As I head off for a week of warm Miami Beach weather, I’m taking a moment to appreciate our beautiful Manitoba winters. Yes, it’s ridiculously cold sometimes, but as we’ve seen this year, it can also be wonderfully warm (for winter). The varying temperatures and wind work to shape the snow… to bring us stunning hoarfrost and to wow us with layers of ice. Early morning or evening walks can be magical when big fluffy flakes are falling, and the air can be so very crisp and fresh. Yes, winter can be a trying season, but it also brings a quiet, chilly beauty that no other season can.
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I just came home from a trip to Victoria, BC with my best friend. This was our third trip together, having gone to San Francisco a couple of times before. The overall impression that I took from Victoria was “lush”. At this time of the year, Winnipeg is green and flowers are starting to appear, but in Victoria the green is a different, more vibrant shade and there are flowers everywhere. I was also really struck by how sculpted all of the foliage is. Here people probably trim their hedges and shrubs once in a while, but there it seems to be more of an art form. I can’t decide which I like better — the sculpted look or the slightly wild/let-it-be look that we have here.
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This weekend, I went to my favourite place in Manitoba… home. I visited with my family, ate my Mom’s ridiculously good food, had naps, chilled out on the deck and went for hikes down in the Cypress River valley not once, not twice, but three times. The river is wider than I’ve ever seen it, and from the looks of the debris on the ground, it was at least two feet higher earlier this spring. My family tells me there was an ice jam near the bridge and the river got very close to flowing over the road. Each year, the river carves out more of the bank, changing the shape and moving the river bed over time. My mom, sister Elaine and our two dogs, Kato and Cosmo hiked up and down the river valley, seeing all sorts of interesting things. No matter how many homes I’ll live in, my first home will always have my heart.
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November 2, 2011 marked the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s 75th birthday, and because of that, Canada’s national public radio and television broadcaster (the CBC) is the subject of my latest ‘Inspired by’ blog post — specifically, CBC Radio. I do watch CBC TV (for news or hockey), but otherwise, I get my CBC fix on the radio. Anyone who knows me well knows that I listen to CBC Radio often… I’d say at least once a day (usually more). I’ve grown up with it… our family didn’t have a television, so if anything was on in the house, it was the radio.
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I have a confession to make… I’m really not much of a sports fan. I shouldn’t have to apologize for that, but the atmosphere in Winnipeg these days is hockey hockey hockey, and at times, I don’t quite dare say that out loud. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy that we have our Jets back; and I think it’s a great thing for Winnipeg. I’m just not as ecstatic as your average Winnipeg hockey fan.
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Rob & I went to Québec City in 2008, which happened to coincide with their 400 year celebration. I had been there once before (with my parents when I was in high school), but it was Rob’s first time there. The weather was perfect, with only a little rain here and there. Walking through Old Town was a true pleasure – we loved the European feel and the wonderful architecture and cobblestone streets. When I’m there I like to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago.