BBBRRRRR!!!I The Deep Freeze Is Back!!

Well, we had a bit of a break from the deep freeze - for about a week! We went from several weeks with highs around -25C/-13F (before the wind chill is added on) to temperatures around 0C/32F. Talk about a shock to the system! It was really a heat wave! It was just long enough to let things melt a bit and then freeze over and make things even more fun when it comes to walking and driving!

The city crews took advantage of that mild spell to clean up some of the streets, sidewalks, boulevards and snowbanks at intersections. They do this work mostly in the overnight hours, when people like me are trying to sleep and all you hear is the sounds of heavy snowplow equipment and large trucks rumbling along your street while you are trying to get some much needed rest from all the exercise you got while you were maneuvering in and around all the ruts and snowbanks they left while cleaning up after the last snowfall!

Note to city: Next time please check with my schedule to see if I need to be up early the next morning as I really need my sleep and as much as I appreciate your cleaning up in the wee hours of this past Wednesday morning - I wish you could have done my street on a night that I could have slept in the next morning. Better yer, I wish you could have done it Sunday night into Monday, as I was already awake for two hours with insomnia! Is that really too much to ask?

I know that most of Canada and parts of the USA have been having a bitterly cold and stormy winter, but those of us here in Manitoba, are used to this. We dress in layers and go on about our business even when the wind chill factor hits -50C/-58F. When it gets that cold, you have a choice. You either stay home and hibernate or you suck it up and get out and get some air and a little exercise.

I'll admit, that it isn't much fun when it is that cold - especially when you are wearing so many layers that you look and feel like the Abominable Snowman. Climbing the stairs on any of the older city buses should be considered a true aerobic workout dressed like that! It should also be considered a double workout if you are wearing a backpack full of groceries or carrying heavy shopping bags!

It takes a special kind of person to survive a Manitoba winter. A lot of people bitch about the cold and the snow or even try to "escape" for a week or two to a warmer climate, but they are only making it harder on themselves by exposing their systems to extremes in temperatures and our hatred of their ability to actually leave without taking us with them!!! The nerve of some people!!

I'm not a big fan of the really cold weather but if I had to choose between -30C and +30C, I'll take -30C thank you. As my grandmother always said: "You can always put more clothes on, but there is only so much you can take off!"

dn