Well it's Sunday night, the last Sunday in November. Month #5 in this posting is finished and we are learning what winter here can be like.
We have had 4 days with a -30 windchill last week. We've experienced that before, just not usually this early in the season. Autumn was longer and more lovely than we've experienced in recent years; it actually felt like fall and not a prolonged summer! The snow is mid-calf (up to the top of my boots) and the people who have been here a long time say this is more snow than they usually get; though the last couple of years have been like this winter. There is a bit more snow forecast this week. And that makes me smile.
The sun is rising around 9:20 in the morning and setting at 3:30 in the afternoon, but there's only another month until the sun starts shining a little more each day. We are faithfully taking our vitamins (especially D with the lessening sunlight) and keeping our overhead lights on (we switched a lot of our ceiling lights to LED that will help keep seasonal slumps at bay).
We are still going for walks, all bundled up and with reflective belts so drivers can see us. We also maybe might have set up our Christmas decorations. As Hubby says, Advent is something that happens in other homes. Not ours :)
We got out my millions of Nativity scenes (I swear I can quit whenever I want to), the tinsel, the lights, and the tree. We set the tree up without ornaments for a few days so the Floofs could get used to having it in the house. Once those ornaments were up, though, the cat (the Gremiln) was chasing them all over the floor in the middle of the night. The bottom row of lights doesn't work anymore since an animal (I can't remember which one) chewed the strand and it shorted out. But it's a beautiful tree. There was a lot of discussion over where to place what, the tree especially, but I think it has all turned out beautifully.
The next step is taking out the Christmas dishes (I'm planning on taking them out of the box tomorrow) and I am excited to start using those. Every time we take them out to use them I smile.
One month until Christmas, 4 weeks of school, a handful of holiday parties and events, and before we know it no one will have class and everyone will be hibernating for days and days on end. Next Sunday, the first Sunday in Advent, there is a community carol sing-a-long and the Littles and I are joining the choir for that. I'm really looking forward to that! I love singing those hymns <3
Last night was the Santa Parade for the city and it was a long one! The parade route was so short, but there were so many floats and people! I made sure we brought thermoses of hot chocolate since it was so chilly out and they really helped :)
