The first snows of winter...
It was about -17C when I woke up this morning. We'll see that as pretty warm in a few weeks. :P We've survived the storm; it snowed steadily for nearly two days. Not fast and thick, but small little snowflakes more like a mist that just wouldn't dissipate.
I've already had to drive into Edmonton, to an appointment about half an hour away. It only took me an extra ten minutes to get there, but I also borrowed my mum's car, which has the snow tires on already. Still, some of the roads had been plowed but not all. The backroads were I had to drive through to park were really slippery. It was lucky it was past rush hour because I slid into several small intersections while trying to stop for stop signs. D:
Tip: leave plenty early, and drive as slowly as you have to. I've been re-acquiring all of my good habits from when I was a learner: leaving huge stopping distances, going five under the speed limit at all times... And hey, I didn't crash or even fishtail like I saw some trucks doing! ;)
The other task I had to do this morning was drop off my car to get snow tires installed. $1000 gone: luckily, my mum paid for them. It's only so expensive because we were buying entirely new tires, plus the installation fee for the shop. Now that we have them dad can switch them out in a few hours in the springtime for free. My mum is of the opinion that this is a safety thing and anyways we need to use it for six months of the year... Those "all season" tires that they plug were designed in the States and are pretty useless on winter roads. :P
I am also of the opinion that if it's going to be cold, you may as well have some lovely snow and frost to offset the ugliness of brown trees and dead grass. Here is the view from a top-floor window in Albertan suburbia, so you can get a look at the frosted trees that some Christmas ornaments try to replicate.
Now that the cold weather has arrived, I've also brought out my famous warm knitted scarf, as seen in previous years here.
I've already had to drive into Edmonton, to an appointment about half an hour away. It only took me an extra ten minutes to get there, but I also borrowed my mum's car, which has the snow tires on already. Still, some of the roads had been plowed but not all. The backroads were I had to drive through to park were really slippery. It was lucky it was past rush hour because I slid into several small intersections while trying to stop for stop signs. D:
Tip: leave plenty early, and drive as slowly as you have to. I've been re-acquiring all of my good habits from when I was a learner: leaving huge stopping distances, going five under the speed limit at all times... And hey, I didn't crash or even fishtail like I saw some trucks doing! ;)
The other task I had to do this morning was drop off my car to get snow tires installed. $1000 gone: luckily, my mum paid for them. It's only so expensive because we were buying entirely new tires, plus the installation fee for the shop. Now that we have them dad can switch them out in a few hours in the springtime for free. My mum is of the opinion that this is a safety thing and anyways we need to use it for six months of the year... Those "all season" tires that they plug were designed in the States and are pretty useless on winter roads. :P
I am also of the opinion that if it's going to be cold, you may as well have some lovely snow and frost to offset the ugliness of brown trees and dead grass. Here is the view from a top-floor window in Albertan suburbia, so you can get a look at the frosted trees that some Christmas ornaments try to replicate.
Now that the cold weather has arrived, I've also brought out my famous warm knitted scarf, as seen in previous years here.