Tuesday

New stuff: Ed doesn't like it, I try to steer clear of it. And if new stuff comes in (say at Christmas time), I make sure that some old stuff goes out. Always more going out than coming in.

That principle is so ingrained into our farmette life that I bolted upright in shock and disbelief when Ed said, twice in the course of this last day -- you need to replace this with a new one.

I need a new one??

I suppose this needs context: we're talking about cameras and toilet seats.

In the thirteen plus years we've been together, I have been a Sony camera person. I downgraded from an SLR to their mirrorless model (now running under the a6000 series) and every three or four years -- meaning when the warranty runs out -- I purchase the newer model. Because inevitably, things are not working properly.

It is true that I am a very heavy user: I carry my camera everywhere. Still, Ed has always offered his tsk tsk tsk each time I send camera after camera off for repairs. The fixes are free, because I purchase extended protection plans, but they're a hassle and the camera is out of circulation for several weeks. More importantly, I don't trust it to stay in good repair and so when I travel, I always have to take a lesser back up.

In Ed's view, I should drop Sony. If once or twice a year the camera fails, that tells him something about the design.

But I'm a Sony girl! Sony pushed through the wonderful smaller mirrorless models! Their cameras have given me years of happy shooting!

Still, when my now three year old camera broke down again yesterday, Ed said -- you really should consider getting a new non-Sony. (And I will do it: next one down the pike will be a Fuji.)

The other time he uttered the words -- let's get a new one! was far more prosaic: I have been complaining that the enamel on the toilet seat has been wearing down. This sounds so completely stupid and yet, it is the first thing that I notice when I enter the bathroom upstairs: gulp, some more enamel, gone!

Perhaps because he has been so useless in his post-holiday sickly state, Ed takes pity and says, in his most romantic voice -- let's go toilet seat shopping today! And we do just that. And on the way to the home supply store, we pass Walmart, where we pause to restock on our fizzy water and while passing the produce section, Ed asks -- would you like some flowers too? I turn him down, because, well, I'm fussy about bouquets, but still!! We are on an upswing here!

(All this of course happens after breakfast...)






In the afternoon, I bring home a tired little girl...






She needs what we all need: a time in midday to regroup, reconsider, to eat a little, rest a bit and then boom! The eyes brighten, the spark of energy comes back.







Off she goes into her Snowdrop world of make believe!






There is a bit of the unusual today, in that at the end of the day, I drop Snowdrop off downtown. It's rare that she finds herself at the Capitol Square after dark. And yes, she is excited by this twist of fate.






They say there will be sleet. That there will be icy patches and that temperatures will plummet. Well yes, it's January. I do wish though that we'd get a wee bit of snow. Just to lighten up the landscape somewhat. Each season has its best weather moment. We haven't had our winter one yet, but there is time. For better or worse, there's plenty of winter time left.