What a difference a month makes...

Well, like past summers, I'm blogging from my patio. Aren't laptops and Wi-Fi great? :)

First real weekend of decent weather. 23C (mid 70s F) with a mix of sun and clouds.

After the absolutely whacky winter we had...

I have absolutely no shame whatsoever. Global warming? Nawww...

Besides, where it was for the past 6 months, when it mattered the most? Heh. :)

I'm planning... some trips, now that my vacations have been approved. It's funny, I am taking some vacations around some gatherings.

Mid May: The California forumfest in San Francisco. I'll be arriving a few days early, so I'll have time to visit the city. The highlight is a 2-day trip to Yosemite Park. You know what? I think that I'm going to like this.

Late June: Blogadelphia. If you are from FC, you already know what it is. We'll be a bunch of bloggers gathering in Philadelphia. Actually, I planned to do, almost like a pilgrimage, a visit to Cape Cod first, then Boston and from there... Philadelphia.

I know little about Philadelphia (after all, I'm a Canadian, I don't have the chance to live in the US 12 months a year :) ), so it's my chance to see the city.

Philadelphi, like Boston are historic towns in many ways. For one, part of the history of the United States got written over there. Instead of reading it in history books, you'll see it as you walk in the city.

On a more down to earth consideration, I love trains, and it occured to me that I never had a chance to ride Amtrak's high speed Acela trains (and what a shame, since these trains are Canadians!). Since Amtraks offer direct train routes to Philadelphia from Boston, and everytime I go on the Cape, I have to spend a day in Boston... I'd say that things are lining up pretty well. :D

(Not lining up well are reservations, as it begins to be their high season, but I'll figure out something).

Finaly,
Late July: Lowell's blogfest/music festival. There are some bloggers which I've been chatting and corresponding for two years, I figure we ought to meet in person. Lowell being half-way of many cities, from Montréal to Portland Maine to Boston to NYC... On that one, after the blogfest, I'm tempted to visit the Berkshires instead of returning to the Cape. I'll see how things will go

Anyway, all these vacations planning... on such a summery day today...


This was the scene just a month ago, from the infamous "bedroom webcam".

What a difference a month makes!!!

Cheers,

-E

I was shoveling snow...

Q: What were you doing for the past two months?
A: I was shoveling snow.

Q: Did you go to the movies?
A: No, I was shoveling snow.

Q: Did you read books, magazines, anything?
A: Too tired. I was shoveling snow.

Q: What are you going to do today?
A: I'll shovel snow. (On the roof, with my landlord).

Q: Do you have a life?
A: Sigh.... Nope, I was shoveling snow !!

I wish I could forget my shovel. :)

Winter... did someone say winter? :)

Got about 40 cm of snow, and we're the lucky ones. Ottawa, 51cm. Trois-Rivières and Québec, both near 60cm. For our American friends, we're talking of a foot and a half of snow to *2* feet of snow! Welcome to Canada! :)

This is the 3rd major snowstorm in a week (last Saturday, Wednesday and this Saturday).

For Montréal, it's the 29th snowstorm of the season. Ayup. *29* snowstorms... so far. The 30th is scheduled to hit us by mid-week... if the weathermen have their way. We're close to historical amount of snow. I can say that I haven't seen this much snow in my entire life.

What a difference a day makes...

The image on the left is the leftovers from the Wednesday storm. I didn't have time... or rather my courage ran out for shoveling my patio.

The image on the right was taken today, after the storm.

When they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... I'll let those words speak for me.

Can you say... ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!! :)

(to give you a scale, I'm holding a standard 8 1/2 X 11" notepad.

Then... and now !

Regulars from FC will recognize my unofficial "bedroom webcam". I love nature and I find important when I get up the next morning... to see the outside world.

The image on the left was taken last November after our very first snowstorm.

The neighbor's fence is 4ft tall. So I'd say we're between 5 and 6ft of snow on ground.

I'm a little bit worried when all this snow is going to melt.

<--- During the storm, last night... The dilemma I see... during and after a snowstorm... Snow does embellishes the city. It is beautiful, immensely beautiful.

Especially when seen from inside, where it's warm and cozy... :)

When so you don't have to feel the bitter wind, or like last night, you are spared from the ice pellets grinding on your face,

When you don't have to shovel the snow....

When you don't have to go outside... to go to work, or bring food and other supplies in.

However, when it's the 29th snowstorm of the season that you're shoveling, and your arms and your back are killing you... The beauty of winter fades a bit.

That's understandable, yes... but nonetheless a bit sad. We're in March, this is the baroud d'honneur for winter. Spring will arrive very soon, regardless of what the calendar will say.

From there, it's bye-bye snow...

So...

Welcome to Canada and I hope you have appreciated this quick trip to my world, today!!!

PS: Stay warm! :)

-E

PPS: Just to chill you, click on this link and see the photos of Québec City's Ice Hotel. Would you believe that a lot of their clientele comes from people... living in warmer climates? A lot of Americans from... Florida, California, even Hawaii !!! I'm speechless.

PPPS: I _might_ have a chance by the end of this month to visit the Ice Hotel. It's very iffy, but if I'm in Québec City, I'll do everything to stop by the hotel! I'll let you know how it turned out. If you think I'm a bit weird... you're probably right. :) Cheers! -E

A glimpse of serenity and peacefulness...

Beauséjour means "nice stay" in French, and boy it was indeed a nice (albeit short) stay, last Sunday.

With a pair of (loaned) snowshoes, I went to Beauséjour Park. The good thing is the park is located close to my home.

The park is the pride of our neighborhood. You'll see why in a few minutes. It's a heavily wooded park and it is located along the shore of the Rivière-des-Prairies.

The day was nice, sunny and warm, and after the last snowstorm that has dumped another foot of snow, it was an opportunity to get outside.



This is the entrance to the park (which is plowed. There are some plowed trails in the park too).

In the distance the "chalet".

PS: Notice the height of the snow. :)

Above waist high snow.

Note: today (wednesday), we had another snowstorm...

... and yes, we were graced or ahem dumped with another foot of snow today, and guess what? Another foot of snow is forecasted for the upcoming weekend. I kid you not!

So what you see on these photos is already... very passé. :)



It's winter wonderland...


















Path... path... path...











Sun peeking through the trees...

Calm, peacefulness...

Silence, serenity...

And one wonders why I love nature? :)

Well, my friends, I hope you enjoy this walk in the park. Canadian style. :)

Cheers!

-E

Hôtel de glace / Québec's Ice Hotel

If you have a weird sense of humour... you can send this link to your friends and relatives.

I did that with my family in France. I could hear jaws dropping from this side of the Atlantic. :)

Yup, near Québec City, there *is* such a thing called "L'Hôtel de glace" (Ice Hotel). Buildings that are made entirely of ice (and snow).

Hallways, bedrooms, even the "furniture" *incuding the bed* are all made of ice, and yes you can sleep there for the night or spend a weekend.

According to their own sales pitch, a lot of their clients... come from places like Japan, Hawaii, and the US Southern States, from California and Florida.

Ice is exotic, it seems.

I'm telling you, this is a mad mad world!!! :)

That being said, no one in my family is eager to visit Québec... and staying at the Ice Hotel. Chicken! :)

Enjoy!

-E

Enough, shall I say ?

<--- Photo taken this morning. Again, that's my bedroom "webcam". :)

Note that the neighbour's fence has now entirely disappeared in the snow. The fence is *4 feet* tall. That gives you an idea of the crazy amount of snow we have here in "Southern" Québec.

---

I like snow... to a point.

My country is also known as the Great *WHITE* North for a reason, my handle is Eskimo *also* for a good reason...

But, I'm a little concerned, you know?

I haven't seen this much snow in my entire life, and we're near the all-time record amount of snow for the *entire* winter season... and we're just in mid-February.

PS: More snow mixed with dabs of ice pellets and freezing rain are forecasted later in the day.

PPS: Global Warming, anyone?

PPPS: The urge to hibernate never felt so strong.

Cheers,

-E

Everything is relative!

<--- Photo taken from my bedroom window, yesterday. Gee whiz, it looks just like Seattle, n'est-ce pas? ;)

To give you an idea, the fence that is almost disappearing in the snow... is 4-feet tall!

I don't recall ever seeing this much snow on the ground so early in the season.

That being said, since my return in Montréal, I've been shoveling snow (and clearing out my windows too. :)

<--- Did someone say... snow?

I _think_ it isn't a stretch in any way...

But we're going to have a white Christmas.

I think...

But who am I to say that?

Ah... Balmy Seattle, where are you? I miss it!

It was just a few days ago...
<--- Photo of my street.

Gee whiz, just like Seattle, isn't it? ;)

Snowboots, hat, scarf, glove, real winter clothes...

Exactly what I was wearing in Seattle!

Well, sort of... ;)

Cheers,

-E

The joy of the Slingbox: Being in Montréal by proxy !

Greetings from Seattle! It's about 9AM Pacific time when I'm typing these lines. We're having a mix of sun and clouds (not bad, considering they usually have lots of rain!)

For about a month, I have a Slingbox. What it is? well you can watch TV... on your computer. Any computer that is plugged to your internet router. A router with Wi-FI, it will make a laptop shine.

To keep an ear on Keith Olberman's Countdown when I'm doing my dishes, it's kind of cool. :)

But it can also work... over the internet. I had to fumble a little bit, as it was the first attempt to do so... 5000km away from home... and Bingo! Of course, the images aren't as sharp as at home, but who cares! I'm in my hotel room in Seattle, and I had Montréal on my laptop!

(I think that I'll repeat that stunt in January when I'll be in Paris with my family. I'm the computer geek, so a computer geek has to impress his host with geeky stuff. Right? Right. :)

Here are some computer screen snapshots, as they appeared on my laptop. I'm watching MétéoMédia (The French-speaking side of the Weather Network).

I was there, watching their images in complete disbeliefs. 40cm up to 50cm of snow for today, Sunday (that's 14 inches to a 16 inches of new snow on top of what we already have!).

One word:

WHAT ?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

(Sound of jaws being dropped here!)

Gee whiz, great timing for leaving Montréal! Supposedly, Seattle is extremely rainy at this time of the year. So far, it has rained a bit, but we had a bit of sunshine too!

Temps are in the mid 40s, (between 6 and 8 Celsius) and of course no snow on the ground. Heh!

Look at the screen shot on the left. Hint: -12 Celsius is in mid 10s Fahrenheit.

All in all... I maintain my words:

Ahhhh!!!! Balmy Seattle!!! :)

(At the blogfest, one asked me: You must had quite a dose of special brownies to utter Balmy Seattle. Gee whiz, our winter has been so crazy so far, I wish I had those brownies!!! That's the point!)

Cheers!

-E

I need a blow job! :-)

Hehehe...

Be honest, you were thinking of THAT blow job, right? The job that sucks, right? ;)

You have a dirty mind... well... as dirty as mine and a lot of people. That's not all that bad, come to think of it.

No, I haven't posted that blog entry at FC... yet. I'm still giggling!

Sooooo.... of course, I'm thinking of a blow job of another kind.

To blow... the snow away from my little street. *That* kind of job. By the way, where are the snowblowers?

We got the storm on Monday, and it's now Sunday... and we (the residents of that street), men and women alike, we're all collectively waiting for our collective blow job to occur. :)

(You know, there are certain things that are done in groups, and you can bet that in this case, we'll all rapidly climax of joy when it's going to happen. We've been waiting for soooo long, you know! ;) )

I also wonder whether next Monday, I should call City Hall. I can imagine the conversation on the phone.

Sir, I need a blow job, and it's an emergency!

Ok, it's Sunday morning, the week has been though...

Am I allowed... to record some moments of silliness?

Thanks. :)

PS: Credits for my immediate neighbour about the word play on blow jobs... and for contaminating my mind since then!!!

Dial S... for Stupidity?

While the east coast got lots of snow... on the west coast... they were coping with lots of rain, and unusually warm temperatures.

So there have been massive floods in British-Columbia, as well in Washington State and in Oregon

Thanks to my cable provider, they have their "western feed", so I can watch local Vancouver and Seattle TV stations, as if I were living there!

So I was watching a Vancouver station tonight. I saw on national news how British-Columbia got hard hit, so I was curious to see what's on their local TV stations.

The lady you see was complaining that for days that her house was surrounded by deep water. So she asked repeatedly to all government agencies she could think of for... help.

"Yeah, I've asked for... help, and I got... help today. They give me a help sign. "

It's hilarous... in a movie! However, when it's happening for real...

It's screaming obvious that this is not the kind of "help" she was thinking of...

-E

PS: I'll be in Vancouver and then in Seattle by the end of next week. It seems the absolutely wacky weather they had last year... is back again this year. I'm crossing my fingers... -E

Snow! 14 inches later. :)

<--- Front page of today's La Presse. "The most important storm in 60 years to strike Montréal in early December, shutting down all schools".

(THe kid in me says: YAY! :) )

The cost of snow removal? $17 millions. The adult in me says: Ouch!!!

<--- snow covered trees and a mess on my street. :)

I figure that I needed a break. so I went inside, grabbed my digicam, and I snapped those pictures.

It's beautiful, nonetheless. A beautiful mess, heh. :)

<--- Backyard of my neighbor. Look at the thickness of the "snow pie" on their table. :)

My arms and my legs are still screaming from all this intense shoveling. I guess I'll be able to appreciate all this beauty, when I'll get some rests. :)

Cheers!

-E

SNOW !

Snow is a 4-letter word. :)

It is also 30 cm perhaps up to 45cm of white fluffy stuff.

Where's my shovel? I'm just an eskimo lost in the blizzard. Heeeelllpppp!!!!!!

:)

Cheers,

-E

Did someone say... SNOW ?

<--- Don't fret, this is a "file photo" of my backyard. This photo was taken some years ago.

At the time I'm typing these lines, it's -16 Celsius. Brrrrrr!!!!

Bitterly cold temperatures so early in the season. Where's Global Warming when we need it?

However, clashing with this bitter cold air from Arctic... there will be warm air from the Americans.

Results?

30cm of snow... a FOOT of snow is forecasted for tomorrow.

Welcome to Canada. Bienvenue au Canada! :)

I think we'll get a white Christmas this year. Nous allons avoir un Noël blanc cette année!

Citoyens, citoyennes.... à vos pelles!
Citizen... at your shovels!

:)

-E

Is it bad, is it good? A matter of opportunities...

At the workplace, some colleagues were teasing me today.

A year ago, about on this day... this was the scene on my arrival in Vancouver. A big snowstorm, followed the next day by bitterly cold temperatures followed by the next day by 100 km/h winds and followed by another snowstorm. Whoopy!

A place not used to see a real "Canadian-strength" winter... and a guy from the east coast (moi!) who said foolishly: "I wonder how Vancouver looks like in winter time".

Well... I came, I saw... I froze. :)

And back home, I got plenty of "friends" and colleagues giggling. Today, they were reminding of that. OK, I'm sport. :)

Beyond the giggles, people were really sorry for me, as if my trip was completely ruined. To them, this was sheer... bad luck.

To me, this has been a good thing. This has been sheer LUCK.

Sure, my plans were trashed by this incredible weather. (but not completely trashed. I could make it to Victoria, as planned) .

However... have you ever seen Vancouver under the snow? It's rather rare. I was there. :)

A walk in Stanley Park?

It felt like a walk in winter's wonderland.

Photos don't do justice.

Snow covered trees. Big big BIG trees, all dwarfing you. I really felt like a kid.

The seawall anyone who has taken a walk... The Pacific Ocean on side, Stanley Park on the other side, and in a distance the mountains, and as always, stunning sunsets.

It inspires serenity, it inspires peace.

Add snow... it's even better.

So... is this really bad luck? is this all that bad? Of course not!

This trip to the west coast last year was memorable... and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I'm thinking of several things that happened in my life which obviously bad things turned out otherwise.

It was up to me to adapt, up to me to seize opportunity...

However, if I kept complaining and sat idle, none of that would happen.

Cheers,

-E

-----
Photos
1) Downtown Vancouver, from the Metropolitan Hotel, where I stayed last year. In the forefront, Howe & Georgia streets. On the left, the entrance to the Pacific Centre Mall.

2) One of my favourite photos! Snow covered benches at English Bay Beach, near the end of Davie Street.

3) A walk in Stanley Park

4) Seawall, somethere near the Lions Gate bridge

Winter Storm Warning ?!?

<--- Environment Canada said so! That's what my weather radio has picked up when I arrived home tonight. (In case one is wondering, we're now using in Canada the same technology that is in used in the US for many years. If you happen to hear a S.A,M.E. alert when it is transmitted, you'll hear a "databurst" similar to a modem for a short period of time. This allow to display the type of alert (Advisory, Watch, Warning), a short description of the alert here, Winter Storm Warning, and for which region (FIPS code) is intended. I've set this weather gizmo to display weather alerts strictly for Montréal Island.

For my deaf friends, all tabletop models are required to have an external port, so you can plug in a flashing warning light, vibrer, etc. Not bad. :) (I wish a longer text message would be displayed on the LCD screen, but that's a step in the right direction!).

----

Winter, oh winter...

It's mid-November, winter is on time... except we aren't.

Spoiled by a nice weather, used to late winter arrivals...

Now we're back to ahem... normal?

Where's my winter boots?

Scarf? Gloves? Hat?

Where oh where?

I can't remember where I've put them last spring!

Ah, I know what it means!

Time for me to hibernate,

Time for me to say: "See you next Spring!"

(Well, I wish I could say so. ;) )

Cheers!

-E
PS: Where's my shovel? I'm just a clever Eskimo!

Brrrr... am I a wimp? :)

When you have a handle by the name of Eskimo... You have a reputation to maintain, now that winter is approaching. :)

I wasn't much online this week. In part in preparation for the January trip to France...

And I took the opportunity to accept invitations from friends, and I also catch up with movies.

All in all, it means that I went back home late at night. Temperatures are dipping quite deeply.

Brrrr!!!! I was wondering... Gee whiz, how am I going through winter if I'm shivering now? It seems that every year I'm wondering the same thing, and of course, I got through all this.

I was thinking that last year, about now... I was in Vancouver.

Big snowstorm. +10F temperatures, and it was extremely windy. Absolutely NOT their usual weather.

I have this ritual. On arrival or the next day, at a place near a large body of water,I have to go to a beach. At least to dip my feet in the water.

In summer time, it's a no brainer, but in WINTER TIME?

Well... I remove my... *boots*, and I did walk barefoot IN THE SNOW... all the way to the sea. It isn't a snowstorm that will stop me!

I had even to return to English Bay Beach and redo what I've done for the camera!

The first time, I haven't thought of taking photos of my little footsies in the snow and then in the water. My gang in Montréal needed something to prove that I'm not making this up. Sheesh!

No... I'm still as crazy as before, nor I did I catch a cold. :)

Last year, I can say that I fully earn my wings (err... igloo?) as an Eskimo. :)

On a somewhat more serious note, it shows that at seemingly impossible things... we adapt. We all do. Consciously or not.

Except that fears... and the initial shock is not all that pleasant.

However once done... you wonder what was all the fuss!

So I was reminded of that, tonight.

I'm thinking... if I return to Vancouver in winter, anyone willing for a barefoot walk in the snow... and a dip of footsies in the water with me? Or a real full dip in the water, in swimsuit? A polar bear blogfest? ;)

Wimp. Just wimp, I'm telling you! Hehehe...

Cheers!

-E

Day #4: I'm doing fine. :) - Luck and bad luck...

(This is a short hand version of something I posted on my now "invisible" blog at FC this morning)
Day 4... (of having an invisible blog upthere, and FC technicians working on my case. I'm a case! :) )

(...)

About the photos on the left... Those are rare photos of Vancouver (and Stanley Park)... under the snow.

And I was there. My luck.

Funny how people react.

Oh, I'm sensible to the massive irony that a place known... for *NOT* having a winter... I arrived there and WHAM! First class Canadian winter storm! Snow, hurricane-class winds and bitterly cold temperatures,.

It says something that on my arrival in Vancouver, I had to make some emergency shoppings. Boots, scarf, hat, gloves. All those wintry things... I left back home !!!

It also says something to see Vancouverites walking in the snow in ordinary shoes, even in SANDALS! That kind of weather is just foreign to them. I also have to say that they're brave, or insane... or both. :)

Some say that this was terribly BAD luck for me...

Personally, I'm saying this is luck nonetheless.

The odds that a winter storm would happen, and it would happen at the precise time I'd be in Vancouver...

Look at these photos.

You call that... *BAD* luck?

Now you see my point.

Cheers,

-E