Wednesday, 9 January 2008

Another different day today. Last night there was a down pour and a wind which drove the rain all over the place. Today it has cleared up with a few scattered clouds and a very icy westerly wind. In the sun it's 15º but in the shade it's about 4. Not going for my walk today.

This morning part of the carpet in the basement was soaking wet, water had somehow got in from outside. We lifted the carpet where it was very wet, removed the underlay and put a heater fan on the bedroom carpet to dry it out and stop it from getting mould on it. A bit of a disaster as the basement has flooded before about 2 years ago. That time it was the old water heater which sprang a leak and had to be replaced. The water was a few inched deep and caused more damage. This time only about 2 sq. metres of carpet got wet. It must have either come in through the wall which is below ground level or up through the floor. We can only think it was from the melted snow and driving rain which has left the ground very soggy indeed. Basement leaks are a very common occurrence here in Canada so are not usually covered by insurance. Not good! The strange thing about this is the house is about 30 years old and now suddenly it's sprung a leak. MIKE HOLMES WE NEED YOU!!!!

Otherwise it's good to see the sun again although it'll only be for one or two days. It looks like it's going to get cold and snow again, which isn't too bad either. I've just made myself a nice cup of Nabob percolated coffee and am sipping that.

We've got a basketball match to go to this evening, my youngest nephew's playing. I'll take the video camera along and hope that doesn't play up again.The flipout LCD viewfinder's gone faulty, I think it snow got in it at the tubing over the weekend. I can't even buy another one here because I need a PAL camera, not NTSC.

Tuesday, 8 January 2008

There are a few spots of rain today , 10º and most of the snow melted.

The view from the lounge today. See blog entry of Thursday, 3 January 2008 for a comparison - and that was only 6 days ago. The graph is from The Weather Network and shows the forecast for the next week or so. A record high temp was broken in Windsor, Ontario yesterday. It was 16º - the last record high for this time of the year was 6º. But more snow is expected on Friday with the temp dropping again. Both my previous visits to Canada were in late summer - a better time to visit, but I wanted to be here at this time of the year so I know what the winter is like. It's being kind to me though.

I found a channel on TV here called "Warm up with the Fireplace Channel" and all it is is a shot of a fire burning in a fireplace. I suppose it beats having the real thing in one's lounge where open fires are not permitted because of the risk.

It's raining quite hard now....

I was going through local news on 24.com and read this report, a part of which I have copied below:
The NEC said it sought no special treatment for its president, who faces corruption charges - only fairness and justice.However, Seremane said the chances were slim that Zuma's corruption court case would be wound up before the next election. "This raises the unpalatable prospect of a sitting president facing corruption charges in court," he said. Seremane said President Thabo Mbeki did the right thing by relieving Zuma of his position as deputy president of the country after he was implicated in his financial adviser Schabir Shaik's fraud trial. "The fact that the ANC is willing to field Zuma as its presidential candidate when he faces his own corruption trial indicates how low the ruling party has sunk. "The prospect of a sitting president facing corruption charges in court - whether he is proven innocent or guilty - will leave an indelible stain on South Africa's reputation abroad and the morale of our citizenry," said Seremane.

I'm not usually a politically outspoken person, but it makes me wonder about South Africa.

Monday, 7 January 2008

What a change in the weather! Even the Canadians are surprised. Those who have met me say I've brought the warmer weather from South Africa.

The snow has started to melt and there are large puddles of water everywhere. The back yard is a slushy pond. The lawn grass they use here remains green all year round. My sister says some of the plants might even begin to shoot, only to be covered with snow again soon. The real thaw begins in March. The boys went back to school today. My sister takes my eldest nephew to school because it's some distance away, but the other walks as his school is nearby. Those who do walk to school walk in all weather except a snow storm, and you see mums with their little kids walking on the sidewalks. I ventured barefoot outside to take the dog for a walk and I think the temp was around 10ºC. I put off my walk into town today because it was still misty, and rain was forecast. I didn't feel like a walk in the rain. See what the weather's like tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the day spent at the PC playing with Google Earth which was rather fun.

We hired the movie "Borat" which we watched until it got a bit too rough for the kids to see. We're going to an ice hockey game at an arena on the other side of town at 9 pm. What a strange time. Apparently the older kids play later. They're 14 so a 9 pm start is ok. (??) After we dropped my nephew off at the arena we went to Tim Hortons for a cup of decaf coffee and a Honey Cruller donut. The game was good and the final score was 4-1 to the home team. The temperature outside when we left the arena was about 12ºC at 10 pm!

Sunday, 6 January 2008

Another warmer day - it went up above 5ºC today. The snow has started to melt on the rooftops, plants and trees. There was also thick mist everywhere.

Frozen Lake Huron

Today we drove to Bayfield on Lake Huron, one of central North America's Great Lakes about 70 km from here . The family takes their caravan out there in the summer. Despite the snow lying about 20cm thick on the ground it's a very pleasant place and I can imagine it a hive of activity and all lush and green in summer. It was just one mass of snow and bare trees now.

We drove down to the small harbour which is used to load grain on ocean-going cargo ships. One ship was tied up at the wharf surrounded by broken icy water. Lake Huron was just a mass of frozen ice and snow as far as one could see with the mist still around.

We had brunch at a very pleasant restaurant in town - eat as much as you like breakfast buffet for C$10.

We drove back home for coffee and cookies and relaxed in front of the TV. It's getting dark now and the mist is still hanging around and almost all the snow has gone form the roofs. Even the green lawns are starting to show through in places. The warm weather (well relatively warm weather for this time of the year) is going to be around for a few more days, then another cold snap is forecast. Brrrr!

Saturday, 5 January 2008

When I walked outside this morning I noticed a definite increase in temperature. It was zero.

My brother in law took their son to play ice hockey at about 6:30 am. My sister took my other nephew and I a bit later. I did some videoing of the game and he particularly enjoyed seeing himself scoring a goal when I played the tape back to him later. My nephew's in the yellow jersey hitting the puck into the net. After the game we joined the neighbours whose son was also playing, for breakfast at Dave's Diner, another tradition.

Our plan was to go snow tubing at a place called River Valley. It was about a 20 minute drive south west of Stratford. I was a bit nervous of uncontrolled tubing down a snow slope, but it turned out to be rather tame, and enjoyable. We had 2 options of getting to the top of the slope; by cable lift or walking up the short slope.

We chose the lift for the first time, just because it was there. The attendant attached the rope to the hook and motorised winch system took you seated in your inflated tube up the slope.

Then there was a rather long wait in the 4 queues at the start of each of the 4 rides down the hill. The attendants are very safety conscious and wait until the last person and others are completely clear at the end before allowing you to proceed. Then you just kick off and slide uncontrollably down the channelled rides. Quite fun.

We had a break after the 2nd ride and headed for the little restaurant for lunch. Then back to the slope for some filming and by this time it had started to snow. We only did one ride as our 2 hour time limit was almost up. Another first.

The rest of the afternoon we rested at home and got Google Talk working on the computer. Hopefully we can chat when I get home. That should save on phone bills.

Friday, 4 January 2008

A hazy day today at -10ºC. I've just been outside in my shorts (typical Sou'african) and no glubs (what my chiropractor's neice calls gloves) to take a pic or two.
Sparrows sitting in a conifer outside the window, all fluffed up totally at home in the cold. My sister has a bird feeder near the front door, so they're always around after the food. When cars park anywhere, they hop to the warmth under. Resourceful little things.
And having the feeder so close to the house provides hours of interest for the cat that sits on the window sill and looks longingly at them. I'm sure she'd love the feel of a warm fluffy bird in her mouth!! Apparently she manages to catch the odd one in summer, but she doesn't usually go out as she catches birds in the neighbour's yard and they don't take too kindly to that.

I went through the garage which is not insulated or connected to the heating system and found my sister's car there still covered with a thin layer of ice.

Out the back are my nephew's bikes - I see they don't get used much in winter. The newspapers my nephew has to deliver were dumped on the sidewalk last night. He has to include these supplements with the other papers he delivers to subscribers. That we'll do later.

Talking about the boys, as usual they're down in the basement lounge playing computer games. That keeps them occupied for hours in winter. I think rather that than watching mindless TV. At least there's some sort of mental stimulation with a video game. My eldest nephew has an ice hockey match on Saturday, so uncle will be going to watch that. Will report on that later.
While out yesterday I saw some lovely flat open farm lands which would be wonderful to fly my microlight trike over. Pity it's not portable.

Thursday, 3 January 2008

Thursday is chilly again, with a bit of sun at times. Had a lovely chat with Jill and Reneé at the office in Durban and my sister explained a bit about Canadian winter life when it's -15ºC outside. Reneé told us someone had been eaten by a lion in South Africa. The quote from Mail & Guardian:

A LION killed a Mozambican illegal immigrant and dragged his body through the town of Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province, said the police on Sunday. Inspector James Ngoepe said the lion had since disappeared and the police and SA National Defence Force (SANDF) were still searching for the animal. Ngoepe said the immigrant, aged around 35, illegally crossed the border to South Africa and then hiked through the Kruger National Park, where he sat down for a rest and apparently fell asleep. Ngoepe said police believed the lion attacked him while he was sleeping and then dragged his body into town. - Sapa

That's why visitors to the Kruger National Park aren't allowed out their cars except in the camp sites!

Anyway, back to today...

We went to fetch the dog from the parlour then went down to the Avon River which runs through Stratford (Stratford on Avon, where Shakespeare was born - this is the home sick British immigrant's Stratford). While walking along the partly frozen bank it started to snow. We got in the car and went to see the Mallard ducks which live near the river. They didn't seem to mind the cold.
Not a very active day today, but then I am on holiday after all.
I like this.
On the other hand, with the sun out for the first time in a few weeks, the children in the neighbourhood turned the road into an ice hockey pitch and played for a bit until clouds rolled in later.