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Monday, February 12, 2007

Despite the current deep-freeze, I still love it

Considering the weather around here has been hovering between -23 and -45 for the last three weeks (that's Celsius - translated it means @#$#@!! cold!), Marnie's suggestion for Fun Monday feels like a bit of a stretch right now. "Tell me why you love where you live." Hmmm... you MIGHT have asked me that on a day when I actually felt some affection for this "freeze that ridiculous grin off your face" place, Marnie! Sigh.

But, even on a day when the best I can do is sit in front of my big picture window and dream about the day when I actually feel like venturing outside again, I can still find reasons to love this place.

And the number one reason? Seasons. I realize that some of you are feeling mighty glad right now that you don't have seasons that are quite as DISTINCT as ours are, but without winter, I can't imagine enjoying spring as much as I do. Each season brings new surprises, a whole new wardrobe, and something interesting to bring delight to my imagination.

To show you a little of the variation, all of the following pictures were taken in front of my house. This is what I have to look forward to in the next twelve months.
WINTER

SPRING

SUMMER

FALL

And just in case you want to know more about where I live, here's a little something I dug out of the ol' Fumbling archives...

I live…in a simple bungalow with an attached garage full of bicycles and a red car in the driveway.
I live…with my husband and three daughters.
I live…just a block from the mighty Red River.
I live…within easy walking distance of a grocery store, a drugstore, a dollar store, a bank, two gas stations with convenience stores, a GREAT wine store, Licks ice cream, a poster store, and a few other stores I’ve never been in yet.
I live…in the shade of a giant maple tree.
I live…within easy biking distance of St. Vital Park.
I live…in a house with ugly multi-colour carpeting in the basement, and a kitchen that’s too small for a family of five.
I live…next door to a bunch of university football players who are polite and friendly and don’t party too much.
I live…within easy biking distance of Ten Thousand Villages, the best store on earth.
I live…across the street from a housing co-op and the daycare centre my kids don’t have to go to anymore.
I live…just a 5 minute drive from the edge of the city and open sky and prairie fields.
I live…in the province where I was born.
I live…in a country that is known for its politeness, its cold north, its peacekeeping, and its multiculturalism.
I live…about 10 blocks (which is much too close) away from a shopping mall.
I live…in a house with a rotting deck and a play structure that’s almost too small for my children.
I live…within biking distance of my church.
I live…in the house with the wooden deck chairs in the front yard instead of on our deck, because we like to sit and watch the world go by.
I live…close enough to my sister and brother-in-law and little niece that we get to see them every week.
I live…further away from my brothers and their families than I’d like.
I live…closer to my mom than I used to, but further than I’d like.
I live…far from where my mother is right now.
I live…close enough to Marcel’s family that we can see them nearly every week.
I live…in a bedroom that has one dark burgundy wall, and three white walls that I wish I’d painted burgundy too.
I live…just far enough from my office that I get a good workout biking there.
I live…across the river from the University I attended nearly twenty years ago.
I live…with contentment and enough of almost everything.
I live…in a country where my children can grow up without fear or discrimination or poverty.
I live…in a world that’s getting smaller, but that’s big enough to offer me lots of places and opportunities to explore.
I live…in a house that’s never quite as clean as I’d like it to be, but clean enough to be comfortable.

10 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

...but without winter, I can't imagine enjoying spring as much as I do.

Exactly. Having said that, an interlude of a few less-cold days would be nice.

Anonymous said...

Looks beautiful!

(And terribly, terribly cold.)

Beccy said...

Sounds very cold but looks very pretty.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy all seasons. Oklahoma gets all seasons also.

I agree with the last line mine is the same. I've been working on that this weekend and didn't get far enough.

I like that you can bike everywhere. I'm jealous. We have to drive everywhere we go.

Liz said...

I love those photos!

I can't imagine living without the change of seasons. But I like our long spring and long fall and short winters!

Check with me in the summer when I am complaining about the heat though.

Whippersnapper said...

I think I'll just keep the summer picture on the computer screen all evening... it will give me hope.

Hey! It's going to be -4 C on Friday!

Pamela said...

I thought about the 4 seasons shots... but I was just too lazy to go hunting for my photo's


in the meantime you did a great job of sharing the love

Linda said...

That Spring picture just warms the cockles of my heart.

BarnGoddess_01 said...

cycling is a big thing in Canada. I miss it.

I liked your pics and your MeMe.

I would like to borrow it ..maybe. I hope its okay!

p.s. are the football player neighbors cute?

karla said...

Now that I no longer build snow forts and make snow angels, I can’t say I miss the snow living here in the Toronto area.

I grew up in a snow belt, and as a kid I did love snow though. I remember my dad used to create huge mountainous piles of snow with the snow blower that we would let settle and pack and eventually create an igloo fort out of. My brother and I had hours and hours of fun carving out the center or those snow mountains.

And tobogganing. Oh the fun of whizzing down a hill at breakneck speeds. I just learned that they want to pass a law that kids should wear helmets to go tobogganing. Is that true?