Winter's Finally Found It's Way To Alberta... Permanently for the Season =0(

Mother Nature has taken leave from playing games.... She's turned her winter furnace on...... And I don't like it much... But She didn't ask my opinion, and never will... This is one of the perks of being Canadian, I guess... And the further North you go, it tends to get colder...

We had been spoiled by above seasonal temperatures... Granted they were just a few degrees over freezing, but hey, who am I kidding? I'll take it! There was a bit of a threat of snow just around Halloween.  Mother Nature has decided to get "back to normal", whatever Alberta considers to be normal this time of year. (All I can hear is that commercial, Get back to normal, whatever your normal is.) I could feel the cold weather coming in my knees... They started to ache about a week ago. The high temperatures are now below 0 degrees Celsius... The slick streets of rain soaked streets was a sign of what was to come, and what was to come arrived today in form of light snow... I think this is the beginning of the end, snow will most likely be here until the Spring Thaw. I hope the wind, and the wind chill factor it brings, keeps to a minimum this year!

I remember back in BC, cousins from Australia had made the long trek over seas for a Christmas Vacation. (Crazy, I know.) They were excited to experience snow, some for the first time. (Some of my Aussie cousins were born and partially raised here in Canada, so they had snow experience. The friend or two they brought over however, were the opposite. They were born and raised in Oz, and therefore snow was a treat for them to play in.) They waited... And waited... And waited... But the snow never came. They had to make the drive up to Silver Star Mountain, one of the local ski hills, to allow the snow first timers to actually see snow. It was one of a few "Green" Christmases I remember in Vernon... Although, I've got to be honest with you... They're more like "Brown" Christmases. Doesn't leave one very festive, I can tell you that.

I remember my first winter in Edmonton... I could have cried, almost on a daily basis. I was spoiled by being raised in the Interior of BC, where if you see -20 Celsius for a week straight it's considered cold. Well, Alberta cold is a little different from BC cold. Alberta cold is drier, and way colder than -20. I called my Mum on her birthday at the end of October. I had just gotten home from work, and I was freeeeeeeezing! I stripped off my boots and socks as I talked to her and told her I'd have to call her back, she asked why... I told her because my feet were purple and I wanted to go have a shower to make them the right colour again... She gave me motherly grief and told me I was living in Alberta now, I could wear more than one pair of socks.... I was though! At the time I was wearing three pairs of socks and boots that were supposedly rated to -25 Degrees... I've acclimatized since... The first couple weeks of the season always usually suck though!

There are reports of the treacherous QEII having cars slid off to the side already. (The QEII = Highway 2/Queen Elizabeth Highway that runs from Edmonton to Calgary.) I believe it, this highway scares the hell out of me, and for good reason. This time last year I was working in Leduc, considered a surrounding area of Edmonton, and I was on my way home from work and got cut off on the highway... Well, I had shit tires on there, hit ice and fish tailed into the ditch. I wound up writing off my car and losing the job. It's alright though, we hit seriously -50 last winter... We were the 2nd coldest place on the planet that day... Second only to a place in stinking Siberia! It didn't feel a degree over -30, but when it gets that cold, how are you going to regulate the difference? (Other than machinery starting not to wanna work!) I hate this time of year sometimes! (If it weren't for Christmas, I think I'd try to by pass the season totally.. I admire those who were smart enough to have homes down south for the shitty winter, and lake front property for the summer.)

I realize no one can control the weather. (Wouldn't that be some shit if we could, eh?) I know there are certain people who love this time of year... Whether it be for the skating, skiing, snowboarding etc... Or for the sheer fact they prefer the colder temperatures... I'm not one of those people... I can feel a drastic change of temperature coming through the aches in my knees... Because of my hooped knee situation, I'm not one for winter sports... Hell, I'm liable to fall on my ass on the way to the car and take myself out of commission for a week... I've done it before... And I can't take extreme temperatures... Hot or Cold.. What can we do though, except to accept it and prepare for it... Or we'll just be those annoying, bitch about the weather types... No one likes a whiner!

It's not always about me; if it were, snow would appear on the 23rd of December and bugger off on the 2nd of January! (Except on the ski slopes, I'll compromise with y'all there!) And there's no excuse for such cold weather! -15 tops!

I'm Dreaming of a White Hallowe'en: Who Invited Snow to Town?

I woke up to disappointment yesterday morning. There was a skiff of snow on cars and the garbage can cover... Just enough to let it's presence known, and make me cry a little. It seems as though Mother Nature is playing an opposite hand than what we saw over the past couple of weeks. (You know, when she spoiled us with almost summer like temperatures.) The skiff was gone by noon, but the damage has been done... It continued "misting" through out the day...

From here on out, it will only get easier for the undecided Mother Nature to screw with us by using the snow card. Proof would be the snow again this morning... There was a little more snow, just enough to force people to wipe their cars off before the endeavor to work. The temperature is supposed to remain consistent through out the day... And that temperature isn't very high, around -1 Celsius to about +1 Celsius... Just low enough that the white stuff keeps falling from the sky little by little... And it looks like it could go either way - stick around or melt by mid week, when meteorologists call for +5 weather.... Happy Monday!

I live in Alberta, snow could feasibly come at any point during the year... Every year though, I hope against hope that the snow will wait until after Halloween to make it's appearance....(The year before I moved here, there was snow in July... The year I actually moved here, there was new snow a week before I got here... At the end of May... Both didn't last long, but the point of the matter is, it fricken snowed in July!!!!!) My first Albertan winter left a lot to be desired... I had long johns/underwear on, three pairs of socks and -25 rated boots on, a winter jacket, sweatshirt and t-shirt on and was still chilled to the bone... I remember getting home from work and calling my Mum on her birthday - the day before Halloween - and had to call her back... My feet were purple they were so cold and required a hot shower to get them back the correct colour... I guess I was spoiled by BC winters...

For all those who bitch about the other guy while driving through the first snows of the season.... On the behalf of the rest of us, keep your big, fat mouths shut. It is the season of slippery driving and accidents, we all know this... Give yourself a few extra minutes in the morning to drive... Even though snow is a part of our lives for roughly 6 months out of every year in Edmonton, some of us do forget how to drive in it... Every time I hear someone crab about that fact - I'd like to smack the person in the mouth... Wanting to smack that person is pretty ignorant, you might say... And so is the reason I want to smack that person in the first place... No one's perfect, so keep that in mind prior to your bitch fest on crappy winter drivers. They had as much notice as you did.... And I'm glad that your perfect enough to get to work on time, without any incident... Some of us aren't that lucky. (I'm a transit rider, how much fun do you think I'm having out in varying negative temperatures, waiting for a bus that's late due to snow and accidents! Just be glad you're in a warm vehicle out of the elements. I'd gladly switch you spots... I doubt you'd like that trade much.)

Some people genuinely enjoy the snow, unfortunately I'm not one of them. I have accepted the fact that snow, for the most part, is a part of a Canadian winter, and I do enjoy being Canadian in spite of the snow factor. (Though fresh snow on bare trees etc is quite pretty.) I will say one thing for snow - It makes Christmas. I've witnessed a few "green" Christmases - they're more like Brown Christmases - and they sucked... I have partaken in tobogganing, skiing (both down hill and cross country), ski-dooing, and the making of snowmen and snow angels. I've seen winter carnivals and festivals with amazing ice sculptures and snow structures. If I had my way though, snow would come a week before Christmas and leave by January 2nd... I've yet to get my way though.

It's not always about me; to clear up any misconceptions... No, I don't take a dog sled to and from work... No, I don't cross country ski to work either. (I live in Edmonton, there aren't many hills or mountains to ski down here either.) No, I don't have a pet seal or polar bear to feed.... No, I don't live in an igloo...