Prairie Dog Blog

The cold snap continues here in Winnipeg. Predicted high for today with wind chill -31 degrees Celsius! I hope it gets a little milder by the 19th when my house goes on the market.

Here is Dennis' Christmas cactus blooming. Last year it did not bloom at all. It seems to me to be one of Nature's miracles that it has survived at all.

We never kept many plants because I have always had whatever is the opposite of a green thumb. I just had to look at a plant and it died. So any plants we did have were his responsibility.

The plant was not watered for the three weeks I was in BC in December and I think that may actually be the reason it has bloomed this year. I found out that this type of plant likes desert conditions and should not be watered more often than once every month! I think last year I overwatered it and that's why it didn't bloom. I am surprised it survived at all. I almost killed it with kindness.

Yesterday I subbed in a grade three class. Tomorrow I work in a grade six class. This morning I had all the junk from the basement hauled away. The basement rec room is so empty, if I speak out loud I can hear an echo. It was just like that when we moved into the house.

I remember thinking that the house seemed so empty when we first moved in, but over the years we filled it up and then some. I used to joke that the house was so big compared to the apartments we had lived in, that Dennis and I could be in far apart rooms and not be able to hear each other. It is only a 1200 square foot bungalow, but it seemed huge to us. Dennis used to say it was a four plug house. By that he meant we had to plug the vacuum cleaner into four different outlets in order to vacuum the whole house.

It felt good to see all that junk leaving the basement. Tears came to my eyes when they carried out the old brown leatherette rocker. When I was pregnant Dennis used to sit in it and hold me in his lap. When I was feeling blue or scared he rocked me. He was so gentle and concerned for my well-being when I was pregnant that I knew he was going to be a great Dad.

It will be hard to leave this house for the last time. My heart is so full of memories.

This afternoon I am going to see a movie. I need to cheer myself up. There are still some good movies out there that I haven't seen. I am eagerly anticipating the Oscars this year. There have been some excellent movies that deserve awards.

Take good care of each other. Keep warm!

It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home. ~Author Unknown