Colder than a witch’s t!t

Colder than a witch’s t!t

My ex had a way with words. I haven’t seen him since 1992, but with this week’s record breaking cold snap, that phrase came to the forefront of my mind as I walked around the village all bundled up.

I live in rural Quebec on the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Montreal. Wednesday, with an overnight temperature of -29 C or-20 F, Ottawa was the coldest capital in the world! We beat Reykjavik, Moscow and Nuuk (I had to look it up. It’s in Greenland.)We even beat in Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator which is on average the coldest capital in the world. They had a balmy — 26 C or -14 F the very same night.

This ol’ witch ain’t complaining.

I pull on long underwear and warm socks first thing in the morning. I harden myself by going out at least twice a day, despite the cold and the wind. Sometimes, all you can see when you meet others are their eyes.

We Northerners have a tendency to recognize each other by our winter clothing and our gait as we approach one another. If you want to confuse the villagers and venture out incognito, just your switch your coats, tuques and scarves and walk funny.

So how do we embrace the cold? By playing outside! Make sure you dress in layers. Wear wool, polar fleece, or acrylic near your skin, but always avoid cotton. Cover up with appropriate outer layers that work against the wind and precipitation which can fall as snow, sleet or freezing rain. Pull on warm winter boots and strap on ice cleats if there’s even a remote chance you might end up ar$e over tea kettle (Yes, another one of my ex’s expressions).

We lose 50% of body heat through our head. Come to think of it, that’s a good way to let off steam if something has got you upset!

If you want to be warm, you have to live with a months-long condition called hat head.

I love funky knit hats with a polar fleece interior. Ear flaps are good but seem to be out of style around here this year. I’m way too frugal to rush out and get the newer vintage looking knit hat with big pompoms. Meh!

Move your body! Find a winter sport that you can embrace alone or with friends.

If you are engaged in something active like Nordic skiing or snowshoeing, you tend to heat up and cool down depending on the terrain (up and down hills, the cover of forests, wind-smacked open fields, frozen lakes and rivers).

When I go for off for more than an hour, I always bring a light knap sack with spare warm mitts, socks, a face mask, water, chocolate or energy bars, a whistle, small first aid kit, lip balm, matches or lighter, and enough room to stuff my packable puffy jacket.

Yes, it’s cold out there! Colder than normal. I’m posting this and then heading out to ski.

Want to come out and play?

My Wolfelele trilele

Doll dresser makeover

Newest ukulele Sharpie doodle

Meaty topic

 

I don't want to eat meat

I'm not following a trend. I don't kill living things.

Except maybe flies.

And mosquitoes.

I go without meat quite easily at home or in restaurants.

I don't want to be socially awkward so I occasioanlly eat meat when a guest or prepare meat when acting as a hostess. And this is where I struggle.

How can I sometimes eat meat? 

I'll admit that properly prepared and cooked meat tastes great. But, I've never been a big meat eater even when I was a kid. Long before I pondered the ethics, think it's a question of texture and colour. I eat with my eyes and I love vibrant colours in my plate.

I love animals. I am fascinated by the spiritual connection humans can enjoy with animals.

What has lead me to question eating meat in my life? 

1. What I've learned about the meat industry.

2. My love of living things.

3. Not wanting to participate in the suffering of another being.

4. Staying healthy and as lean as possible despite a slowing metabolism.

Yesterday, I ordered eggs Benedict. Decadently delicious. Then, I realized I was eating ham. I paused a moment before deciding to use mind over matter and to enjoy my meal. I'd totally forgotten there was meat in the dish when I ordered. I wasn't going to let this realization spoil a good meal with friends.

As things stand, I manage to avoid meat most days out of each month. I don't know if I'll ever be a total vegetarian. I doubt that I'll go vegan. I love cheese, yoghurt and eggs too darn much.

When I saw the photos of the baby animals in an old Oprah magazine, I wanted to cut and paste them in my visual journal for their cuteness. But then the journal page looked blank. I grabbed a pencil and and there went my whole rainy day afternoon.

Les jeunes ont besoin de lire de vrais livres/Kids need to read real books

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/17/why-kids-still-need-real-books-to-read-and-time-in-school-to-enjoy-them/

English will follow:

Afin d'atteindre un niveau de literacie, il faut lire des livres. De bons livres. J'ai reçu 250$ pour acheter de nouveaux livres pour ma Classe Dejulia et j'en suis reconnaissante. Par contre, un roman en français coûte entre 10$-30$ et un album de qualité ou une B.D. coûte entre 20$-35$. En faisant de la recherche et une bonne sélection, j'ai été capable de sortir de la librairie avec 2 sacs de nouveaux livres à partager avec mes 20 élèves sur 10 mois.

Au Quebec, on change de ministre d'éducation aussi souvent que Tim Horton offre une nouvelle boisson saisonnière (4 ministres en 2 ans dans le gouvernement libéral actuel). C'est difficile d'avoir une vision inspirante au niveau de l'éducation. On a même eu un de nos ministres qui ne voyait pas l'importance de l'achat de livres dans les écoles. 

Voici ma suggestion. Si l'on veut une génération de citoyens engagés qui sont ouverts d'esprit, amoureux de la culture et habiles dans la pensée critique, on se doit de promouvoir la lecture de livres et pour ça, on a besoin d'investir plus de 250$ par groupe-classe par année. 

English:

I truly believe that literacy comes from reading books. Great books. I had 250$ to buy new books for my class this year. And for that I am grateful. However, a novel in French costs anywhere from 10$-30$ and a good quality picture book or comic book costs anywhere from 20$-35$. By doing hours of research and by being selective, I managed to fill 2 small bags with new books to be shared by 20 kids over 10 months.

In Quebec, where we change education ministers like Tim Horton's whips out different themed coffees every season, (we're on our 4th education minister in 2 years within the same Liberal government), it's hard to have a grand vision in education. We even had a minister who actually said that buying new books for students wasn't all that important.

Here's my suggestion. If we want a generation of informed, open-minded, culture loving, critical thinking, engaged citizens, we should try promoting real reading with real books. And that takes money, more than 250$ per class per school year. 

My head map

 My head map inspired by Personal Geographies by Jill K. Berry