Oh February! The shortest, longest, cruelest month. It's been viciously cold since what feels like forever. It was -22C (-6F) this morning, again. I never thought I'd say it, but this year I actually find myself getting used to the cold. I made my quarterly trek to Costco today and picked up another 100 lbs of cat litter, and I might or might not have been vocal about my discontent as I pushed my cart to my car.
You haven't lived until you've pushed a full shopping cart through snow or slush. To those people who say, "oh, look, pretty snow", I have news for you. Pretty wore off sometime in January. Pretty wore off when we opened our latest Hydro bill ($493 for 63 days of bitter cold hell, in case you're interested). Remember, we don't even heat with hydro, we heat primarily with wood. Pretty wore off when I got my car stuck in a snowbank during a whiteout with a -30C windchill in the fiercest, coldest windstorm I have ever experienced. Pretty wore off when I needed air in a front tire. It was -26C that morning, and you haven't had winter fun until you've fumbled with a tire and air hose at -26C and watched the innards of your tire pressure gauge fly out over the vast frozen tundra of the parking lot, just because it was TOO COLD for even the gauge to function normally.
Cold is the common denominator of every equation these days. It takes forever to get dressed in the morning, adding layer after layer after layer. We have different hats, gloves, coats and boots for different snow conditions and temperatures. We even have a selection of different shovels to chose from, depending on what version of the white crap has fallen. The car seats - they've been frozen for months now, and they're hard as rock. Cold has permeated the house, and the novelty of winter and fond memories of the first snow has been filed deep into the recesses of our gray matter.
Oh, it's all just so much fun, fun, fun! I know, I know, let's do this FOR A FEW MONTHS MORE! WHEEEE!!! Cue the sound of crazy spinning wheels!
Let's just say we're due for a nice, long thaw, preferably one that lasts all summer. We know Mother Nature isn't done messing with us until at least some time in April, if we're lucky. The cats are stir-crazy, housebound and clingy, Odin poops balancing on two alternating legs (he's getting quite agile at it), and we're both board-certified lunatics as well, weather notwithstanding.
I've been knitting on two interminable black projects (why oh why do I do this to myself?) and just the other day, my prime February occupation of playing Freecell (I swear I need therapy) kicked in. I was good until last week, when I told myself I'll play one game, just for old time's sake. Well, my serotonin levels must have gone up a few notches, because I find myself spending an inordinate amount of time shuffling virtual cards from one column to another. Thus Seasonal Affective Disorder has been officially diagnosed. This year, I think there are millions and millions of us suffering from it. It's been a hard one, and we're all in the same boat.
Eric flew to Vancouver and London for close to a week this month, and I asked him what impressed him the most about the sudden change in climate, and his answer surprised me. He said it was the colour of the surroundings. I'd never thought about it until he mentioned it, but everything outside is drab and gray and dirty. Snow doesn't stay white for very long. Everything on the horizon is bare and lifeless. I haven't even heard a bird chirp in months now. It's little things like that we take for granted the rest of the year, the greenery and life and sounds of seasons that aren't winter.
On a different note, we have quite a few Snowy Owls around. They are fabulous birds, huge as anything, and love to sit on light standards and hydro poles, so they are easy to observe if you're looking out for them. I had one fly alongside my car the other day, and their little heads are round and their wingspans huge. A formidable bird and a pleasure to watch.
Eric is also busy tackling the drywall upstairs. We might actually end up with a finished house after all...
And a 12-year dream has finally been fulfilled. We installed a central vacuum the other day, and little Miss Whiny February actually has a smile on her face as she pushes the vacuum around the house. (Have I mentioned just how much cats and dogs shed in winter?)
So, with February counting down, I wish everyone warmth and patience and pretty sunsets.
