Wednesday 7 January 2009

Birds, boots and breakfast

Snow storm, temps minus 5


We skiddadled out of Manoir Hovey before breakfast - a catastrophe really since the day before we'd had (besides their buffet of fruit, home-made granola, cheeses and warm croissants) the 'inspiration' of the day - an omelette with guyere, honey, wild mushrooms and cooked apples. Dear Lord.

But we awoke to snow, and lots more forecast, and we knew while we needn't be on the highway long it is a particularly treacherous stretch. So we packed, paid and zipped out. As it was, one lane was already snow-clogged. But we crawled along, reached Sutton, did some shopping and went into Chez Camil for breakfast. A friend came in shortly after that and joined us. Wonderful to sit inside with coffee and scrambled eggs and see the snow intensify. And know we're safe.

A foot expected. (of snow).

As soon as we got home and unloaded the car I went to feed the birds, again. Good God, it's amazing they can fly, with all the food they eat. We must have the fattest birds in Canada. We can open a theme park. Waddle World.

Of course, in my enthusiasm to feed them I forgot I didn't have my big winter boots on...just the 'driving' winter boots. I learned that lesson the hard way...never drive in the huge gallumpin' boots. I ended up parked in the lobby of the local Knowlton bank that way. Interestingly it was a few years ago, also returning from Hovey in a huge snowstorm. This was even more nerve-wracking. White-knuckling it on the highway through the blizzard...literally praying to see the turn off and dreaming of the moment we arrive back. Well we did, and had to stop at the bank, so I pulled in and put on the brake. But my boots were so huge my foot actually came to rest on both the gas and the brake at the same time. The car, aided by the slippery snow, zoomed side-ways, jumped the curb, went up the handicapped ramp and hit the bank. As Michael told it later to the insurance people, 'We knocked over the bank'. Michael, by-the-way could hardly wait to spill the beans on me. Even before they'd really answered the phone at the insurance agency he was saying, 'My wife did it.'

Sadly, that was actually true.

So now I have my 'walking in the snow' big boots. And my 'driving and staying on the road' smaller boots.

But now the big friggin birds are fed and I have snow inside my jeans up to my knees.

Still, we're home, and safe, and satisfied. Nowhere to go for 2 days.

Hope you're safe and sound, healthy and happy. Talk tomorrow.

4 comments:

Tammy said...

Whew....Louise, I love your books (discovered last fall and even gave some as Christmas gifts this year) and started reading your blog a little bit at a time since just before Thanksgiving (U.S. version), starting at the beginning, of course, being the anal personality I am!

I wanted to tell you I so enjoy reading every day what you are doing, it was what I used as my reward after doing something boring or hard at work, I got to read a few days of the blog! And since I started at the beginning, I actually kept notes of things I wanted to bring up--we do have several similar aspects in our lives in that I also have a country home. However, we just live in our's Friday-Sunday and live in the city home (St. Louis, Missouri) Monday-Thursday while we go to work.

I enjoyed how you described the peepers in the early spring. I'm always trying to tell my friends how awfully noisy the country is from those frogs (we have two small ponds across from our house) to the cicadas in the late summer and I had to laugh when you wrote in your blog about the peepers (I never knew what to call them). And funny story, since they are virtually silent by August, when I first moved to the country 9 years ago, the boy that lived across the road told me once when inquiring why they were silent, that by August, all the snakes in the pond had eaten the frogs. I so believed him at THAT time and was deathly afraid of the ponds after that until an "adult" neighbor set me straight!

And Deer Season, if I could figure out a way, I would install orange sock hats on the deer in the neighboring corn fields to protect them every fall. I, like you, have driven down the road in the early morning hours (before the sun) honking my horn when I see hunters' trucks parked in the vicinity! My husband says he's surprised they haven't just shot me instead. But you don't mention the fact that for two weeks or so everywhere you go there are dead deer in parking lots attached to cars and trucks....at the grocery story, the gas stations, even at McDonald's....it so unnerves me looking at the open dead deer eyes everywhere I go.

Anyway, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog and, OF COURSE, those books you write and I'm counting the days until 1/20.

Thank you....Tammy Bartner

Louise Penny Author said...

Dear Tammy,

What a very beautiful, description, fun comment. You need to have a blog yourself!

I'm so glad we're walking through the days together. Makes it much for entertaining. Loved the peeper and snakes story, and you're quite right about the dead deer on and in trucks. As I drive by them I glance at the drivers and try to imagine what he's thinking. Can he possibly feel this says anything good about him?

I've also very glad you're enjoying the books and spreading the word! Much appreciated.

Tammy said...

Ok, this may be a repeat, I made a comment but it didn't show up and I have entirely too many windows opened on my PC so don't know where it went!

Actually I did start writing a blog last fall after some peer pressue. It's http://grammytalk-tammy.blogspot.com/. I don't write in it daily like you do your's, but I'm trying to write more regularly. It was really hard at first even telling anyone I was doing it except a couple of real close friends. Hard to open up what I felt like were my thoughts and feelings to the whole world, but it's getting easier and I'm sharing with more people now.

Take care....Tammy

Louise Penny Author said...

Dear Tammy,

Well done! I know what you mean about opening up. Boundaries...always so hard to know what is appropriate. I just kind of blunder along and know I'll make mistakes, but they're never the end of the world. Only seem so at the moment!