Winter Wonderland

To ME!!!

So many wonderful people sent me birthday wishes on Facebook, most of them people I have never met, yet they love me. I also got good wishes from all my siblings this year, very unusual!!  Of my 4 nieces, 4 nephews, 4 great nieces & 5 great nephews, I got 1 birthday greeting from 1 niece!!  I was supposed to go to Mom's for a visit and to go out together for dinner, but the snow was coming down so hard and the roads were so bad that I decided not to go.  The 25 minute drive on slippery, dangerous highways that the police are recommending we don't go out on.... well, it's just not worth the risk.  A birthday can be celebrated any day!! 

On January 5th, I got myself this fancy new computer. Okay, so it's a 'smart phone', but it is like a computer, and comes with a lot to learn!!! Obviously I will have to spend time with someone many years younger than I am and get lessons!! Borrow a friend's child or something, lol.  Today, I ran some errands in town, including getting renewing my expiring driver's license, and looking for a case for my phone. I didn't want to buy the case at the store where I got the phone as I feel they overcharge for things there and I wish I had gone elsewhere to get the phone.  An Otter Box case is $50 and just the plane gel case is $30 then another $10 for a screen protector so you may as well pay the $50 for the much better protection for your phone, and the Otter Box includes the screen saver.   I checked out a few dollar stores to see what they had and found Iphone cases, but no Samsung.  Then I was grocery shopping at Great Canadian Superstore and decided to see if they had phone accessories since they have so many other things there.  I found that they now have a Telus booth in the store, something new, and sure enough they have cases for Samsung.  The other store was also a Telus store... yet this one has Otter Box cases for $40 and I forget what the gel cases are.  The gal who I was talking to said she could likely give me the Otter Box at a discounted price... she checked the computer and said $30.  I said SOLD!!!  So I got myself a good case to protect my new phone (worth $650 but I got it free with a new 3 year contract) for $20 plus taxes less than I would have gotten it, so paid $34.20 instead of $57, just by shopping around!!

This photo is one I took with my fancy new phone.  I think it was Sunday, January 6th when I took it.  Since then it has snowed a lot!!  This is my driveway, taken through the windshield of my truck. Add all the new snow and the fact the snow plows go through and fill up all the driveways, and my back doesn't allow me to shovel this anymore.... well, when I got home from town there was no way I was getting up this hill!!! I tried several times in 4 Wheel Drive Low Range and High Range and neither way was I getting up here.  I was hoping that I would pack the snow enough with my tires to eventually make it up.  About the 5th try, my neighbor who was plowing his driveway came over and offered to plow me out.  I gratefully accepted his kind offer.  He could not get quite half way up the hill, but he cleaned out the mouth of the driveway where the plows had packed it in, then went further and further up, bringing more snow down and pushing it into the deep ditches on either side of my driveway.  When he could get no further up the hill he had to quit.  Even having it plowed nearly half the way up made a lot of difference and I was able to make it up all the way.  At the bottom of the hill, one must make a 90 degree turn from the highway into my driveway, then at the top of the hill, another 90 degree turn to get to where I park beside the house.  It is still on a hill, but a much lesser grade than what you see here.  While you can back across the highway to get a run at it and drive reasonably fast up the hill, you must slow right down to make that 2nd 90 degree turn or risk hitting the corner of my home.  The slowing down means loss of momentum and difficulty making it that last few feet.  Very few people come to visit me in winter, mostly just friends with 4 Wheel Drive vehicles come here in winter, and even in summer many people won't drive up here, but leave their vehicles down below and walk up.

I am grateful for my new phone.
I am grateful for my new phone case.
I am grateful my neighbor came with his tractor and plowed snow from my driveway.
I am grateful for the kindness and generosity of so many people in our world.
I am grateful I have a 4 Wheel Drive truck that is so dependable and a joy to drive.
I am grateful I have new winter tires on my truck.