Monday, March 11, 2013

{van picnic}

On Saturday, it warmed up to something like -10, so we went on a family van picnic to celebrate Julia's birthday. We ate taco salads and listened to Glenn Miller on the tape deck before bundling up for a walk in the snow.
 photo IMG_4604_zpsaa7938be.jpg  photo IMG_4603_zps4f501092.jpg  photo IMG_4598_zpsd716776f.jpg Those of you in California probably won't understand, so I'll lay it out for you like this: In Canada, sometimes the weather dips far below zero for seven months or so and pipes freeze and cars refuse to start, and the guy on the radio goes on and on about frostbite and unsafe driving conditions. At this point, those of us in Saskatchewan generally like to keep out of the -48 degree windchill, drinking hot stuff and reading a lot of books on our couches in our houses. {Save for a few kooks who "love snow" and "enjoy skiing".}

And so it is that when March and -10 rolls around, we emerge from our blanket caves, squinting against the glaring  sun flashing off the white snow, covering our white skin with all of the pretty knitted things we were given for Christmas and remarking, "It's so nice outside! You could go to the beach on a day like this!"
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You couldn't, really, though. Not in a swimsuit. We're just trying to be optimistic. We are revelling in the fact that we can walk around for ten whole minutes with most of our faces exposed and not get frostbite.
 photo IMG_4570_zpsabac834f.jpg  photo IMG_4519_zps4d1cb1ea.jpg  photo IMG_4518_zpsbad04f7a.jpg Saturday's only downfall {and I'm talking pretty literally here} was that the snow was not a completely reliable place to put your feet 100% of the time. And the people at the front of the pack often quite suddenly ended up in the snow up to their thighs instead of on top of it. Light thoughts, small steps!
 photo IMG_4593_zps826d395e.jpg  photo IMG_4521_zpsa429a3ab.jpg  photo IMG_4585_zps4a48dcf5.jpg  photo IMG_4586_zps4e303d8c.jpg By the time we got back to the van, my shoes were full of snow and my cheeks were bright red. But it was good. Because warming up is always the best part of getting cold. Hot chocolate and dry socks and losing layers and blasting the hot air and Pennsylvania 65000.  photo IMG_4523_zps0bbfae10.jpg  photo IMG_4582_zpsebac0acd.jpg  photo IMG_4524_zpsae9b7b5e.jpg  photo IMG_4581_zps785a9cbe.jpg  photo IMG_4580_zps10ea8759.jpg  photo IMG_4514_zpsfb8c9a24.jpg  photo IMG_4579_zpsc108157f.jpg  photo IMG_4577_zps21124a6e.jpg {Happy Birthday, Jewelia!}

15 comments:

Unknown said...

it is really so hard for me to wrap my head around this sort of cold. i feel i am being honest when i say that i don't know if i would survive it.

Kaytlin said...

I just wanted to say that I've been reading your blog for quite some time now and I love it and then today I felt compelled to comment because that babe in your pictures is wearing what appears to be a St. Louis Rams hat and I am from St. Louis. Huzzah! I'm glad you were able to enjoy the outdoors.

MySpecialAgent said...

I could never live there. I intensely dislike the cold. And don't get me started on snow!
Looks like you guys had fun, though.

larisaa said...

"warming up is the best part of getting cold."

YES.

i can also totally relate. because even though it doesn't get to minus 48 it gets to minus very cold and i'm not leaving the house degrees and when it hits like 40 i am like T SHIRT AND SHORTS AND OPEN ALL THE WINDOWS! and then in the fall after we've had ourselves a few 100+ degree weeks and it dips to 40 i am suddenly freezing and bundling up in a parka.

what can ya do.

i love these pictures a lot. it makes me think that i would like snow but then i look outside and see my snow and i'm like no, that's a lie.

Carmen said...

Your pictures make Canada seem like a barren wasteland....which is, of course, exactly how it feels for the aforementioned seven months. Great post. And I love the picture of Marty half in the snow. :)

Suzy Krause said...

hahaha--i feel like i feel that way every fall as i feel winter approaching. you'd do fine! we all do. we just shiver a little. :)

Suzy Krause said...

aw! thanks for commenting!
that baby is my nephew--and my father-in-law bought him that toque as a souvenir from his St Louis trip this winter! good eye. :)

Suzy Krause said...

oh man. i intensely dislike the cold also. but here has its advantages! no poisonous things or hurricanes or earthquakes or large spiders... haha. though. the cold could kill a person, so...

Suzy Krause said...

haha you should SEE our snow! we've gotten almost 6 feet of it this winter.
ie) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/03/07/sk-snowfall-regina-130307.html
crazy, huh? LEGIT.
:)

Suzy Krause said...

haha, he spent so much time IN the snow instead of ON the snow. poor guy. what a trooper!
also: yes. canada is a barren wasteland. and i thiiiiink i like it that way?
or else i'm just trying really hard to have a good attitude about it?

Suzy Krause said...

haha, he spent so much time IN the snow instead of ON the snow. poor guy. what a trooper!
also: yes. canada is a barren wasteland. and i thiiiiink i like it that way?
or else i'm just trying really hard to have a good attitude about it?

Nova said...

Ah yeah, I remember when I lived in Alberta I felt like -5 was shorts weather! haha Now I'm such a big fricking baby. The West Coast killed that survival spirit. Now I'm all "ugh I have to wear TWO sweaters? boo hoo"

Suzy Krause said...

that's fair though. i'd give up my survival spirit to live in vancouver... hands down.

Anonymous said...

I've just come back from Berlin where it was around -7 and I was always like "man I can't WAIT to take all of these hundreds of layers off" and "hey Greg, let's not stand still because we might freeze on the spot". Then today when I got home and it was a full 5 degrees, it was all I could do not to crack out my shorts. I don't think I'd fare well in Canada haha. Looks like you had lots of fun though, and your nephew is so adorable!

Suzy Krause said...

-7???????
BAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
you're hilarious. i love it. you need to come here in the winter some time. just to experience this. we've gotten almost 7 feet of snow!