Holiday Travels, Part 6

Set the alarm last night for 6:00 a.m., and was actually up after the first push of the snooze button! I figure that my body will have adjusted by the time we leave here… and that I’ll also finally have learned my way around!

The first thing I checked this morning was my email, and guess what? There was an email that came in late last night from our coach. Our game this morning was cancelled! Bummer. The reason given was because the other team couldn’t get any refs, but our coach thinks it's because they're afraid of playing us because they found out how good we were. LOL! Nice thought, but I doubt it. After seeing some of these local teams play -- WHOA! They are soooo good! 'Course, we found out that most of them have at least 2-hour DAILY practices, too!

One of my friends wondered at how in the world I could stand this weather here when I am really a “California” girl. LOL! Well, I just grit my teeth and forge outside the front door, is how I do it! Can't think about it... BUT, Ottawans I think just do the same. TONS of layers, unfashionable hats, WHATEVER it takes to stay warm! We're all a bunch of Pillsbury dough boys walking around! LOL!

It's the driving that gets me... I'm white knuckling it all the way on the roads, even though they're kept very clear. But when I see six-foot high banks of snow along the sides of the road, I'm nervous. And the windshield scraping in the mornings... yuck! And I mean SCRAPING! I'm almost afraid of breaking the windshield! We have to do that in Taos, too, but NOTHING like this! LOL!

It's the people here that make the daily grind in this weather all worthwhile, though. LOVE Canadians!!! And HOCKEY, of course! LOL! Hockey is almost a way of life here. Derek's ready to move here! LOL!

I've kind of come to the conclusion that people can walk on the sidewalks and streets so easily because they all can skate well. I think when you have the confidence to skate, walking on ice is no big deal. Does that make sense? I mean, I'm tiptoeing everywhere. LOL!

So I’m waiting for an email to see if the boys are going to get together to go sledding on one of the “sledding hills” here in Ottawa. Guess it’s a big deal here --- well, gee, of COURSE it would be a big deal with this kind of weather! LOL! Pond hockey tonight in one of the neighborhood parks. The parks here have not only swings and slides, but an ice rink! Cool!