Winter - grinning and bearing it!!

Skating with Anestis at Victoria Park - it was a brilliantly sunny day which does wonders for the soul but it was bitterly cold and after about an hour I couldn't feel my lips anymore and I was starting to drool.  Everything I said sounded fubby.

 Indoor winter fun! My living room finally has ART on the walls!!  I did that yesterday while actively procrastinating beginning my "foyer project." I think I have re-thunk the foyer project right into spring as where would I put our numerous wet boots and 47 winter coats??

Hiking - where would I be this winter without hiking? At home, sitting on my ever expanding butt!!

This is my attempt at capturing the "beauty" of the icy cold hell that is outside - about -35c with the wind chill. But ain't it pretty?? The sun is setting - oh goody, it's going to get even colder!!

A bit of blue sky poking through today. I got snow inside my boots in order to get this shot! Oh hydrangea - I remember when you were green with the wonder of spring and white during the heat of summer. Now look at you! Drooping your head in shame!

I suppose I could take a page from Luna and curl up inside a box with a soft warm blanket. Of course I'd need a refrigerator box!! And a quilt or two!! But it is inviting...no?

That's my snow angel created a week ago - on a Sunday!! That's what I do instead of going to church - make snow angels!! Until that moment it was an untouched pristine field!

Taking pictures of unique outdoor natural objects fills a moment or two with wonder and awe - then I awkwardly shove frostbitten fingers back into my mittens while muttering "stupid, stupid, stupid!!"

The ice await-eth!  And with a windchill of about -30 it might wait-eth all day!!

Even the not-so-bright doves are all puffy-breasted to protect themselves from the icy air!

Trudge, trudge trudge! We had to blaze the trail through a few untouched fields - my glutes were screaming at me after a couple of hours! FUN! 

Thank goodness for the annual Wine and Food Show!! I wonder if I can warm this guy up? He's a bit stiff at the moment.

 Did you know that Shock Top breweries produces a chocolate-flavoured wheat beer now? Pretty darn scrumptious!! But I'll settle for the car!!

Oh look - it's my daughter (on the left) promoting Black Buffalo scotch and bourbon!! I'd never had bourbon before so gave it a shot....or I should say she gave me a shot! And a free T-shirt too!! I got warmed up on all counts!!

Today it was back to the relative warmth of Sifton Bog - it was all of 0c today - almost balmy...or is that barmy?  Oh no, that was me!  It was a battle between snow and rain with the snow winning out in the end. A bit on the gloomy side but I was able to wear a light jacket over a couple of layers instead of my heavy duty Canada Goose coat! What a treat!

Not easy to see but this is all that's left of an owl? after a coyote got the better of it!

Not exactly a postcard shot...

...but here the view is much improved by our smiles...SPRING - only two months away!!

Are you getting outside to enjoy what winter has to offer? What DOES winter have to offer??

 The night before I left for PEI Michael and I went to one of our favorite "hanging out" spots - the Waltzing Weasel. I have previously raved about their chicken wings here on my blog.  Well, to add to our pleasure we received a couple of free samples of a new wheat beer called SHOCKTOP and what made it even MORE special it was served to us by my gorgeous daughter!  Yes folks, you too can sling beer with a degree in French!

But seriously, it was fun to watch her in action and get to take some candid photos - I don't get that opportunity very often.  I mean what could be a more perfect summer job - asking people if they want to sample a new beer....for FREE!  I don't think anyone said "no thanks!"  In fact, I said yes..... twice!! (even though you're only supposed to get ONE sample it pays to have a daughter in the beer business!) We also stole received two free SHOCKTOP glasses to take home!! Bonus!  Actually, the SHOCKTOP glasses are here in my PEI cupboard and they're working really well!

 Of course no night would be complete without a photo of Michael with a bevy of beauties! And they took our pictures too for "promotional purposes" but we weren't allowed to show the beer for the photos. Here in Canada companies are not allowed to show people actually drinking alcohol in their commercials for...alcohol! You have to use your imagination!

 Here's Kazi giving her spiel!

 She's very charming to strangers...but then she's paid well for it...hmmmm.....

 She's a beautiful girl and I love her very much. I'm not even worried about how well she's looking after our 18 year old cat in my absence....not much anyway...

Success!  Another sample sampled by a sampler!  But is he making a face??

I must confess the other reason we love the Waltzing Weasel so much.  They make the best apple dumpling with french vanilla icecream in the entire WORLD!! Michael and I are sharing one in this picture but sometimes we each have to get our own because we don't want to share!

The ultra good news is that Michael is finally flying out this Wednesday!! He had to cancel his Monday flight due to having a job interview.  The interview went well so now it's a game of "wait and see"! We really hope he gets the job as it's right up his alley but it will be sad also not to have him in PEI for the summer. He'll go back to London immediately if he gets the job but at least he'll have a few days here first!