The weekend is slowly drawing to a close. It's been a great weekend here in FMMA. The weather was great all weekend hitting temperatures of 15C (59F). Which for the time of year and my location is pretty darn good. The two furry purries spent most of today out on the deck enjoying the sunshine and watching the action down below.

I went for a walk down by the river this afternoon and took a few pictures. I saw some Canada Geese, a couple of mallards and a number of gulls. The walk through the woods was nice but there was no green to be seen. The pussy willows are out and were a pleasant surprise to see while I walked along. The walk was for a few reasons...fresh air, photos, etc and I wanted to collect some dead wood. No, not for a craft project but for the upcoming camping/bbq season. When camping in provincial or national parks you are not to collect dead wood from around your camp site. When camping anywhere else--good luck finding dead wood anywhere close to your site. Most people collect anything close by to help start their camp fires. I figured a bag or two of dry sticks would go a long way. And yes, I might just be a bit anxious for my first camping trip of the season.

I received a brochure in the mail a couple of weeks ago for River Break Up 2012. Apparently the river occasionally over flows the banks and floods the lower parts of town. There is an emergency plan and routes to take. The photography club is also watching for river break up. That is supposed to be our photo challenge for this month. I haven't seen break up yet. I did see a lot of open water today but still lots of very frozen spots. I don't think there will be a dramatic break up. The river ice keeps getting thinner but that's it. What it is doing though is making lots of great ice noises. The ice is turning into large groups of icicles and as they fall apart they make tinkling noises. While I made my way through brush along side the river I was accompanied by the sound of the ice falling apart, gulls flying over head and the crunch of my boots on the dead grasses. It was nice. 

The decision has been made for the June camping trip....the Yukon. I haven't been and it is the only province/territory I haven't been to in Canada so that would make it a complete set. I haven't made any official plans and I'm going to need to get a couple of extra days off--which I have but hadn't previously asked for. Then I can start making my plans. Exciting times.

Here's some photos from today....

Canada Geese. Too far away for a good shot.

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Ice close to the shore. This is what was making the tinkling sound I was enjoying.

Fresh fire and evidence of a tarp that once sheltered the area. I suspect they will be back. A couple of people entered the area shortly after I left.

My building is the one in the middle. I live on the other side.

My batch of twigs for the upcoming camping season. I'm hoping to gather more before the trip as this will not last more than a couple weekends.

Pussy willows.

Another spot that someone must have stayed at last year. Likely abandoned during the cold winter months and likely for good.

I have an idiot out on the deck trying to catch snowflakes with her paws. The other idiot is inside watching the one outside. Nit wits. Tundra seems to be learning. She seems to know her name and comes when called--after a few minutes. I think that is just the catitude coming out. The word 'up' is also in her brain and she understands when I pat the couch or bed and say 'Tundra up' It is pretty neat to see that she has finally caught on to a few commands. The two of them also seem to understand the call to come in off the deck but for the most part choose to ignore me if the weather is nice. Can't say I blame them for that. They continue to be ever so helpful when I am trying to do crafts by helping hold down the paper on the desk or by tossing things onto the floor for me. There may be more than a touch of sarcasm in that comment. Updates...updates...updates.... The next Habitat trip is officially booked. Southern Vietnam in early March 2013. Super excited. We already have a number of people signed up for the trip and we haven't even finalized the budget. Friday the 13th I made the final payment on my truck!! It's paid off 4 months early which is nice. Oliver is officially MINE. And after six years there are still less than 80,000km on it. I'm off to Edmonton next Friday for one night. I have a Dr appointment in the morning and then hope to hit the highway, spend the night and then drive back on Saturday evening. I'm only going if the weather is good. It isn't 100% necessary but I would like some supplies and a night away is always good for the soul. If the girls are good I may even bring them back a treat. :) Not much else new at the moment. The outside idiot is now inside walking around and over the top of the laptop. Yep, great little helpers.

Sunday morning must be my favorite time of the week. I feel no pressure to do anything and even my roommates seem content to laze around in the sunshine. My long weekend started extra early with having Thursday afternoon off which I am not sorry to say I spent napping. Friday I was able to relax and do some scrapbooking which was exactly how I had planned to spend my weekend.

A surprise invite to a friends for Easter dinner on Saturday was great. We went to the local greenhouse for an Easter Egg hunt. It was great fun. It also started my brain humming on flowers and herbs that will soon adorn my deck. I think I may buy a couple more planters to add to the deck so I can have both flowers and food.

Based on a discussion from the friends who served up a lovely turkey with all the trimmings I may have found my destination for my June camping trip. I had been thinking of a trip to Alaska but the timing seemed tight with the limited number of days I have off. With some rethinking though I may have found my plan...but I'm not sharing yet.

The roommates are awake now and fighting in the corner. It's so funny to watch. If Tundra just sat on Hudson the fight would be over but she doesn't seem to realize she has the weight advantage.

I'm off to do some more scrapbooking--have a great Sunday.

is so glad that Hudson is learning to like cuddling under the covers with me on the couch....but is wishing she had learnt the habit when it was colder out. I'm sitting here sweating but i don't want to move and have her think it isn't a good idea.

There are great big fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky. The type of flake that lands on your eye lashes and causes you to blink from the sheer weight of it. And once you blink it is gone. They have been falling for hours and besides being great for catching on the tongue and eye lashes serve no purpose. They are not covering the ground in a soft white blanket they only obscure my view out the window. Yesterday afternoon I sat on my deck in the sunshine, Mike's Hard Lemonade in hand, shorts, t-shirt on while the cats lay on the deck. We all absorbed the heat and sunshine. What a great afternoon....can't wait for more of those. It was one of those terrific spring days that reminds you that summer is just around the corner--so get ready. I spent the weekend cleaning the house and doing laundry. I am hopeful that it will stay clean until Friday. I have Good Friday off and have plans to scrap book the weekend away--or head out for a walk if we get some great weather.Either way I do not plan to spend it doing chores. Tax refund arrived on Friday and was quickly sent to visa. Tax refund is now gone. Monday starts another 7 days of no spending money. I did it in January and it went well so thought I should try it again. I would like to do it once every 3 months or so. I do plan to pay rent and the phone bill but I am not spending money on food, gas, etc for the entire 7 days. Had someone from work stop by this afternoon with her son. The cats were very happy to see people who were not me. her little guy blew bubbles for Hudson which she really liked. This is the nice lady who had me over for supper last Sunday and introduced me to a photo editing program and then kindly printed off a couple of my photos--which I purchased frames for yesterday and hope to hang in the next couple of days. It will be odd to actually have my own art hanging on the wall of the living room. The only place I have had my work is at work. It is looking like Vietnam in February of 2013. I'm super excited. I have already set aside a week of vacation from this year to carry over to next year so then I will still have a week to take later in the year when I really need a break. Thanks everyone for the well wishes. Jack has appreciated out thoughts over the past few weeks. The journey is certainly not over for him but I know he is over the worst. It is strange how someone I have never met has become so much a part of my life in the past few years. Glad to have you in my life Jack.