Out Like A Lion

The old saying about March definitely seems to hold true around these parts.  We had some exceptionally mild weather in early March.  These last couple of days of the month it has really gone to hell in a handbasket.  It was very cold and blustery across most of the province on March 28th and 29th, and many areas saw some snow.

Margarit and I went out to the cottage on Friday March 26th.  We left the city late in the afternoon, after we had picked up the girls from school.  The girls stayed home in the city.

It was a very relaxing weekend, and a chance to unwind and recharge.  Saturday was quite mild and the temperature got up to around +9C.  There were sunny periods when it was pleasant, but in between when it clouded over, or when the breeze picked up, it was still quite chilly.  We measured out the building site on our second lot and staked out the location of the cottage that we will be building this year.  Later in the evening I made a batch of my "almost-world-famous" Beef Stroganoff.  It is a recipe that I have modified over the years and uses strips of beef, lots of mushrooms, cream, dill, parsley and mustard.  It is served over a bed of egg noodles.  We quite enjoyed it, and later in the evening we watched some documentaries on DVD.

The weather on Sunday was OK, but it was a little cooler.  We made a trip to the dump and dropped off a bunch of packing materials from our washer and dryer.  We also donated a bunch of empty bottles and cans to the Community Association.  In the afternoon I worked on the door that I am building for the cottage.  I installed the hardware last time, and had the frame built previously.  Now I started on the installation of some pine panelling to both surface of the door.  I left a large opening in the door where I will mount an antique window.  This will match all of the other doors in the cottage.  I was working on this outside, as there is not enough space in the cottage.

By late afternoon a weather front rolled through.  I had to scramble to put away the door and all the tools that I was working with.  Just about the time that I got the barbecue going for dinner, the snow hit.  It snowed quite heavily for a while, and overnight we got about 2 or 3 inches.  It was -14C when I got up on Monday morning.  There were wind warnings in effect and it was a very blustery and miserable day on Monday.  After breakfast we packed up and headed back to the city.  The girls are off school for the week of March 29 to April 2 as it is Spring Break.