And I am pleased to present to you: The. Creepiest. Snowman. Ever.
At this time of writing, it has now been snowing for 26 straight hours. This is the 3rd big dump we've had in the last 9 days, and along with the obvious anarchy on the roads, it has caused much more headaches at the airport. People have been stranded there since Monday of this week, due to Saturday & Sunday's massive dump, and today, Air Canada cancelled all their regional and short haul flights. Thousands of people are stranded at YVR right now - hundreds of them have been there for 4 days. [Fun Fact: Vancouver usually recieves 55 cms (1.8 feet) of snow annually. That amount has been met and surpassed in this past week alone.] Last Saturday / Sunday we recieved 30 cm's (12 inches), and last night's / today's amount is already over 20 cm's (7.8 inches) with no signs of letting up.
Even me as a hardy Albertan born & bred driver didn't bother taking my car out of the parkade this morning, and in a mixed blessing, wound up taking today off from work. (I got stuck yesterday for about 17 minutes just outside of the garage door - blocking the alley all that time, then I finally got to the office, and got stuck again for about 15 mins within spitting distance of my office door). I figure that discretion can be the better part of valour, and today climbed into my winter boots, took, scarf, gloves and walked all over downtown finishing my last bit of Christmas shopping. I walked down to the beach, walked up and down Davie & Denman St., then got back and cleaned my entire house. I think that at least on the molecular level, having a clean place for Christmas and New Years has been ingrained into me by my Mom.
This is what the beach looked like this afternoon (Yes, there is an ocean somewhere out there):
At this time of writing, it has now been snowing for 26 straight hours. This is the 3rd big dump we've had in the last 9 days, and along with the obvious anarchy on the roads, it has caused much more headaches at the airport. People have been stranded there since Monday of this week, due to Saturday & Sunday's massive dump, and today, Air Canada cancelled all their regional and short haul flights. Thousands of people are stranded at YVR right now - hundreds of them have been there for 4 days. [Fun Fact: Vancouver usually recieves 55 cms (1.8 feet) of snow annually. That amount has been met and surpassed in this past week alone.] Last Saturday / Sunday we recieved 30 cm's (12 inches), and last night's / today's amount is already over 20 cm's (7.8 inches) with no signs of letting up.
Even me as a hardy Albertan born & bred driver didn't bother taking my car out of the parkade this morning, and in a mixed blessing, wound up taking today off from work. (I got stuck yesterday for about 17 minutes just outside of the garage door - blocking the alley all that time, then I finally got to the office, and got stuck again for about 15 mins within spitting distance of my office door). I figure that discretion can be the better part of valour, and today climbed into my winter boots, took, scarf, gloves and walked all over downtown finishing my last bit of Christmas shopping. I walked down to the beach, walked up and down Davie & Denman St., then got back and cleaned my entire house. I think that at least on the molecular level, having a clean place for Christmas and New Years has been ingrained into me by my Mom.
This is what the beach looked like this afternoon (Yes, there is an ocean somewhere out there):
Right now, it is incredibly quiet. Most of the apartments across the street are dark, and my building is as quiet as a church. Everyone it seems, has braved the elements and left to join their loved ones this holiday eve. Inside though, I've got my world famous Garlic-Chicken-Death on the go, my even more famouser Garlic mashed potatoes in the chute, and some nice steamed broccoli and cauliflower with lemon waiting in the wings. For dessert, there is some chocolate truffles, and the ever decadent Chocolate Fudge Crackle ice cream. Immediately after which - I plan on having a heart attack.
This is what my street looked like this afternoon:
So it's still quiet. I've been avoiding thinking about all the ghosts of Christmas past though. One can fall easily into that morass on a night like this, and not have the wherewithal to climb out of it. [Fun Fact: Bushmills Irish Whiskey is a fine, fine beverage when sitting alone, pontificating on Christmas Eve]. Too much has gone on over this past year. I'm cautiously optimistic though, because down south, Obama is going to be in power in a couple of weeks, and hopefully he will turn this thing around.
Bad News: One goes out.
Some good news: Some came in.
Some better news: Dig you Magnificent Bastards! Dig! Thank goodness for snowmobilers! After 100's of people in shifts digging a 1 KM trench through 6 feet of snow, they got them out. Just in the nick of time.
So that's a wrap - another Christmas come and gone. As always, my best to you and yours. On this quiet evening, I'm going to complete the finishing touches of gift-wrapping for my friend's kids - then get the aluminum pole out of the crawlspace.
Happy Holidays, Everyone.
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