yep, it's winter. stop talking about the weather.

alice got sick last week and went to the vet-it was scary for a few days there. she was finally diagnosed with a gastro intestinal problem of unknown origin, and is being treated with antibiotics. the day before the radiologist made the diagnosis, i was told she might not make it. i was allowed into the veterinary hospital to say goodbye-no one is allowed in the building because of covid, so this was a good indication of how dire the situation was. i was heartbroken, and was told to keep my phone on at my bedside in case the vet needed to call through the night. ugh.

 it was clear when we fostered alice, then adopted her last february that she was a cat of many problems. that she would have to remain on a very strict veterinary diet, could not have any treats ever, and the issues she had surgery for might recur; that she was obese and getting adult cats to lose weight and keep it off would be nearly impossible. 'she will always be a big girl', the nice vet tech told me. i thought 'no problem! i know cats; i'll do whatever it takes. she will slim down, she will let me brush her eventually, all her problems are manageable. i will love her to wellness. i will make it so.' well, she is the toughest cat i've ever met. she GAINED weight, i still have to trick her to cut off her matted fur (she attacks at the sight of the brush), and i'm always afraid that her illness will come back (the original illness-bladder stones). things are not going according to plan, but i'm not giving up. nope. challenge accepted, alice. welcome back. four days worth of antibiotics and probiotics, and she is behaving almost normally. that is, alice normal
.

JANUARY WAS BLISTERINGLY COLD, and february hasn't been much better.

 i am so sick of it,

this is the time of year you really don't want to be around people who love winter. the minute you say something reasonable like 'wow can you believe how cold it's been?' they say 'but it's so beautiful' or 'well we do live in canada' or 'there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing'.

 there's also no such thing as enjoying -25 C with a windchill no matter how many pairs of long underwear you can stuff yourself into. 

i love winter too-for about two weeks.

the vegetable garden. -25 C

i threw wood ash on the garlic...it's under there somewhere..

but there's lots of important things to do while enduring the deep dark cold of winter-such as fulfill my dream of a 100 piece t-shirt collection. because i haven't been in a thrift shop since november, i've been scouring canadian etsy sites looking for anything funny to be sent to me a.s.a.p. i really enjoy supporting the independent 2nd hand/vintage/used clothing sellers, especially if they're local. getting a little something in the mail has helped me through these last two years. i appreciate how they've kept on despite lockdowns, mail disruptions, snowstorms, and all the personal stuff they are no doubt going through as well.

i've also mailed in my seed order for this year's garden...yay! spring will be here soon enough now. well, maybe not soon enough but it's coming.

my mug from a trip to england in 2012, reminding me what to do.

peace, all.

❤️