Goodbye Winnipeg Blizzard, Hello Mexico Sun!!

As many of you know all ready Winnipeg is in the grips of a terrible winter storm.  With winds howling out of the north-west at breakneck speeds and the snow sure to come pounding in tonight by the bucket-load.  The temperature is set to drop from the balmy -2 Celsius we have been enjoying (T-Shirt Weather) to a skin freezes in under a minute -25 to -30 next week.

A typical Manitoba winter drive. Burrr

Strangely though, and those of you who know me will think this odd, I don’t give a rats ass.  Because by this time tomorrow I should be en-route to the Mayan Riviera, Mexico.  Buried to my knees in sand, surf and senoritas, (Shhh, don’t tell Dar) for a family wedding that they had the good sense to book in the middle of our coldest season here in Winnipeg.

We are planning all types of activities; they include laying on a hot beach, drinking beer on a hot beach, drinking margaritas on a hot beach, drinking tequila on a hot beach and finally passing out on a hot beach.  Hopefully being found by a kind staff member and escorted back to my room with an IV drip to avoid the impending hangover.

Ahh, Good times!!!

But I jest, we actually do have all types of excursions planned exploring the Mayan runes, trying the indigenous cuisine (street food), and exploring the cenotes (caves in the Yucatán).   We also hope to go zip lining and maybe catch a catamaran to the island of Cozumel.

That is if winter lets us out of Winnipeg.  We do indeed have a large storm bearing down on us at the moment but by all accounts it should clear by morning.    Fingers crossed, expect some tales of grand adventure from my very first trip to a sunny destination!

Adiós mis amigos, te veo pronto. Ariba Ariba!

Composting made so easy that even a blogger can do it!

It should be said right off the top that this style of post is not my normal beat, but when I get a chance to co-write a piece with Nikki from Women are from Mars I just have to jump all over it.  Nikki as most of you may know is a fervent environmental blogger.  Her weekly Tree-Hugger Tuesday posts are not only informative and environmentally conscious but also fun!

Dar and I are also committed to doing our part to reduce our waste stream that is destined for Brady landfill here in Winnipeg.  We are active recyclers and donators to the Leaf It With Us program, where the city takes yard wastes and either composts them on an industrial scale or as in the case of tree waste chips the wood down and makes decorative landscaping products.

So when we found out that the City of Winnipeg was having a massive sale on composters we simply had to get in on it. The unit we purchased normally retails for $100 but through the city sale we were able to get it for only $30 taxes included.  What a deal!

Our new Earth Machine composter

Having a large back yard is one of the many perks and headaches about living in a mid-sized Canadian city.  It’s great to have a place to relax and garden in the summer but with a large yard also comes potential waste.  Grass clippings and leaves that would normally be bagged and disposed of can now be turned into beautiful healthy soil for our garden and Dar’s potted plants.