Snow, Snow, Snow

My Sp9 hostess (whipcracker that she is!) has asked that we all write a post on what snow means to us. Being a good Canadian girl who has always lived somewhere (except maybe those two years in Vancouver) in which snow covers the ground 7 months a year, I think I have had plenty of exposure. I tend to prefer the British Columbia snow to that of Alberta. In BC snow means that everyone goes skiing or snowboarding and you get some time to yourself. You can go sledding or build snowpeople. In Alberta, the snow is usually powdery, and can be sparse at times. It also signals the arrival of the really &*%#ing cold weather. Except for this year, and part of last year. Global warming brings Edmonton out of the ice age!

For a lot of people, snow heralds the incoming madness that is Christmas. With the planning and the buying of stuff and the cooking and generally going completely insane. When you're a child Christmas is a lot more fun.

While listening to cbc the other day, there was a conversation going on about whether or not winter was king anymore. And you know... I don't think it is. It really isn't the cold gripping hand of mother nature, that will trap people in their houses or vehicles for hours or days. I don't know if it's a good thing that we have so little fear of the weather nowadays. how long will it be before humans believe they are gods? Like in stargate sg-1 when the goa'ulds take a human host, except...without the whole weird snake thing.

In short, I think winter, as it was in my childhood, and even more so for those before me, is about hot chocolate, and skating. It's about building snowpeople (must be politically correct). It's about having your friends push you into snowbanks. It's about sledding, with friends, or for some of us, with our dogs (who are also friends). It's about sitting at home with a fire going, and building a bit of a layer of fat, you know, to keep you warm. For gods' sake, it's about having to plug in your vehicle, and get into a cold car, that's colder than the -35 outside! And not having it warm up until you're already where you need to be! And it's damn sure that you will be there exactly the right amount of time the car will be frozen again as soon as you're done! For some of us, it's also about having your glasses fog over whenever you step inside.

Also, It's Hockey Day in Canada here tomorrow. Yay Nelson!