Hello WINTER!

I said a fond farewell to the grass on Sunday as it was slowly overtaken by the army of little wet, flecks of shredded cloud. It was with joy (and a little trepidation) that I noted this was probably the last time I would see the brownish-green blades until March or April next year. It has been snowing pretty much nonstop since Sunday, with quite the fierce wind blowing in today and it is suggested that the snow will continue as such for the foreseeable future. As such, when I return in January, there is likely to be 2 -3 feet of snow if not much more. At the moment this brings only excitement (as a Canadian who lives in a generally warm, wet climate but still has the blood of a Manitoba-living mother and Calgary-born Father in her and always longs for such things as two feet of snow to flounce through) however I do fear that after a few weeks, the cold will get to me and I will wish for rain. Also, I dread the coming of warmth which will bring mounds of slush...not enjoyable or nice to look forward to and therefore I refuse to dwell on the subject and will instead simply stare out my window with comfortable happiness as the world slowly loses all colour...

Oh the joys of living at the Rocky Mountain Lodge: not only do we get mounds of snow but the septic system is so high tech that we even have guys who come out and clean our septic tanks for us! Now that is service...the smell however is not so fabulous. It was an interesting class yesterday, first trying not to breath too deeply, then, trying to keep warm as we opened both doors and let the great icy wind gust through the classroom to air the place out. I be thinking we won't be able to do that for very much longer.

With all the snow comes thoughts of Christmas and though I know many of you may not be there yet, it's coming my friends. Are you ready for it? I, for one, am psyched! I don't know if I have ever before looked forward to Christmas as I do this year. Of course this is probably due in part to being finally back with my family and really, it does make it all the more special. We are already avidly listening to Christmas music around here and buying presents and we even have a tree up! Workday in the kitchen was cheered by 3 hours of Christmas music. (Heather found Alabama Christmas and I was beset by nostalgic emotions as old memories surfaced.) What is it about Christmas music that can lighten any atmosphere, brighten any spirit and bring a smile to every face - even those who have to cut up peppers for 2 hours and end up with orange stained hands and finger nails!?!? Ya know, maybe it truly is the most wonderful time of the year...or maybe I'm just too easily influenced by sleigh bells and songs of snow.