weather

Veronica & Jane

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I just met a woman from Ireland named Veronica.  She was standing in the town square in Basingstoke, UK near a statue of Jane Austen.  How’s that?

I video called my sister via WhatsApp.  When she answers, she was talking to a friend of hers on the street and introduced me.  I showed Veronica the snowy landscape in Lethbridge, just outside my windows.  It just so happened that we’ve had about a foot (30cm) of snow.  She was quite amazed.  Aizlynn showed the town square, a quaint, picturesque place.  There is a statue of the writer, Jane Austen, nearby.  We read some plaques on the ground showing bits of into.

Aizlynn & Caleb were on their way out to supper, so off they went.

first day of Spring

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Happy First Day of Spring, everybody.

Actually, it doesn’t happen until 9:06pm this evening, so, technically, this is still winter until this evening.  But it got up to 21° yesterday here, so I’d say it’s already here.  The tulips are (were) coming up.  ‘Were’ because the deer ate all the heads off already before FT and I could put the fence up.  All the snow cover has melted away leaving random lumps of dirt and gravel all over the front lawn, but some green is already coming up. 

However, we’re in for some more snow in the next few days.  Phone:

first scooter ride of the year

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I’m at Starbucks having a tall Pike.  I got here by scooter.  Yesterday was the first time this year being out on the scooter.  It’s still a little cool out – 10° today, 14° yesterday – but it was still a good ride.  The Harley riders and the diesel screamer pipe rednecks are out as well.  And I ride by with my silent but quick scooter.  Put that in your pipe.

unprepared for havoc

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Okay, I admit it.  Havoc happened.  I went out to start the van this morning, and it wouldn’t start.  I forgot to plug it in.  So I plugged it in and waited.  Still, the engine spun around and around, but it didn’t fire up.  I used the little Noco Boost Plus battery booster, and it still just spun around but didn’t fire.

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havoc (or cold snap)

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It used to be the norm here in Alberta – -20-40°C – but lately we have become soft.  Up until about a week ago, we’ve been hovering between -2°C and +15°C, but that all changed.  Our home weather station said that we got down to -37°C yesterday morning at 8:00am.  Are people prepared?  You’d think it was the end of the world.  The newspaper says,

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heat pump explained (with boiler)

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I found this while snooping around on the internet.  For those of you who keep hearing about heat pumps but still know nothing about them, this is a pretty good visualization.

A fridge but in reverse? The fascinating science of heat pumps – visualised – The Guardian (newspaper in the UK)

…except that boilers are certainly not the norm here in western Canada.  Substitute boiler with heat exchanger.

So I’ve had a heat pump at 520 for over a year now, and it works well.  To be honest, though, we still haven’t had much of a winter yet this winter.  If / when it ever gets down to -40°C, then we’ll actually put it to the test.