Winter Has Shown Her Face

It has been a week since Calgary got its first major snow dump of the year. Carskating has become a new sport! Unfortunately for the commuters, the roads were sheer ice on the Tuesday morning. A 45 minute commute on a busy day suddenly became a 2 and a half hour terror infused ride. Stopping became optional as cars were spinning their tires and I was praying to not be rear ended by some moron in a half ton.
Today the mercury dipped to -21C but it felt more like -30 with the wind chill factor. It was colder in Calgary than it was in Iqualuit, Nunavut.
Only a month until the official beginning of winter and seven months until our three days of summer returns!!!!
Keep warm everyone!!!

Winter in Calgary

It is only mid-January, but I am already so over winter. Here in Calgary, we had a major snowfall on December 12 2008, followed by a cold snap that finally broke the day before yesterday. The 'Alberta Clipper' is now bearing down towards Eastern Canada and the eastern seaboard of the USA.I much prefer the cold here, its drier and it can be -30C, but hey, its sunny outside. Its humid and colder down East.
Luckily we are experiencing a Chinook, which is a mixed blessing. It reached 15 C(on the plus side) today, and the snow is melting. That brings wet roads and use of lots of wiper fluid. Because our city mayor is an IDIOT who prefers to spend our tax money on a useless pedestrian bridge, the snow removal here in Calgary is basically non existent. The side streets are slushy and I have a friend of mine who couldn't get her car out from in front of her house....for two days. My car is AWD, and I found myself bogging down in the muck and slush.Needless to say, everyone is upset. An ambulance with newborn inside was stuck for 30 minutes yesterday! Hello Bronconnier!! Get with the program!
Hopefully the sidewalks will dry a bit and not be to icey. I am dying to go for a run. Enough of the bike trainer, if i want to do a triathlon this summer, I need to get my running up to speed.More about my triathlon experience in the near future.

Cold Temperatures in Brazil...Who Knew?

Being Canadian, I always get a kick with how Brazilians complain about the cold weather. When the thermometers hit below 20C, you would think the Ice Age hit. They drag out sweaters to put on,yet wear sandals on their feet. Oh my God its so cold, they say. All I can think of is how on earth would they ever survive a Canadian winter?
We are going into winter down here, the past three days have been unusually cold. As I write,in front of the computer with a fleece blanket on my shoulders, I can feel the chill of 16C in my apartment. The fact that one wall of my apartment is just windows(and not double paned insulated),I suffer from drafts. I slept last night with flannel sheets, a wool blanket AND a down comforter.
This leads me to think that inland of the coast in states such as Minas Gerais and southern states such as Parana and Santa Caterina must get really cold!!!!
Did it ever dawn on anyone that maybe builders and architects should build houses with proper insulation and heating???? Its inexistent here!!!
How do you think Canadians survive? I learned that if you put on a hat, you save 70% of your body heat from escaping through your head. Warm head, warm hands and warm feet. Oh yes, 12 inch pink insulation does wonders in the house....