why I'm happy living up here in The North! However, my feet (who totally prefer to spend their days nekkid) were not at all happy being confined in these ...
... knowing that they will probably be so confined until April or so next year! My coworkers were all waiting to look at my feet this morning to see if I actually had boots on as I always push it with footwear wearing sandals well after frost and shoes well into winter.
Note to self: those are really crappy looking boots ... quit being such a cheapskate and go buy yourself a dressier pair already!
With today's not-so-balmy temperatures I discovered something disturbing ...
Have a great day y'all ... stay warm!
... two nights was more than enough and I was longing for my own comfy bed at home! I haven't sat down and calculated exactly how many hours I spent either in an airport waiting for an airplane, or sitting in an airplane, but I'm pretty sure the total is about double the amount of hours actually spent in the conference. I saw a lot of this ...
... and a lot of this ...
On the way to Toronto, the weather was sunny and bright all the way across Canada, so the window view was quite clear and nice. Naturally, my camera was stowed in my bag, so no photos of the good views ... only the cloudy views from the return trip.
This picture was taken on the Vancouver to PG lag of the trip, and we encountered clouds and a snow storm shortly after that, and I arrived home to this ...
From Vancouver blossoms and bare legs to PG snow in the space of an hour. My oh my how aerotechnology can boggle the mind! Thankfully, the snow is gone again. However, I'm still not a firm believer that 
She's a four year old brown tabby with white paws, and a spayed female. Miss Boots came to live with me on Sunday as soon as I got back from my trip across Canada. Her human had a serious stroke a couple of months ago, was hospitalized long-term, and Bootsy was left alone in an empty house with just a brief visit from a neighbour who put out food and water every day. Very difficult for a sociable missy! (And she is a very sociable and vocal missy!)
Subsequently, her human was sent to residential care and Boots was sent to a foster home. Unfortunately, that foster home also housed three rambunctious little boys, another (territorial) cat, and an aggressive little terrier, and Boots spent all her time hiding from her various tormentors. She even refused to eat.
Her appetite is returning now (in fact, all that loose skin on her suggests she is prone to being a bit of a piggy). She's still investigating everything and is quite nervous, especially at strange sounds in the hallway outside our apartment. When I get my keys out, she hides fast. I guess that's her way of saying "nuh uh, you're NOT moving me AGAIN!" She is all over me when I come home from work, and so far it has taken me nearly 45 minutes to pet her and brush her and reassure her when I come in and before I can stand up to do anything else.
She is also starting to play, pouncing on her toys and even pouncing on my toes a time or two! It certainly is nice to have a critter in the place again. I used to have fish (they're at work in our front office now). Fish just aren't as cuddly as furry critters. Now I just have to convince Bootsy that cuddling is not a human requirement at 5:00 am! So I have a good excuse to NOT travel now ... I have to stay home with Miss Boots!