You may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet lately.
There is a reason for that…but I don’t know if it’s a good reason or a bad one. The thing is, I’ve had kind of a lot on my plate lately. You know me, I get pretty emotional about things…so at the end of the day I’m simply too drained to write. I adore writing to you, so I hate that lately sitting down to type has been the one thing that has been falling to the wayside.
Side note: What is a wayside? I remember the books Wayside School is Falling Down from my elementary school library. But surely the phrase has other roots.
Okay, where was I? Yes, distractions. In the coming days I’ll tell you more about what has been on my mind and heart {no, no more stripper-ish things…but that ministry is moving full steam ahead}. The things that have been weighing on me will affect the website, the business and the blog. Don’t freak out. The effects will be good. Even great. I’m in for a unique/exciting/interesting spring and summer and I’m thrilled to have you along.
All that aside, I want to give you a glimpse into life in the North. Another look at life in Practically Canada. While the rest of the country is thinking spring is about to be sprung we in PraCan are settling in for another month {or two…I pray not three} of winter.
On Monday we were hit with a big snow storm. Big enough to put the city into a full blown snow day. Schools were closed, the AF base was pretty much closed, town was shut down. Since then we’ve dug out {but I did get stuck in a parallel parking space downtown on Tuesday.} Tonight, just for kicks I’ve compiled a collection of photos from around town to show off our Snow, Like Whoa!
This first photo comes from Minot Daily News. Lot of this happening this week.
But for those of us who can’t afford a snow blower, we have to do it the old fashioned way. Ask the husband to shovel.
Let me tell you it was deep. Over night we got 9″ then as the morning wore on we got 3″ more. This was Derek’s second shoveling.
I took to Facebook to gather these next three. We can all thank Christina Kroll for this next one. This is a photo of her back yard picnic table.
Photo credit here goes to Mallory Spitzer. Her sweet kitten Monroe is looking out on a snowy day. As you can see the drifts are covering the window.
Last photo credit goes to Jessi Gilman. This one blew me away. Look at those crazy drifts! Look how high the snow is next to the fence!!
This snow really blew me away. I haven’t seen snow like this for years. Word on the street is spring doesn’t start until May up here…no matter what we do with our clocks this weekend. Yikes.
Do you know what winter hands are? I thought I did. Then I moved to Practically Canada.
The chapped hands of my past pale in comparison to what is going on with my knuckles right now. And it’s not just the knuckles. My whole hand is rough like someone ran sand paper over alligator skin. I’m telling you, I’ve never experienced hands like this before. The cold weather makes them bad. Cold season hand washing makes it worse.
If you looked only at my hands and guessed my age, you’d probably put me in the ball park of 75 years old. So gross.
So I reached out to locals. How the heck to they deal with this every winter? Newsflash…winter still has several months left up here. My hands will be bloody, chapped stumps by then if I don’t take action now.
I got a few pieces of advice. Lotion followed by socks over the hands before bed. Mary Kay hand scrub. Body butter. But the most unique tip is the one I’ve found to work the best. Are you ready to heal your nasty, winter hands? Go to your kitchen and get out your Crisco.
Wait, what? Crisco?!
Yes, you heard right. The very sweet, very northern yoga instructor at my gym clued me in on this little home-miracle. Just open up your tub of solid shortening and smear it on your hands. Then cover your hands with a pair of soft socks or gloves. Wear them to bed, or for 30 minutes at a time. You’ll seriously be amazed. It’s time to defeat our winter hands once and for all.
Here’s the problem with skiing. They give you a map of the trails before you go up the lift…but the map is 2D. Sure the trails are color coded…black diamonds are the most difficult and clearly marked. But alas, the map is still utterly flat.
After a sufficient warm up at Huff Hills, where Derek and I skied over the weekend we began hitting the harder trails. Now, as you can imagine, I’m not a pro. I’m even a bit on the clumsy side {go figure}, yet all that taken into account, I’m a decent skier. After going down the hills marked with circles and squares I got more adventurous and went down one of the black diamonds.
It went great. Fast, fun…I didn’t even hit anyone.
Now, back to this 2D map. Skiing is a sport about three dimensions. Especially the vertical dimension. As in steep drops. We did really well on the hills we went down and made it a goal to hit all of the trails offered. Fine. Just fine. Until…
We found ourselves going down a trail called the Cougar. I then found myself faced with another problem of skiing: Once you start down a hill, you are committed. The flat trail map didn’t clue me in to a drop that seemed to fall off the end of the Earth. It didn’t tell me that the hell, excuse me, hill was a death trap.
The slope started off fine. An exhilarating drop much like the other diamonds we’d gone down. Then the trail leveled out for a moment. So level I was able to come to a stop to look at the view. After taking in the scenery I noticed that the slope seemed to have disappeared. I was now standing on the edge of a cliff {at least that’s how it felt…my story, I’ll exaggerate at will}. And here is where the second problem of skiing came into play. Once you go down, you can’t turn around and pick another trail.
It’s not like at the amusement park, where a kid stands in line for the scary roller-coaster, only to chicken out at the last second. That’s an easy fix. Skip the ride, go out the exit.
When you are on skis, you have one choice. Go down.
After freaking out for a moment, I gathered my nerves and pushed off. Swoosh…one drop down. A small level out, then another big drop. Knees bent, stay cool. Then, the world became a big jumble. It was like I was inside the plastic case of a game of Boggle. Everything was totally shaken as I tumbled {sans grace} down the hill. You know that scene from The Princess Bride when Wesley falls down the hill toward the Fire Swamp yelling “As…you…wisshhh”? {Watch it here.} Yeah, I’m pretty sure it looked like that. Or at least that’s how it felt.
The skis were off, my hat was off, I was a big snowy mess. Luckily there I was now at the bottom of the hill, just a slight easy slope back to the ski lift. I laid for a few moments, then put myself back together and met Derek at the bottom. He hadn’t fallen, but he did say, “Yep…wasn’t expecting that.” Needless to say, I was a bit gun shy for the rest of the afternoon. Overall I was okay, too. Nothing broken, just one bruise across my back. I’ll take it.
The warm weather was only a special weekend treat, though. Today we are back to a high of -9. Seriously? I hear things start to thaw out around April.
On a totally different note, thanks to all of you who were so kind and supportive yesterday when I opened up about my new ministry project. I’m totally jazzed to tell you more about it. I just love you all so much.
And speaking of things we love…remember Lydia? Her full session will be featured on the blog Thursday. So be sure to come back. And tomorrow I’ve got a killer wreath tutorial ready for your enjoyment. See you then!
Pretty bold graphic, right? But read the bottom…don’t get crazy, and please don’t leave the blog. I assure you I haven’t lost my mind.
If you’ve been around a while you know that my life can be some what unpredictable. I’m a hobby/skills/learning/adventure junkie, so I tend to try all kinds of things. Let me be perfectly clear: I’m not going to be working as a stripper. (more…)
Here is a throw back post from my move to Minot…enjoy!
Well. I’m here! Panda and I made it safe and sound. However, it was one crazy journey. Here is an overview of what our last day in Shreveport/first hours in Minot looked like.
Monday June 11
9:30 a.m.
Movers came and loaded all the furniture and boxes onto the truck. Leaving Panda and me in an empty house.
7:00 p.m.
I decided to take Panda with me to Megan’s house to spend the night since she was scheduled to see the vet at 9 a.m. the next morning.
7:05 p.m.
We aren’t even out of the neighborhood. Panda has pooped in her carrier.
7:07 p.m.
Panda lays in her poop.
7:30 p.m.
We arrive at Megan’s. I dry heave because the cat poop smells so bad. Panda gets a bath and it really mad about that.
8:30 p.m.
An ice cream sundae eases the moving day jitters and cat-poop-stomach-churning.
Tuesday June 12
12:30 a.m.
Exhausted, I turn in for the night.
3:24 a.m.
Panda has been walking on me all night and I’ve barely slept. I hear thunder and see a flash of lightning. Could we finally be getting some rain? Doubt it…it hasn’t rained in months.
4:40 a.m.
Dozed off once or twice…only to be woken by a loud clap of thunder and the sound of rain slapping at the windows.
4:41 a.m.
I remember I left the windows down on the car.
4:45 a.m.
Windows are up and I am soaked.
7:45 a.m.
Alarm goes off.
9:00 a.m.
At the vet. Panda gets a clean bill of health and medicine to make her sleepy on the plane.
4:00 p.m.
Bank account is closed, donations dropped off, good byes said, bags packed, and headed to the airport. Panda is groggy.
4:45 p.m.
I have to take Panda kitty out of her carrier to pass through security. She hates the sounds and it terrified. She panics and scratches my arms and chest and rips my shirt. Thanks TSA.
6:22 p.m.
We arrive in Memphis. Just enough time to walk to our next gate and board straight away.
6:50 p.m.
En route to Minneapolis. Doing some word jumbles, reading Radical and chatting with the coolest seat buddy I’ve ever had.
8:03 p.m.
I ask a Delta desk attendant where the USO is. It’s too far to get to before my next flight. She apologizes and gives me three free drink tickets for my next flight.
10:10 p.m.
I’m in the last row of the airplane. The last one to get drinks and snacks. I order a roman Coke with one of my drink tickets. The flight attendant says I get double snacks because I had to wait to be last served. Two packets of peanuts and two packages of cookies. Score.
10:56 p.m.
The plane is descending and Panda’s drugs are wearing off. She starts meowing a bit and struggling to get out of the carrier.
11:15 p.m.
Derek meets us at baggage.
11:37 p.m.
We arrive at the Select Inn {our home until we close on the house}. Panda is super happy.
One long day. I don’t recommend traveling with a cat unless you really have to.
I’m excited that things have slowed down a bit. I’ll show you photos of the house tomorrow!!
Yesterday I took a trip. It’s been planned since Christmas, no whims here. But boy does it feel good to be down in Shreveport, LA! Let me tell you all something. Practically Canada is cold! It sneaked up on me gradually, so I guess I didn’t notice just how cold it is up there this time of year. Then I got off a plan in S’Port on February 5 and stepped into 68 degree sunshine. Holy cow, it felt nice.
The last thing Derek and I did before I left town {early Tuesday morning} was attend our weekly curling night. It’s been a while since I told you about our introduction to curling…the great north sport. So I thought I’d take a little time to fill you in on what’s happening.
Curling is so fun. We absolutely love it. Derek and I are now official members of the Minot curling club. We play each week with a father and son duo who are pretty much curling masters. They’ve both played competitively, and Kyson {a senior in high school} has been to junior nationals and competed on the Junior Olympic team. Pretty legit, right?
Here are the things I’ve learned about curling in the last two months of playing:
1. The place where curling takes place is called a “Curling House.” Not a rink. {That was a weird moment.}
2. There are four people on each team. Team members throw two rocks each, the rocks closet to the center of a bullseye {called the House} score points.
3. A curling game consists of six “ends.” An end is each player throwing their rocks.
4. Before a game starts players shake hands and wish each other luck. Players may simply say “Curling,” to one another. Which is short for saying, “Good curling.” That was really confusing at first too.
5. The curling house is cold. A crisp 25 degrees on the ice.
6. The Minot club has a lodge-like clubhouse on the second floor. It’s cozy up there. There are some tables…and coolers of beer. Fridges of beer. Beer on tap. And beer in another cooler. Oh…and a few sodas on tap too. But I’ve quickly learned that curling and beer go hand in hand. We played in a tournament last weekend. When we arrived at 9:30 to begin most of the other players had already settled in to breakfast {doughnuts and beer.} Another player explained the allure of curlers to beer to me this way: “You’ve got to take advantage. It’s the only sport will keep a beer ice cold while you play.”
7. Maybe this last item is the most important thing I’ve learned about curling. Do NOT sit on the toilet in the curling house. Like I said, there is a lodge upstairs. It’s fully heated and there is a bathroom there. On Monday I used the bathroom on the unheated main floor. Let me ask you this. Have you ever sat on a block of ice with your drawers down? Because that’s about what it felt like. Lesson learned. Won’t happen again.
Welcome to my world. The land of icy toilets and refrigerator sports.
I’m glad to be in the south again. But to be honest the weather has nothing to do with it. I’m here with my bestie and that the most important thing. {Seeing blooming flowers is a nice bonus though!}
Last Sunday I had the fun privilege of photographing maternity portraits for a dear friend of mine…who just so happens to be the cutest little pregnant gal I’ve ever known. Remember when you were a kid and you put a ball or a balloon under your shirt and pretended to be pregnant? Yeah, she pretty much looks like that. Just so precious. Without further ado, please say hello to Tiffany, Kyle and Wiley.
Since the weather warmed up to positive 20 degrees {F} we even took a few shots outside.
I told Tiffany to bring along anything she wanted featured in the photos with her. To my wonderful surprise she and Kyle showed up with Wiley in tow. He is so cute and spunky. Adding him to the mix in these portrait was so fun. I’m pretty sure I laughed until I cried at some of his antics. Oh, and let me be clear…I didn’t tell the dog to get on Kyle’s shoulders. They told me that’s just where he likes to sit. What a ham!
Thanks guys! I had a great time. Can’t wait to meet that sweet baby girl!
Amy
PS–Love this session? Check out the full gallery at the Amy Allender facebook page. And while you’re there…you should like it, so you don’t miss a thing!
Let me be honest. Never in my life have I felt air as cold as what I felt today in Practically Canada.
I’ve been cold before. My senior year of college classes were cancelled because it was just so cold. Highs of 3 degrees with -20 wind chill. Well…Muncie, IN wouldn’t even know what hit them if they experienced today in North Dakota.
When I woke up this morning I looked out the window at the thermometer on the garage. Certainly it was broken. It registered -10. By the time we were home from our afternoon errands and activities the thermometer looked like this:
Yep. You are seeing that right. Nearly -20. The wind chill ranked in around -45. Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. the real temp will be -24. I just can’t even believe that this is happening. And locals say sometimes it gets even colder. HOW?!
It’s so cold this crazy sciencey thing happens. You aren’t even going to believe this…so we got video of it. To prove to you that it’s real. It’s so cold that if you throw a cup of boiling water into the air it all turns to steam before hitting the ground. When I heard about this I thought for sure it was a joke. Let me assure you, it is not. It’s really that cold here.
This little party trick kept up entertain for quite some time this evening. {A whole kettle full of entertainment.}
So, yes. This is crazy. If you need me, I’ll be on the couch Netflix-ing under the electric blanket. The only thing that warms me up on a cold night like this is a super cute, cuddle kitten. Really, is there anything better than a sleepy kitten? I highly doubt it. Panda Cat has pretty much given up on life outside of the down comforter. What a baby.
See you tomorrow! Be sure to come back for the no-sew Valentine’s Day pillow tutorial.
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