On our first snow day, December 3, the daycare called us early to inform us that they were not opening. The radio news declared that all schools on the island of Montreal were closed. And it snowed and snowed all day long. The kids stayed home, Derek took the day off from doing work, and we all prepared for a fun day ahead. One of Solanne's friends from the daycare came to stay with us along with her brother while their mom had to make her way in to McGill, where there were still classes going on (and final papers to hand in!). So for a while, we had four kids in our house.
Here is Maïa, Solanne, and Emme having a grand old time. Emme's brother, who is nearly six, kept himself occupied playing with trains, away from the girls.
Later, our friends Arlene and Noah came by for a short visit. Noah is seen here, with his dad, Glenn, after digging out of the second blizzard (thanks for the pics, Glenn!).
And here are our girls playing in our backyard, after the first snow fall.
If these pictures give you a sense of déjà-vu, don't be alarmed; they likely remind you of pics I posted in December 2005.
Now, if you're in warmer climes, where there is less snow, do not idealise living in this beautiful stuff too much. Our city was crippled by the storm last time around, and it took a while for the snow removal crews to get to the most important arteries (uh, why were some side streets completely cleared before a very busy section of Sherbrooke ever saw a snow-removal truck??). Things are not much better this time around (read more about it here). And, on a more personal note, our parking is behind our building and is accessed by a long, narrow driveway. Every winter, we and our neighbours, who depend on this driveway, hire a plow to move the snow aside. We haven't seen them since the last snow fall. So last night, Derek and four of our other neighbours dug out over 45 cm of snow in our backyard and driveway.
I'm gonna miss this disorganised, snowy city...
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