12-21-22 deep freeze day
I was awake very early this morning so I got rolling as I needed to clear the snow from overnight and get cash from the bank for dinner tonight. I opened the hatchback to throw a bag in and it wouldn’t latch again. I kept trying until my toes in good winter boots and fingers in gloves were hurting from the -25 C temperature. I had to drive to the Hyundai dealership with alarms going off and was assisted to unstick the latch so I could head to the bank. Once there I walked in to the ATM vestibule to find a woman huddled on the floor trying to get warm. I asked if she had gloves and she showed me her bare hands tucked in her sleeves. I took off my now warmed ones and gave them to her. She was lovely and asked if I had any spare change or another layer of clothing I could spare. I had none but gave her a 20 and suggested she go get a hot breakfast and find a warmer spot. She said she was trying to find her boyfriend who had wandered off and I was left very saddened. There have been a few deaths from the cold in our underhoused community and I just want to do what I can. Once I was done what I needed to at work, I headed to Mom’s to help get her set up with mobile banking as she has cheques she needs to deposit but is with a credit union at the coast. It turned out to be quite the ordeal as she doesn’t have email on her phone and needed the access code. Finally got done and she was stunned to see her accounts on her phone and how easy it was in the end. I was there for her Friends and Family Christmas dinner at Joseph Creek, and was worried as it was to be a buffet, given we still have to temperature scan and wear masks there. I should have known better though as they had a line of servers who loaded our plates with whatever we wanted. There was no contact or chance of transmission over the food. The full turkey and ham dinner was delicious and the dessert table was amazing! Before dinner I mentioned to mom that the warming centre was open overnight at the Alliance Church and they were collecting blankets, socks, etc. She filled a bag with warm clothes, two blankets, a towel and lots of socks and I went to drop them off on my way home. It made my heart so happy when our student, Jonas came out to meet me. I also dropped a couple boxes of disposable masks from the over supply from wag jag and he said the response was overwhelming. All evening people had been dropping stuff off and the RCMP had gone to Safeway and brought a load of food. What a great community. I hope all the people, that need to, find their way there tonight as it is now -30 according to my outdoor gauge.
Unfortunately I left Mom’s not feeling well as they have put new carpet in the hallways and the off-gassing smell is very strong. I am sure it is not aided by leaving the buckets of glue in the hall.
The fun parts of the day were finding out The H family had received their Christmas PJs and they may want to kick me for this but the pics are so sweet, they lit up my day so I hope they make you smile too. These are my peeps who bring me nothing but joy.
My snow peeps were caught in the act of his nibs trying to convince her to cheer up, he would take care of the shopping. My advent was another flowering tea to look forward to. I have a glass pot made special for them and will post when I use them.
triumphgal 