I come from a long line of sign writers and am happiest with a brush and some paint! Add
paint to fabric and I get really excited!!

Monday, November 3, 2014

First Snow and My Frozen Tears

I don’t take well to having any kind of a schedule on Mondays. Even when I worked full time, I would prefer to work longer hours the other days of the week so that I would have Mondays for me.

This morning I had to attend a meeting at 10 am and as my husband got ready for work, I lay in bed, bemoaning the fact that I had to get up and that not only did I have to leave the house, but also that I couldn’t attend the meeting in my pyjamas..My whining started before I even had my glasses on and when I caught on that he was ignoring me and my rant, I asked him what kind of day it was out there. When he replied that it was a white world, I sat bolt upright in bed and if I recall correctly, I screamed, “WHAT!” With a flourish he whipped the curtain back so I could see for myself and I know tears pooled in my eyes..

I am not a huge fan of cold weather. Or snow. Or ice. I don’t like driving in it, I don’t like other people travelling in it. I don’t like being cold and I always am. Case in point, I am currently wearing a hoodie (with the hood up) and have a heated magic bag in my lap. My husband says it is obviously the season of gnomes because when I am home I tend to look like one as I transition from summer’s bare legs and feet, to multi layer coverage. He is used to me wearing a toque at mealtime, along with a selection of scarfs round my neck. He is also aware that I own three magic bags that sometimes can be seen peeking from inside one of my layers when I am really chilly. Meanwhile he is in short sleeves and bare feet.....

My mother told me that I wasn’t always cold. When I was 13 and a Girl Guide, I was part of a group of three Guides who chose to work on receiving Outdoor Winter Camping Badges, a spanking brand new badge offered. Well. The night we built our lean to (back in the days when you could actually cut tree branches and build outdoor fires), dug our outdoor latrine and cooked our supper in a snow bank just happened to be the coldest night recorded that winter. It was -54 degrees with the wind chill. I have a very vivid memory of lying in my sleeping bag with its frozen zipper on top of a layer of spruce boughs and an icy tarp and staring longingly through the trees to the brightly lit windows of the farmhouse where our leaders were nice and cosy.

But, we all hung in there, had lots of fun, made some crazy wild memories and were the first three Guides in Canada to receive our badges. I came home with my waist length hair full of huge hunks of ice that mom spent hours on melting and combing out. And I came home with a chill that I have never been able to shake. Well, except for when I was pregnant with my son. But, that is another story for another time..

Totally unrelated to my winding tale, but because every post deserves a photo, here are two baby quilts that I quilted for Florine. These sweet little quilts have found they way to brand new babies in Edmonton. Hopefully these new little folk will be kept nice and warm in these adorable and colorful quilts.




10 comments:

  1. not snow already - yikes!

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  2. Sweet quilte Jennifer.....we didn't get that snow, thank heavens!!! but Merrill drove on very snowy, slippery roads all the way from Moncton to Chipman very early yesterday morning. I hate it too!!!!!!!

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  3. Sweet quilts! I can sympathize with you about the cold although I go from one extreme to another. Because I have hypothyroidism, I get icy cold when I'm still and I sweat when I try to do anything.

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  4. Snow? We missed it here and since we didn't have to go anywhere, we stayed warm in front of the woodstove! Very cute quilts and lucky babies!!

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  5. Jennifer Scantlebury VienneauNovember 4, 2014 at 8:49 PM

    Yes, it was a shock! But, we faired better than a lot of areas of the province and Quebec and ours melted quickly though the temperature has stayed low. Sorry to say that winter is coming..

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  6. Jennifer Scantlebury VienneauNovember 4, 2014 at 8:51 PM

    Thanks, Marjorie! Happy to hear you didn't get the snow. And I just hate when anyone has to travel on roads in that condition! I have had too many trips on bad roads over the years. Glad your hubby made it safely!

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  7. Jennifer Scantlebury VienneauNovember 4, 2014 at 8:53 PM

    Thanks, Holly! Your hypothyroidism sounds like it must get tiring. I find when I am cold, I am exhausted from trying to get warm. My husband is also used to me jumping around and waving my body parts in an effort to get the blood flowing. Somedays he must wonder if he married a circus clown between the outfits and the bouncing around..

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  8. Jennifer Scantlebury VienneauNovember 4, 2014 at 8:56 PM

    Well, Lorette, you are very lucky to have the snow bypass you this time! Most of it melted by this morning except for some left in the woods behind us and in some roof crevices. But, it is cold out! This evening was a bit warmer when we walked, but yesterday was bitter and wet. Yech. Thanks for your kind words about the quilts!

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  9. I laughed reading your post. We are the same with the hoodie and the magic bags. I drive my husband crazy saying "It's colder in this house than it is outside!" all the time. I hate everything about winter and can't wait til May.
    The baby quilts are so sweet and of course, your quilting makes them!

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  10. Jennifer Scantlebury VienneauNovember 6, 2014 at 9:48 PM

    Glad to hear I am not the only one. I often feel like a penguin shuffling along in all my layers..And I say the same thing to my husband while he continues to wander around the house half dressed..lol Thanks for your kind words about my stitching! The tops were so fun to quilt.

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