Counting down the hours to midnight...

Not just to see in the new year, our alcohol-free December will be over. Woo Hoo!! Bring on 2010!!

Being Lindsay Brouse*

The weather is gorgeous (sunshine and around minus 4°C) so we found ourselves partaking in yet another winter sport - skating on Bowness Lake. I, naturally, with all the grace and elegance of a life on skates whilst Sean emulated the skating style of the Flames hockey team.

*Lindsay Brouse is a figure skating friend!!

... and 18.4km later

Be warned when Gord says "hey, let's go for a cross-country ski." The warning bells should have rung loudly:

1) Gord is one of the fittest people I know
2) xc skiing is one of Gord's primary sports
3) I have not been near a xc ski for 20 years....

The alarm bells failed me and off we went to Kananaskis. The trails were well groomed the vistas superb and the day perfectly sunny. I managed quite nicely, with minimum skill and no style until we hit the big, black, bending downhill. The technique is a little different than on downhill skis and despite my very best attempt at a snowplow, I determined it prudent to hit the snow rather than the looming tree.

Pride a little bruised but otherwise okay, we skied the final 6km and I have never been so pleased to see a carpark! Suprised to find all limbs functioning this morning, with only some minor discomfort - think we will do it again on Thursday!

Christmas Day

What a magic day! Skiing and a very lovely lunch, no dishes, no messes and lots of sunshine.

What a Christmas gift....

As a gift to each other, Sean and I took a ski lesson - or rather an advanced performance workshop. For the group price we were the only two in the class. Our instructor, James from England, spent the morning doing some technical drills then took us down some of the steepest terrain I have ever skied.

The full day private lesson is a great way to go.... but I suspect we are now just a danger to ourselves!

Christmas in Kensington Village

It is straight out of a postcard. Kensington Village is lit up with Christmas lights, carol singers stroll the streets and the shop fronts are decorated, looking warm and inviting. The coffee shops serve warming eggnog and add cinnamon to the whipped cream treats in festive red cups.

The snow sparkles and big, fluffly flakes happily fall blanketing the streets with its magic. We love our neighbourhood!

Winter Poem - author unknown

It's winter in Canada
And the gentle breezes blow

Seventy miles an hour

At thirty-five below.

Oh, how I love Canada

When the snow's up to your butt

You take a breath of winter

And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful

So I guess I'll hang around

I could never leave Canada

I'm frozen to the friggin' ground!

The Nutcracker

We walked in the door from a day's skiing to a ringing phone. It was our friend Blake. He had two spare tickets to the ballet The Nutcracker and he would pick us up in 20 minutes. Great activity ensued transforming us from sweaty ski bums to glamorous patrons of the arts.

Thanks Blake! What a fabulous evening.

Yet more talk about the weather.....

Looking back over recent posts, I note that a large proportion are directly related to the weather. After living here for three years, you would think I would have gotten over it. However, it is a fact about life in Calgary that your day to day is completely dominated by the weather.

This is partly because of how variable it is in Calgary. I check the outside temperature before getting dressed each morning. This time of year, the temperatures vary from +10°C to -30°C in the space of 24 hours. Calgary enjoys 4 very distinct seasons. Summer and winter sports are completely different. Cycling in the winter is impossible, not just because of the cold and snow, but the grit on the roads making them very hazardous. Even running on the icy pathways is not recommended. So we pack away our hiking boots, put our bikes on the wind trainer indoors and pull out skis, sleds and snow boots. (Or in some households, the quad bike gets parked up and the skidos come out...)

Our cars are winterized and equipped with winter tyres, ice scraper and emergency kit. The emergency kit contains blankets, gloves, a candle, matches, safety triangles, flares and a torch. Everything you need to survive a break down in -20°C and signal your distress to others.

Waldrobes are completely different. Winter coats, boots, scarves, mitts, and touques (beanies) clutter the shelves and hooks at the front door. Going outside is a good 5 minute exercise in bundling up - and quadruple that time if you have kids. Car windows need to be scrapped free of ice and the car warmed up. I did think warming up the car was no longer required with modern engines but it is actually for the people. Getting into a freezing car is frightful and I have a new appreciation of heated seats, garages and covet a heated steering wheel.

Winter storms can close the roads and make the commute to work very long or impossible. Traffic jams and accidents occur on hills where cars and buses struggle to get up the slippery slope. Add snow ploughs to the mix and the traffic can be nightmarish. The 3 hours drive North to Edmonton is rarely attempted in the winter as the highway can close suddenly - particlularly the section through Red Deer. Flying is not much more reliable. The planes can be delayed by a snow storm in Nova Scotia.

It is little wonder we talk about the weather so much!

Brrrrr

Yesterday, Edmonton (a mere 300km north of here) broke their all time coldest day record with temperatures plumetting to -46.1°C! (and -58.4°C with windchill) This made it the second coldest place on the planet. A town in Siberia was actually a little chillier!

The Plus 15

Faced with the prospect of walking from one end of Downtown to the other in sub-freezer temperatures, I rejoice the concept of the Plus 15. Rather than having to don snow boots, winter coat, hat, gloves, carry my shoes and take everything off at the far end and work out where to leave it - I walked comfortably in my business suit and pumps right across town.

The Plus 15 is a series of walkways (like the bridges across the street in Myers Melbourne) right around the city at the first floor level, or indeed, 15 feet above the ground. It allows us to walk from building to building in comfort and much of the Calgary retail is actually off the Plus 15. This can cause some angst to buying frenzied Australians looking for the shops at street level.

Need I say more??

Artic blast hit Calgary

The leading story in today's Calgary Herald starts as follows:

"Old Man Winter is going to blast his way through the province today, creating a possible repeat scenario of a very slow and snowy evening commute.
And while city officials say they're prepared to nip winter's wrath, meteorologists say it will be a battle.

"Pretty much the whole province is going to see its first real burst of winter," said Environment Canada meteorologist Linda Schuler.

"It's not going to be nice. It's a good day to stay home and read a book," she said."

A good day to stay home and read a book - I might just consider doing just that!