I’m struggling at the moment. Struggling with life, the weather and not being able to get out and do my daily walks or even use taking photos as an excuse to get outside. And when I’m not getting out for my walk, I get grumpy. I get very grumpy. I don’t do well closed in for days at a time or, in this case, because the damn weather is so damn cold, weeks at a time.

It’s really getting to me and we’re only coming up to the end of January. I’ve got the whole month of February to get through. And even with scheduled appointments I have to go to: the doctor, the nurse for blood tests, the dentist for my check up, and any runs out for groceries etc., it’s not the same. Not the same as wandering here and there, in my neighbourhood, taking photos of things that interest me. Or even going further afield in the city, and wandering around on of the many parks.

I want to be out. And I want to be out like, now!

Am I going stir crazy? You bet I am. But going out, in this weather, entails wearing at least 4 layers of clothing. Which, let me tell you, is not conducive to going for a walk feeling like the Stay Puff Man from Ghostbusters.

Throw in the fact any exposed skin at MINUS 27+ will get frostbite pretty quickly and that, dear reader, is no fun.

So what’s a girl to do?

Stare out the window a while longer and pray to Mother Nature to pull her finger out of her, well, you know where, and give us a break. Pretty please with cream on top.

Thanks,
Love Alex

After two days of howling gales and snow, it’s time to dig out …

The wind is howling crazy outside, and blowing the snow horrizontally. It’s wild but, it’s also as pretty as hell, everywhere is frosted and white.

The wind was blowing crazy fierce this weekend, so much so, it blew the snow into interesting sculptures.

Another bright sunny day, but boy is it cold out there. It was MINUS 22 again this morning. And, with the windchill, only supposed to get up to about minus 17 this afternoon. Welcome to winter in the Frozen North.

Yesterday was our busiest and noisiest day yet of the Christmas holidays in that we were at my sister in law, Valerie’s place, for the family dinner — which is normally on Christmas Eve but, because of work and other commitments by the young’uns, everything was moved.

It also meant my sister in law was the one on driving duties. She had to come all the way from to Beaupre coast to pick us up, and then, head out of town into the sticks to collect my nephew, Cedrik. Before taking us all back up the coast to collect the mother in law. This journey, on a good day, would normally take about 45 minutes (with clear roads) but, due to it being early morning, Boxing Day, the plan went out the window, as it were, and the journey, due to traffic snarls at all the major intersections, took us an twice as long: 95 minutes to be exact.

Truely I have never seen so much traffic on the road. Everyone, and I mean half the population of the city, were in their cars determined to go to the Boxing Day sales at one mall or another.

It. Was. Insane. Out. There!