Winter Wonderland

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Yes, while our boat basks in the sun in Mexico, we are still here in the frozen north.  Some would call this a winter wonderland.  After all, everyone wants a "white" Christmas now don't they?

In fact, this has been a very mild winter so far as Edmonton goes.  There have only been a few, very light, snow flurries; barely covering the ground in the city.  Out in the country it is just enough to make it look picturesque - in the city it is just enough to make the side streets into skating rinks.  The retailers are upset because people don't get into the Christmas (buying) spirit unless it really looks like winter.  We, on the other hand, are quite happy to have winter delayed as long as possible.

Down south, the boat is still in the "drying" process, with no idea of when it will be ready for the real work to begin.  So for now, we are here in Edmonton at least till Christmas and most likely into the new year.  Our prime winter cruising season is passing us by.  Sigh...

To get us more into the real Christmas spirit we have spent more than a little time Christmas shopping at the local malls including, of course, West Edmonton Mall.  This mall is possibly the closest we can come here to our cruising life, with the performing sea lions, pirate ships and the indoor beach complete with surf, but somehow it is just not the same.  Note: These pictures were taken early in the morning on a weekday - the hordes of people at any other time are hard to believe or describe.

So as not to sound too much like a Grinch, it has been very nice to visit many friends and relatives, especially during the holiday season.  Last year we spent Christmas in a foreign country with no one around that we knew at all.  This is altogether much more pleasant.

My apologies to those readers (and you know who you are) that feel I need to get my A in G and post more often - the main reason I have not been posting to this blog more regularly is that I am sure anyone who would be interested in the drivel I write here, is most likely more interested in the sailing/cruising life than in the minutia of our day to day existence on land.  With any luck we will soon be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to you all out there, no matter where you may be!

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