The winter snows are falling heavily today here and the snow hills are starting to accumulate giving us that picture postcard look of winter in snowy Canada. It is cold out there today and when we came home from Church we had about 4 centimetres of snow to brush off.
Austerity is the word of the moment and we probably need to practice that at Church as well. I like to think that some of my givings go to aid the poor of the world. I still also feel it is time to only use the bread at the Eucharist and the money saved from wine could be used to buy medicines for the people in need in Africa. It is starting to bother me watching on TV the items that discuss leprosy and the need for money to buy medicines to cure this disease which could be completely eradicated - giving up wine at Eucharist would free up a lot of money for such needs. I give by PAR but I have moments when I wonder if I should reduce that and give money monthly to help buy medicine.
A lot to do still before the wedding but I have my lists now to keep me on track. I haven't touched my genealogy for a month now but did do our future son-in-laws direct line back now from his father's side. I am missing only four of his names - French Canadian research is quite fascinating. Perhaps at the wedding someone will be able to help me with that (plus check what I have). I have tried to be very careful moving back from known members to their mariage and parents listed there and then finding the baptism as well and then the parent's marriage. It will be something for our children to have plus all of our research in the years ahead. Our daughter will become an aunt in the spring and it will be nice to give the onehalf of the chart that is the baby's ancestry to the parents.
Other than that we have been busy cleaning house and recording all the VHS tapes. The tapes are done but we are still cleaning and probably will be until spring. We are trying to downsize somewhat although ended up buying the electric fireplace and a new microwave and stand plus the portable dishwaster. They are however all items that could go with us to an apartment and we have eliminated one bedroom worth of furniture. That room had become a station for our printer server and "command" point computer that is available for a lot of technical setups. It also now has four bookcases of VHS tapes from the basement. Our next pursuit is to finish plastering the basement and paint it. Then we will put down a better floor cover under our rugs. We spend quite a bit of time down there (and did in the past but never got to doing anything with the basement through the years) and it would be nice to have white walls to give it more light. Our TV is down there as well. I need to record the DVDs that we have purchased since that new phenomenon hit the market. Five or six years ago we stopped buying any VHS and simply waited until whatever we wanted came out in DVD. That worked well actually especially given that VHS machines are now hard to find to purchase.
Still have the Christmas Tree to put up and probably next week sometime. This is the latest ever I think, usually we put it up on Advent I. It is feeling like Christmas now though and this will be our 35th Christmas in Ottawa. Although it is cold here I rather enjoy living in Ottawa now.
Three thirty now and already you can tell that evening is coming. The shortest day of the year will soon be upon us. With the snow clouds above it is a dull day today although brightened by the thickly falling white snow. I think that must be how people stand to be in the Arctic - the white snow gives us its own light.
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