Windchill or no, -40 is a threshold I had never passed and felt quite scared about. I have had a few chances to brave the super-cold weather so far this week, with windchill warnings in effect and a chilly walk to work over the bridge. Happily, my giant eggplant parka is doing a great job of keeping me warm, and my eyelids have not frozen. My thighs get a little cold, making me wish I had picked up a Swedish ski-skirt, but I am surviving. I wouldn’t call this ‘a pleasant surprise’ since I have always carried such dread about the cold prairie winters and had very low expectations, but I can say it is actually not as bad as I thought it would be. This weekend it is set to warm up to a balmy -17, so we are going for a ski with our new Sask buddy Camille. Next weekend is a loppet of 11, 22, or 33 km. Hopefully things go well with the new snow this week and I can go for the 22km without destroying my hip flexors.
UPDATE: in the news!
Love the letter carrier: yeah, just give ‘er ’til it’s done.
I recently read a book about Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the story behind her stories. Reminded me of The Long Winter.
Stay warm! You don’t want to have to grind seed wheat for bread.