Astonishing Revelation

I hope everyone has enjoyed Hockey Day in Canada. It seems that my downstairs neighbour has either looooved or haaaaated it, judging from the shrieking and shouting coming from down there...

I have had an astonishing revelation. It turns out, that I LOVE winter. Huh! Who'd have ever thought! I love snow, I love ice, I love icicles, I love skating on the canal, snowshoing, I will love cross-country skiing as of tomorrow (my new skis), I love winter camping, and I love bundling up against the cold, I love toques and scarves and have the best collection of anyone I know, I love being inside in winter, I love being outside in winter, I love winter. I love trudging through ankle deep (or deeper) snow.

It was really the winter of 1999 I think that I first embraced winter (as an adult). That year I decided that I hated winter. Everything about it. I was miserable. So finally I decided that I was either moving to Hawaii, or learning how to enjoy winter. Since I had the savings account of Bob Cratchit, Hawaii was out, so instead I racked my visa with courses such as Ice Climbing, Winter Camping, and Building Snow Shelters. I had a blast playing in the snow in the Rocky Mountains that winter, and since have liked winter just a bit more.

When I lived in Newfoundland for a year, I had another stellar winter, with snowmobiling and winter ATVing, winter fires in the woods built with green witch's hair and twigs dug from under the snow, with tea cooked over the fire in a coffee can hung on a forked stick, and ski-doo trips into friends' cabins deep in the frozen woods.

And for the past 3 Ottawa winters I have really enjoyed getting a proper amount of snow and skating on the canal is absolutely brilliant. It is so nice to skate somewhere instead of around in circles, and it is so nice to have a beautiful view while skating. As well, Ottawa has one of the best winter festivals - Winterlude, with ice sculptures, snow sculptures, and a snow playground.


My dream is someday when I am super-rich to stay at the Ice Hotel in Quebec.

Anyways, I just realized this today and felt like sharing... :-)

An article about winter camping that I wrote 3 years ago (published in Outpost Magazine)
is here. The web site is ooooollllllllddddd... bear with my annoying self...