A Work Trip:
Yesterday and today, I was in P. Rupert for work..
The city is looking very old and a bit rundown. Also, it is very noisy!
Nevertheless, it's interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
My co-worker and I went for a 70 minute walk through town, down to the wharf and then back to our hotel. A perfect evening for being out and about.
After our return, I had the pleasure of watching the bright orange sunset from my eighth floor room. I couldn't resist showing the intensity of the colour of the sunset as its light shone on the wall.
I haven't been walking much, just pedal cycling. Today was wild roses and sweet clover. So balmy, I didn't feel like rushing home.
Spring is so close! Pussywillows are out, crocuses are up and snow is melting steadily. There are definitely more people out walking and riding their bikes. I pass joggers and other people walking. I think that most people have been suffering with "cabin fever". It's still a bit nippy, but it doesn't seem to matter; people are still out there getting fresh air, encouraging spring.
23 and 1/2 Hours
This video presentation is fabulous. It really made an impression on me, and I felt greatly encouraged by it.
Dr. Mike Evans
If you want to learn a little bit more about this doctor and the work that they do at their lab, go to the above site. When the short video is done and there are some more about a person who has the same name and is talking about the Middle East, that person talking about the Middle East is not the same Dr. Mike Evans, so don't link into Evans on the Middle East.
Anyways, walking this week has been good. Usually the temperature hovers just around 0 degrees. The wind was sharp this morning, but bearable. Every day, a little more light.
The river is still plugged up with ice, but I hear the trickle of water on the rock bluffs.
Again, music in the uprights of the railings - the wind makes a song running through them, different tones depending on strength of blow and type of railing.
Earlier this week, it was so beautiful with the sun out and milder temperatures, I couldn't resist walking home instead of taking the bus. Sometimes the beauty of the scenery takes me close to tears. The air is unbelievably fresh and the light after dark days lifts my spirit up..
I think I could write a Dr. Seuss poem about snow...Snow, snow, piled to the sky, the dog and the cat, the people all cry, Snow go away, do not delay, but more floats on down, and causes a frown on the dog and the cat, everyone.
A caution with the snow so high and the walkways not always cleared is to watch the traffic, front and back. I find that nearly everyone is careful, but still I keep an eye on what's going on around me when I'm walking. I share a lot of space with vehicles, and even though the graders and snowplows have tried to move snow off of the road, we've had so much that it's becoming a problem to get it out of the way.
I can't ever remember seeing this much snow here.
I went for a short walk to my brother's home and later, back again to mine, about 30 minutes in total. It isn't quite as cold, about -14, but the wind is still strong and continues to blow snow. Except for the constant blowing and gusting, the walk was very refreshing. I tend to feel a bit of anxiety with relentless wind. The general noise of it and concern over the possibility of flying objects keeps me watchfult.
Under the snow, the roads were like polished glass. Even the places the snowplows have gone over are rock hard. I nearly fell once.
Tomorrow is predicted to be warmer, and then perhaps on Sunday, rain!
. Indigo blue outlines the mountains, suggesting quietly that the season is moving on.
I waited for the bus this morning and watched the sky, little stars twinkling and that marvelous indigo all around.
The wind blew strong and gusted with snow. Slowly, the skin on my legs numbed to the cold.
My glasses glazed over with moisture from my breath, then froze,
The rain has gone away, and cold has come. At 7:00 am it was -21 degrees C with a windchill of -30 degrees C. I thought about the weather prediction a great deal the night before; should I...should I not...walk to work. I think I can...but... In the end I took the bus and was picked up at the mall by someone I work with who was picking someone else up at the same time. I was 5 minutes late for work. I don't like to be late at all, however, I knew that people wouldn't worry about me if I got a ride. And, I must admit I had a small concern over the possibility of frostbite on my cheeks. I'll continue to catch the bus again until the temperature gets a little warmer.
I don't remember temperatures getting this cold for a very long time. The coldest we get here is is -18 or -19 degrees, usually with strong Arctic winds.
This year is different.
Sunshine has been a pleasure to experience again. We have had so many shades of grey this past year - light grey, dark grey, mottled grey, steel grey and so on. Occasionally have we seen blue sky and basked in sunlight. Yet, temperatures have been mild and so walking has not been uncomforable. I think though, most people hope for something warmer and brighter this year.
My feet are appreciating the rest as plantar fasciitis can be quite painful. For me, it affects my heels the most.
Click here to learn about "Heel Pain".
Well, it sounds like the torrential rains are upon us. Tomorrow will be a "Quack, quack" kind of day.
Regardless of the discomforts of being wet or avoiding getting wet, it is amazing how much liquid we have had come down this year - either by snow or rain.
So much wet and perpetual grey that I notice how much I enjoy a bit of brightness in the sky these days, when we have some. (Aside from this, I think I have spring fever.)
Tomorrow I'm going to try my regular runners for walking to work in. I have spare shoes at work and can change when I get there.
As a child, my brothers and I were always active. We played outdoors, walked or rode our bikes to our friends' homes or the school yard, played marbles or hopscotch, we built forts, played in the dirt with "dinky" cars, got a team together to play Scrub baseball, and so on. We were always busy.
I wondered when this active lifestyle began to lessen, until I remembered my Grade Nine school year. At that time I noticed most people did very little at lunch hour. Teens sat or stood around talking, some smoking. A few girls walked while they chatted, other students trained on the track or in the gym.
I started to conform. It wasn't considered adult to play hopscotch, skip rope, or do any of the other activities we did in the elementary school. And nothing else replaced them when I stopped doing them.
Now as an adult, I realize that I need to be "re-activated"!
Even though it was precipitated by the break down of my car, I'm enjoying my walking. This summer, another activity I want to do more of is bicycle riding. I plan to fix my bicycle up as it has a flat ture, and then ride it a lot more.
After one full year of walking to work most mornings, I'm feeling the blessing of it.
