Snowy wonder

A foot of snow blankets the earth, the temperature has dropped into the nether lands, boughs hang heavy, laden with fluffy white wonder, and I am warm inside.

Winter has arrived in all its frosty, frustrating and sometimes frightening driving conditions. Last night, driving home, my normal half hour journey took an hour and fifteen minutes. I didn't pass any accidents. No construction. No snowplows. Just drivers being cautious, staying conscious of the conditions and giving themselves lots of room. Of course, there were also the drivers determined to take the short-cut around the traffic who got stuck on hills. At one point, as I waited on a busy avenue for the light to change, I considered taking a shortcut on a side street. I looked to my left and in the snowy night, could see cars lining the middle of the road of the hill that scooted around the intersection that was so clogged in front of me. Their tail lights glowed like Rudolph's nose, and as I watched I realized -- so did their back up lights. There were at least five cars stuckon the hill, sliding backwards, trying to gain some sort of traction to either go forward or back. Eventually, they all gave up trying to get to the top and turned back down to join the line of traffic snaking towards the west.

I knew I was in for a long drive home when I left the office and the first six blocks took me fifteen minutes to navigate. So, I put on some tunes and relaxed into the moment. Nothing much I could do about the traffic but I did make a -- note to self: remember to put a few talking CDs into the car today.

I have a rental car as someone smashed into the back end of C.C.'s Porsche and there is only one auto body person in town capable of repairing his collectors vehicle to the level he wants. While it would normally be in storage for the winter anyway, the rental he got until February/March when the mechanic can work on his car, is a wonderful gift. My eldest daughter needs a car for University. She doesn't drive standard and thus, can't drive her sister's car -- who cannot drive until April due to her epilepsy -- and so, she has my car, C.C. has his other car and I have the rental. -- whew. now wasn't that a lot of useless information?

It must be the cold. I'm thinking fast of ways to keep my mind working without freezing up at the thought of sub-zero temperatures frosting up my synapses.

It is a winter wonderland outside -- if only it will stay until Christmas! Alas, in Calgary, Chinooks have a habit of blowing in and melting the snow, regardless of seasonal needs. I know. I know. I shouldn't be complaining about the prospect of a Chinook! But... it's really nice to have a white Christmas too!

And in the meantime, Marley, The Great Cat, has not ventured outside for days. I mean, really. Get my paws wet and icy cold? I don't think so.

Though he hasn't lost his desire to explore the great outdoors. He rings the bell by the front door, impatiently demanding we come and open it so he can check, once again, if it's still cold out there. And baby, it's cold out there!

Ellie loves the fluffy wonder all around, but is not so keen on the cold. She races out the back door. Takes a couple of terrors around the backyard. Does her thing and then hurries back to bark for entry back into the house. Once inside, it's a long, frosty moon before she figures she'd best get out for relief. And walk? I don't think so thank you very much. I'm an old gal. I don't need a nightly constitutional.

Or perhaps, she would like to go for a walk and it's just me not wanting to venture too far in the cold. Nice thing about an older dog, she's just as content to lie on her bed and dream about fields of wild flowers where she can give chase to bunnies and butterflies, sniffing scents and snuffing out gophers.

And still, it's cold outside. As you can see from the photo -- it's a winterwonderland outside!

So, to give some relief, I thought I'd share a little video I created from our trip to Barbados. I can feel the heat and sun and sand and smell the ocean and feel the moisture on my skin -- which believe me, in this clime, my skin is drying up and my tan is flaking off faster than a snowball melting in Hell.

Have a great day -- stay warm if you're in northern climes and cool if you're in the temperate zones. I know, this too shall pass, but while it's here, I plan on breathing deeply into the wonder of a winter's day laden with snow fairies and frosty snowmen with button eyes and cornpipe noses looking to play.