It's Hard to be Fancy When You're Wearing a Puffy Coat

This winter has been wearing us down, sucking the life out the entire country.  Down East, they're getting walloped with storm after storm, Out West, their temperatures are dangerously low. I know; it's winter, it's Canada but it has been long and dark and unusually harsh.

But maybe it's not unusual at all. This is what a normal Canadian winter used to be, it's just that Mother Nature has just been slacking off the last couple of years.  But now she's back in the game, kicking ass and taking names. 

First, there was the Ice Storm just before Christmas, snapping trees in half and downing power lines.  People were without hydro for days and as the temperatures dipped lower and lower, it was becoming dangerous.  Our power was only out for 4 hours, so we were extremely lucky.  The destruction of the trees was shocking and still not cleaned up in a lot of places.  But if I squinted and stood at the right angle, I could see some beauty in it.  The 2 cm of ice on my bent-over, trying-very-hard-not-to-break Rose of Sharon did sparkle in the sunlight.

Then there's the snow.   This is the view from my front porch.  Those snowbanks are about 4 feet high.

This is how much snow is in the middle of the front yard.  So a lot of snow.  But again, if I squint and if the sun is shining, it is kind of sparkly.

Then there's been the cold, oh the cold. The Core Temperature, as they call it on The Weather Channel, has not risen above -10 for weeks.  The Wind Chill has been nothing less than about -20.  Today the Wind Chill is -33. That's dangerously cold. The children don't get outside for recess; the snow crunches when you walk through it. It's the kind of cold when your nostrils freeze together when you inhale and you go into a coughing fit as the cold air hits your lungs.  Exposed flesh can freeze in 5 minutes, according to Environment Canada.  And as much as I squint, I can find no beauty in the cold.

 Because this is not my first Canadian winter, I own a puffy coat.  It is not pretty, certainly not stylish but it is warm.  During most winters, I'll wear it for a couple of days every few weeks as necessary but this year I have worn every time, every. time. I have gone outside for the past month. Even if I'm just going out to feed the birds or bring in the garbage cans.  

So when Himself & I  got invited out to a Burns' Night by the Maggots on Saturday, I knew what I wasn't going to wear. I wasn't going to wear my black pumps because nasty, greasy slush and 8 inches of snow and stiletto heels do not mix.  I wasn't going to wear my nice kilt which I only wear once or twice a year because you cannot pull off a dressy outfit when you're wearing an ugly puffy coat.