Baby It's Cold Outside

The weather is what everyone is talking about here these days. Today's high temp was -14C and we're heading down below -20C again tonight. Lots of cold associated accidents, fires, watermain breaks. Shelters are opening extra beds and doing more outreach trying to get the homeless to take shelter. Exposed skin can freeze in as little as 10 or 15 minutes; less time if there is wind.

I had a bunch of running around to do today and everything went incredibly smooth, tickety-boo, no waiting. A doctors appt, haircut, oil change - nice not to have the frustration of having to hang around cooling my heels. Layer up and give the car plenty of time to warm up and off I went. Hah! Layering up - I had a ridiculous amount of clothes on today but I won't bore you with the details. Normally I look like a long, tall drink of water - today I was somewhat rotund and was restricted in movement by all I was wearing.

Unlikely to post during the day Friday as I had yet another call-in for work; this time just a dayshift. Ching-ching. The weekend will likely bring a visit from g'son Owen and his Mom - Dad is on a business trip in Australia. I'm hoping they stay Saturday into Sunday again. Sunday night I'm back into my regular series of night shifts.

BTW - My comments regarding the weather shouldn't be interpreted as complaints, though it may seem sometimes that is the spin on them. Walking out of doors in this sort of weather is bracing, exhilarating and life affirming. (Though daunting at times - must be mindful of inherent dangers and precautionary measures.) If you haven't experienced it I highly recommend it even if it's for a short time.

Week - Ender

Whew! Another work week done, down and dirty in another hour. That's not a 'whew' as in I've been terribly busy and run off my feet. It's just I find 70+ hours a bit much and by the end of it I'm bushed and ready for a good long rest. There is a short sleep waiting when I get out of here; I need to be up early for that funeral. But you can be sure I'll be hitting the sheets early Sunday night and sleeping in as long as I can bear to lie there.

I haven't a clue what the week holds. There are some appointments to keep and personal maintenance sorts of stuff to do - dentist, haircut, oil change (on the car, not me). I'm not expecting call-in shifts but I may get lucky as there are lots of colds and flu going around. (Knock on wood, it doesn't land on me.) Must get Mom out of her house for lunch or shopping.

It's about time for another quit smoking attempt. The anniversary of Lynda's successful quit is approaching so I might aim for that and adopt it. It'll be 6 years for her. I so wish I hadn't blown off the 7 months I had under my belt but no sense crying about it. Pick a date and stick to it. Do anything else except pick up.

Through tonight the temperature has dropped to -20C with a wind chill of about -30. So cold it would freeze the ............... you know the rest. As cold as a witches heart at midnight on All Hallows Eve........ you get the picture. Lord, I live at the wrong latitude. There must be some alkies and addicts in warmer climes who need a little counsel.

Have a great week; I'll be around soon.

Stormy Weather

Thanks to a mention from a west coast blogger (Lea?, Am?, Glen?, David?) about their weather I got on the phone to my daughter in Vancouver tonight. I hadn't seen any newscasts all week and was unaware that Van has been paralysed all week by a series of heavy snowstorms. Poor Sarah; it took her 3 hours to get home from work tonight. This was her first week back at work, at a new job too, since she took maternity leave 16 months ago. What a week to be getting back into that routine. She is in Zeph withdrawal; too little time with the little guy.

Snow is a relative rarity in Vancouver as it enjoys a very mild temperate climate. They simply don't have the necessary equipment to manage in circumstances like this. The rest of the country sort of sits back and chortles quietly - we get tired of pictures sent of Xmas Day celebrated on the patio in shorts, tees and sandals. (B*stards!) And so we laugh.... poor buggers, ha, ha, ha.

Anyway, the streets are choked with snow, drivers are uneducated about how to drive in it, people are unable to get to work and things have been increasingly frantic through the week. Sarah said areas outside the city are experiencing serious flooding.

Here in the east we're back into the deep freeze again tonight at -15C. When I got up this afternoon it had got up to -8 with no wind so I took my coffee outside on the patio to enjoy some sun. Bundled in my t-shirt, track pants, robe, slippers and a heavy coat. Gotta get that vitamin D somehow, someway. Apparently that's the last of the sun to be seen for days to come - forecasters say we're in for lots more snow. Bless their pointed little heads.