        Well… snow makes it official… it finally feels like winter, although the temperature is still fairly mild, we’ve officially passed fall.
               And, to be honest if it stays between the -10 and -20 (without wind chill) and snows, I’d be perfectly happy. I don’t know if anyone really likes the cold past -20… but I know I don’t. My favourite part of winter is the snow.
               Yes it can be a hassle, it messes up the roads, costs money to remove, takes time to clean up paths to get into your house; but, freshly fallen snow is simply beautiful. I actually find it very calming to just sit and watch the snow come down, then when the sun shines it lights up the clean blanket brightly sparkling under the sun.
               Sledding, snowmobiling, making snowmen, cross country skiing and snow shoeing out at the lake; there’s so much fun to be had in the snow as well, which is a nice change from the usual outdoor activities in my opinion.
               One of my favourite things is to actually sit by a window with a hot drink – tea or coffee – read a book and just relax with a book. Especially if there’s just a little bit of frost at the corners of the window… in fact I love that stereotypical setting.
               I think one of the strangest things, being Canadian, I spent a Christmas in Australia… it was tough being away from immediate family, but my mom’s cousin was lovely; she and her husband made me feel like I was at a home away from home, which was absolutely wonderful and I’m very thankful to have had them there to take my friend and I in.
               It just simply seemed odd. In Canada all of the pictures of Santa Claus, the jolly man is drawn or he’s pictured in snow while wearing his red suit. But, in Australia, he was in shorts, thongs (flip flop sandals), a t-shirt, and sunglasses on. It was just a funny little thing, but it seemed so strange having grown up with Santa spending his days in winter clothing, although why not wear summer gear? Especially when in the southern hemisphere their seasons are flipped, so instead of having Christmas in winter like it is in the northern hemisphere it was Christmas in the summer down there.
               But, it just didn’t really seem quite like the Christmas season and to be honest I missed the nip in the air and the snow… which might have been why I loved Tasmania so much. It was either just before Christmas or just after, but travelling to Tasmania was lovely. It was chilly there, I guess the temperature is rather steady and doesn’t change much one way or the other, and while up at Cradle Mountain there was actually snow in the morning, just a skiff, but it reminded me of home.
               So, although I’m not looking forward to the usual cold snap at the end of January/beginning of February, I do love the snow and it does help get into the season a little more.
