Cold.

     I know it's part of living in Canada.  I know it's often beautiful.  I know it shouldn't catch me by surprise.  But I truly, madly and deeply hate cold weather.  And today in Peterborough it is really cold.  Colder than it has been yet this year.  Trixie got plugged in overnight last night for the first time in years (having moved from a 27 story building with underground parking in the dirty city to our current cozy 100 year old home with an exposed driveway last summer).


     Today, braving the insanity to make our regular thrift store rounds, I wore two of everything.  Leggings, pants.  Two long-sleeved shirts (one a hoodie).  Two pairs of socks inside boots that go down to minus 30 F.  A hat, scarf and gloves, and a practical winter coat with a hood (okay, only one of each of these items...).  Did I mention I was driving in a car?  
     Then, driving along Landsdowne, I saw two girls walking through/over/on a snow bank made of road slush and car turds (those disgusting clots of dirty snow that form in wheel wells and fall off in driveways as soon as temperatures warm up or someone kicks them off, looking remarkably like horse turds).  I'm not sure why they weren't walking on the sidewalk on the other side of the street, but I'm even more unsure as to why someone didn't stop them on their ways out their doors this morning.  They were walking in minus 35 degree weather in skinny jeans and ballet flats.  They did have coats on, I'll give them that, but no hats or mitts.  
     And don't give me the "maybe they couldn't afford hats" line, because both were carrying several bags each from the nearby mall.  It's called fashion.  Fashion is often impractical or uncomfortable, and frequently cold.
     On NYE Earl and I were out and about and I wanted to look nice, but be practically dressed as we were out on foot.  One has to be practical, and practical can mean settling.  I decided on looking nice from the shins up, while wearing what were obviously winter boots.  When I complained about this to Earl, I got a "What do you expect?  It's Canada.  It's winter.  Canadian up!!".  And he's right.  That Earl of mine is full of wisdom.


     So it's winter and it's cold and teenage girls are impractically dressing for the weather and what else is new?  Best just try to stay toasty inside with a warm beverage and slippies on your feet - perhaps read a book, listen to winter music (NOTE To Self: Potential blog topic for another day?), and if you're really lucky like me, there'll be a little sumpin' sumpin' cooking up in the crock-pot for supper.  I know there are lots of people who enjoy, even prefer, winter and cold weather, and could argue the other side of this, and hate to see the snow disappear.  I'm just not one of them.