New Year and those resolutions

For the month of January, Sean and I are giving up alcohol. - just to see if we can. Of course this may all change if the shakes get too bad by day 4!

Merry Christmas!!

....at minus 27 we needed to do something to keep warm!!

Trivia

.... did you know that the lubricants used on ski lifts do not adequately function below minus 30 celcius? We now know this useful titbit after taking a carload of eager Australian teenagers for a day's skiing only to find the resort enjoying minus 35 degrees and closed!

Irony

....so much snow: too cold to ski!

On-going saga

An update on my Drivers' Licence saga. My exemption has been denied and I am required to go through the whole process – learners (wait one year), probationary driving test (wait two years), advanced driving test (hurrah) - to become a full-fledged license holder.

The reason for this is due to my documents saying my licence was first issued "Prior to 1st November 1984". I am advised they required a date to prove I have 2 year's driving experience. "Prior to" is not a date! Gotta laugh....

(VicRoads is now doing a paper archive search - stay tuned)

60 Degrees

With Wendy and Graeme due to arrive in Calgary, I put in an order for snow. Think I overshot a little with a snowstorm that sent temperatures plummeting and caused flights to be cancelled. W&G slipped in on the last plane from Vancouver. The welcoming party was unable to get to the airport due to the gridlocked traffic and, after an hour in the taxi line-up, our guests arrived shivering on our doorstep.

The weekend brought with it temperatures down to minus 30. The kids quickly learned that you DO need gloves when you go out to shovel the walk. But in typical Aussie fashion, the boys stood around drinking beer whilst cooking the BBQ!

Smiley Face

On Monday, whilst scanning "The Age" on line, I came across a photo called "Smiley face above Brighton" made up of the crescent moon and two stars. As I was trotting home from work, I saw the same crescent moon and same two stars in the Calgary sky - except here, it was a sad face.

... I really am living on the other side of the Earth!

Starting to feel a lot like Christmas.....

Snow blankets the garden and the fairy lights prettily outline the house. Our tree sparkles in the bay window and in the dark of 5pm, the house looks so very festive. Why is it that it feels far more like Christmas here in the dark and snow than it ever did at home?