Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Here's me, finally getting around to paying my taxes. I get my hands on a free copy of TurboTax Deluxe, so I start. One of the places where I report income is from mutual funds. OKAY, they have a way of automatically doing this. I pick my fund - American Century. Then I see:

Enter SSN: [ ], Enter PIN:[ ]

OKAY ... I'm not certain if the SSN needs to have dashes or not, but I figure, what the heck ... I try without dashes. "Not Valid". (Not valid because the SSN is supposed to have dashes? -OR- Not valid because the PIN is wrong? It would be nice to know.) I try dashes. "For your protection, account access has been disabled. For more information, contact us at our web site"

What the ...? OKAY ... I'm game. I go to the web site and log into my accounts, only to discover that the PIN I need is different than the password I use to log in. Boy does THAT make sense? I check to see what I need to do to unlock my account. "Contact Us" They have a 'Chat with Us' means of contacting them, but it' only open M-F and a few hours on Saturday. It's Sunday. Wonderful. Finally get around to paying taxes and BOOM, dead in the water 5-minutes in.

I know this falls into the category of "little things that upset us" and really, I should let it go. But, sometimes, it's the little things that really get under our skin. So, I decide to 'let fly' and get this one off my chest (knowing that I'm gonna have to manually input the information for American Century to move forward today, anyway). But aren't computers supposed to make our lives EASIER?

I contacted them ... and vented (read - carefully crafted and wordsmithed suggestion). [paraphrased & shortened]: "I'm all for security and protection, but it's only protection during office hours. Any other time, it's a combination of protection and 'customer inconvenience'. You should have a mechanism in place to reactivate accounts after-hours. (Couldn't I do it myself, after logging into my accounts, thus "proving" my identity?)."

Sometimes it feels good to get stuff off your chest. Even the little things.

Melting: The backyard is still filled with snow, but melting fast.

I was going to write about how the snow has been melting and how wonderfully warm it's been this past week. Daytime temps have been hovering in the 50°F range, during the day, under generally sunny skies. The cat has even volunteered to go outside during the day, letting his black fur absorb the warming sun. He sits on the front porch, one eye on the lookout for unleashed dogs, the other for unsuspecting cats he may wish to chase away (the brute that he is).

Besides the rapidly melting snow, there are other sure signs that warmer days are coming. First, it's now still light out when we get around to eating dinner at 6PM. (It's great not having to shut the drapes at 4:30 in the afternoon). Rachel actually hung a couple loads of laundry out on the clothesline and they dried, instead of turning into frozen objects that are hell to fold and can be used as a deadly weapon in the hands of an experienced laundry person. Scott cleaned the upstairs windows and screens (and because there are two sets of sliding windows in each window frame, that's 8 window panes to clean, per window!). Wow. Made a difference to look out through sparkling clean glass!

Bye Bye Winter? From the look of the front, you'd think that winter was over (thank God!)

Of course, melting snow means a flood of water down the street. Slippery and icy sidewalks in the evening and early morning. (Rachel fell again today on her way home from the bus - OUCH.) There's so much water that we feel like were back in Vancouver, not so much because of the AMOUNT of water, but because if you walk to the back gate to put out the trash, the standing water in the alleyway gives off an aroma much like the smell of low tide.

We're seeing GRASS for the first time in several months. Rachel made the comment, "Alex has probably forgotten all about grass." Which, sadly, is probably true. If so, she's been learning all about it again. That and how easy it is to get mud on one's shoes, or how cold snow is in un gloved hands, or just how WET little girls can get when they fall while walking over slippery, half-frozen puddles. She's been venturing outside much more during the past week and we're already talking about actually being able to go out for a picnic!

All those dreams were put on hold today, as temperatures plummeted and it snowed. Great big flakes of wet, sloppy snow. It must've snowed for 3 hours and buried everything, including our dreams of warmth, under about 3 inches. The good news, if any can be found, is that it was just slightly above freezing and it began to rain late in the day. It made a real mess of the roads, but turned a great portion of the earlier snowfall to mush.

Locals are saying that it's been a very mild winter! Rachel and I look at each other, having just experienced the worst winter of our entire lives. It may not yet be spring, but we're already dreading whatever the Old Man might have in store for us next year. Bring on the sun!

Around the Block: Temps got as high as 48°F last week, so Alex & I ventured outside. She slipped a lot on the ice, but was happy to explore (& bark at dogs).

It's tough to complain when temperatures get to nearly 50°F(10°C) at the end of January, in Edmonton (but watch us)! My father, who lives in northern California, said that Edmonton was actually warmer than where they are (but only in the morning as their temps climbed into the 70's, later in the day. Not here. We've generally been below freezing most days and it's not uncommon to be at or below 0°F(-17°C). We had one bad cold snap, where the news shows were warning that with wind-chill, it was getting to be below -49°F(-45°C) and that exposed skin would freeze within minutes. Advice - stay indoors.

Schools don't have 'snow' days in Edmonton (if they did, all the kids would be pretty dumb ... or ... they'd never have a summer vacation because they'd have a LOT of days to make up)! Nope, they have 'too-cold days' (don't know what they're officially called), but school is closed when it gets too cold. The bad part? Ski resorts are closed when it gets too cold too! So, the kids are stuck indoors, waiting for tolerably cold weather.

Because it's our first winter in Edmonton, we're pretty aware of the weather. We're pretty much housebound, especially with Alex, because she just can't handle that kind of bitter cold. We ARE getting stir crazy. Thank God it's sunny a lot, not that Rachel would notice though, because she's usually sequestered in some classroom, or laboratory, or the hospital. Alex crawls onto the chest that's in front of our big picture window and looks out at the wintry scene, chirping at the birds, which stop by to eat seeds from the suet that's hanging from the eaves. "Cheep, cheep," she says, smearing a slobbery hand against the glass, excited to have spotted a bird. It's difficult to imagine birds staying the winter, but the Magpies, Red-Breasted Nuthatches, Black-Capped Chickadees & Sparrows are all here (playing 'King of the Suet'). The cat finds looking out the picture window a bit frustrating, seeing 'prey' only inches from his nose. He has a distinctive, "ack, ack, ack" sound he makes when he spots birds and we just figure that he's more annoyed because he feels obligated to chase the birds when, in truth, he wished they'd just go away so he can nap.

Oop Suit: We're housebound, because of the cold, but Alex LOVES to get out! Squealing, she motors to the mud room to get her 'jacket'.

The cold means having the car on the block heater, which (fortunately) we haven't had to use very often. However, the cold and snow is a deterrent to go out, so on really cold or snowy days, we just stay home, unless we absolutely must go somewhere. Rachel walks a couple of blocks to catch the bus, which takes her to the light-rail & a 40-minutes later, she's at the University. The snow means having to shovel and it's MUCH easier, now that we bought a real 'snow shovel'! The walkways are easy and it's nice to get outside. I work up a sweat, doing it, so it's not a cold task. However, the driveway along the side of the rental house is narrow and is difficult to clear. There's no room to pile the snow, so I've been using a 109-liter plastic trash can to move it to the back yard. My record: 36 trips! That's a LOT of snow!

There is a trick to shoveling, we've learned. You've got to get it BEFORE anyone has walked on it. Once it's compacted, it can be really glued to the cement. If that happens, the walk is uneven, or worse - (if the temperatures are right) - it will melt and turn to ice. Nothing short of a chisel, a blow-torch (or precious warm sunshine) will level the walk again.

The recent warm spell, though much enjoyed, caused its share of headaches. There were enough warm days to melt a lot of snow, but far from ALL of the snow. So, by day the roads were slushy, wet & dirty. At night, they were deathly slick ice-rinks. Rachel has fallen hard, more than once, making her way down the dark sidewalk at before 7AM, on her way to catch the bus. The walk around the block that Alex made? It took an hour, mostly because of Alex's curiosity with EVERY dog we met, but also because SHE slipped and fell a lot. Warm days meant slick sidewalks and chilly-cold puddles. Poor Alex was soaking wet when we arrived back home, sore from falling & her hands red and raw from trying to get up. Still, we both needed to get out and the air temperatures were pleasant (in the sun).

The cold is back again (and more snow). Shoveled yesterday and again today. This California boy complained to Rachel, "At least in California, you'd get a break from yard-work in the winter. Mow in the spring and summer, rake leaves in the fall, then watch football all winter long! Here? Mow for three weeks in the summer, rake leave starting in August, and then shovel snow the rest of the year!" She didn't laugh.

If we think that the winter is hard on us, well, all you have to do is think about poor Tuxedo. This poor "born & lived in British Columbia all his life" cat, has (until this year) probably seen snow for all of 20 days of his entire life. And now, not only does he have -45°-weather to deal with, but finding a snow-free spot to do his 'business' is neigh to impossible! (He takes advantage of the cleared walks, by gingerly backing up to the snow (without his paws into it), hanging his rear-end over the snow! It's a sight. If the walks are snow-covered, he dances around (it's gotta be cold on the paws) venturing off the path, using one of my deep footprints as a potty spot. We built him a small, pillow-lined and waterproof box that he uses to stay out of the weather. Generally though, he's not out that long.

As if this poor cat doesn't have enough to contend with by dealing with the snow, the house is hardly a haven for him, with Alex squealing and chasing him around. We used to let him hang out in the large basement, because we generally discourage Alex from wandering down there alone. He became the invisible cat, because the only time we saw him was at dinnertime. And sometimes, we shut the basement door, just to enforce the 'upstairs rule' with Alex. Oops. Guess poor Tuxedo needed to go out and there wasn't anyone to ask. (Or he just decided, "The heck with going out, I'll just find a spot HERE.") Either way, we discovered a couple of 'presents' in the far corner of the room (by olfactory senses FIRST) and have had to institute an "upstairs rule" for BOTH Tuxedo and Alex. Besides, we figure that the best way for them to adjust to each other is put them in the same space. So now, Tuxedo has his 'cat bed' right beside Alex's highchair (smack dab in front of the heater register, which he LOVES). "It's not so bad," he figures, "Alex likes cheese. I like cheese. Alex is clumsy. I am quick!"

We're all having a tough time with our first Edmonton winter. The big question? When's spring? April? May? Answer: not soon enough!

Rachel is well past her first mid-terms and is wrapping up a term-paper that's due next week. It's been a tough go for everyone, trying to adjust and give Rachel the time she needs to study, read, prepare & write. Her first mid-term, in Medical Micro-Biology went swimmingly and we began to think that this 'University' stuff wouldn't be too difficult. Unfortunately, her 2nd mid-term, in her double-unit Nursing course, didn't go as well as she had thought. Without too much time for remorse or speculation, she had to get motivated to complete a term-paper in that same course ... and then, not too far from now - finals. Unlike regular employment, a student's "job", never really ends (as one can always 'study more'). Rachel has the difficult task of riding that fine line between balancing school & family life, something that most of her younger classmates are not struggling with.

School and child-care, along with a dark, cold winter (and geez, it's only the middle of November), have put a great deal of stress on the household. We can't lie. It's been tough and this is the "light term" (only two courses). Next term will involve a clinical placement (Two 8-hour shifts per week) and THREE courses! Neither of us feels we get enough time to do "our things" and though we love Alex to death, her needs are constant (when she is awake). Fortunately, she naps from about 10 AM to 11:30 AM daily and again from 3 PM to 5 PM (most days). Sometimes it's earlier, sometimes later ... and rarely, she'll skip an afternoon or morning nap entirely. Still, those become the times that we have for chores (like showering, answering emails, doing laundry) and aren't necessarily long enough to accomplish other tasks.

Scott cares for Alex when Rachel is at school (Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, all-day Wednesday & Thursday afternoon) - there is no other option. He takes her at other times too, so that Rachel has time to study, but he too, needs time - time on the computer, time in the shop, etc. Because Alex goes to bed at 8 PM, there is some relief, but often we're too tired to want to start work or study in the evening. The dark doesn't help, with the feeble sun setting around 4:30 or 5:00 PM. The time that suffers most, however, is "our time", where we take time for ourselves and our relationship and do things together, without Alex. That's become almost non-existent & is taking it's toll.

Fortunately, we do communicate about these things, but it's generally not until after some big argument or misunderstanding. We're doing our best to find something that works for everyone, but it hasn't been easy and we're not close to figuring it all out. It takes a toll on our psyche & we've both been blue lately, as a result.

A caveat - as much of a drain on our personal resources as Alex has been, she's also been a source of humor, love & comfort. She truly is a blessing, but we can completely understand the stress that comes from introducing a little one into the family.

Oop Tracks: Bundled in a new snowsuit (thanks Gran!) we ventured out. Alex made tracks back to the house. Too cold!

Scott's parents returned home just in time. The night before they left, on Oct 16th, it began to snow. In the morning, we awoke to discover that half of our electricity was out, including the central heater, oven, stove & several outlets - all the IMPORTANT stuff (one of the two feeds into the house had shorted in a neighbors tree)! If Scott's parents hadn't already made plane reservations, we might have accused them of timing their departure and wimping out because of snow. Shortly before noon, we made the blizzardy drive to the airport to bid farewell to Tom & Marilyn. Thank God for the All-Wheel & anti-lock brakes on the mini-van. We returned home to discover that the local utility company had fixed the power problem (wow - that was quick) and we were relieved to have heat again! We figured that in Edmonton, when you report not having heat, it's a pretty important call-out!

It snowed for several days, with varying degrees of intensity. Unprepared, Scott shoveled snow with a variety of garden implements, trying to find something that worked and vowing to purchase a snow shovel the first chance he had. (We weren't the only ones caught unprepared, as most stores we visited were sold out of whatever snow shovel stock they had, so we just muddled along using brooms, rakes & a square shovel until a couple of weeks after this, our first major winter storm). The cat, decidedly hydrophobic, ventured out only when necessary, moving through the snow, tentatively placing his paws in inches of the white stuff, shaking each paw after lifting it up out of the snow. As you can imagine, his morning constitution is consummated quickly & shortly, we hear pitiful & plaintive mewing at the rear door. "Let me IN!" We took the Oop out into the snow, all bundled up in her new snowsuit (a timely birthday gift) and watched her make tracks across the front lawn, heading straight to the porch. (If you should ever come across such unusual tracks in the wild, there'll be no mistaking them for a pre-biped infant.) The snow abated after a few days, though temperatures remained below freezing most days. We watched, as the snow slowly melted off of our roof, creating ever-changing icicles. The largest, just outside of our living room picture window, we dubbed "The Tentacle". We watched it grow and bifurcate, wondering if it would reach the ground and become a column of ice. Though it never did, it was the last icicle to melt & provided much discussion and amusement.

Temperatures have been warmer lately (as high as 9°C during the day, or 48°F). There is still snow from that first storm on the ground, but much of it has melted away, making for dirty cars & muddy lanes. Only recently, with the melting of snow, has the desire to resume outdoor activities returned. Yesterday, Scott raked leaves off the front lawn (the back is still too snow-covered). Today, we took the Oop out for a walk, stopping at the park to give her a push on the swing & repeated runs down the 5-foot slide. She loved both, but with a reindeer-red nose and cheeks, we figured we ought to head back indoors, for a cookie and (eventually) a nap. There's no question that we'll be having a WHITE Christmas this year!