Snow

The snow in Ontario is beautiful We haven't had very much in Toronto itself and so I will have to spend more time in the countryside next year Jan and Feb, so that I can get my fill of snow!

This is a picure of some of the treats that winter has to offer...

Hockey Game

I watched my first ice hockey game last night. It was good fun! I was taken out by one of our clients and so had tickets for the box. Quite a luxurious way of watching my first hockey game. Its fast and quite exciting and as we were watching a league game it is supposed to be one of the best. There was quite a lot of atmosphere, but I think it would have been more fun to be in the stands, rather than watching from above in the box.

Odds and Ends

3 December and winter is on its way, although, I really expected to get my first snow of the year in cold snowy Canada, not warm rainy england! I have been out in the UK for a business trip and wondered if I'd make it back to snow free Toronto as all the stations closed and taxis stopped running. The good old faithful bus, proved to be the only option out to Heathrow, for a nailbiting race to get there before the check-in closed!

I'm now back in Toronto and we had our first dusting of snow today. The ground turned white, but it didn't stick around very long and most of it has now gone. The temperatures have however plummeted and the maximum today was minus 2 degrees. The forecast just goes downhill from here! I think it may be time to take my warm down coat out of the cupboard.

Preparing for winter has been quite an education. Its the first time in my life I have had to consider buying a second set of tyres for my car... Next weekend, I will buy winter tyres, which help the car grip better in very cold conditions. I have also bought a super dooper ice-scraper, which includes a long handle with a brush, to brush the copious quantities of snow that can fall on the car. A simple little bit of de-icer spray is apparently insufficient. I also find the central heating here, quite interesting. I have an enourmous boiler, which is purely for central heating(the hot water is on a separate system). Hot air is then blown through either the ceilings or the floors and comes out in vents in front of the doors and windows. My apartment warms up in about 25min and then stays warm! In summer, its blows cold air through the vents and you end up with air conditioning. Not too shabby!!


When in Rome, do as the Romans, and so I have bought a pair of ice-skates and tried ice-skating in the village ice-rink. It was good fun, and I am looking forward to taking my skates out to the harbour front, where there is an outdoor ice-rink at the edge of the lake :-)



As Christmas approaches, everyone is starting to decorate their houses with cooured lights and Christmas decorations. It actually looks quite nice when a whole street has fairy lights on all the houses. I need to go for a walk and take some photographs.



A random photo of the "bad" weather going and the nice blue sky coming!



From a special person...!!