I'm outta here!

I'm off to B.C. tomorrow to visit with my sisters. We try to do this every year but it's been awhile so I'm looking forward to it.

It's always a blast!

Eclipse

We watched the eclipse last night. The earth was passing between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow. Won't happen again until 2010.

Darrell and Jess and Jon and Magan were here. Mal and Darrell were watching Matt Friesen with Ron McClean and Dick Irwin on Hockey Night in Canada.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you had a happy one!

This welcome stone is in the corner by our front door. The snow covered all but the welcome and I thought it looked kind of cute.

Chinooks

We are in the -20's today and tomorrow but by Sunday it is supposed be +1. I googled chinooks and learned that they develope when air is forced to rise over the mountains, losing its moisture, then descends on the other side, warming as it goes down. That forms a warm wind that melts the snow. Since the 1980's winters in southern Alberta have changed to just a few cold snaps. In Calgary, 59% of Christmases have snow, whereas in Edmonton it is 88%. Calgary gets many chinooks because the Bow Valley acts as a funnel for chinook winds.

Interesting facts: In February/92 the temperature in Clareshom hit 24 degrees! Pincher Creek holds the record for a fast change in temperature: from -19 to +22 in 1 hour! Trains have been derailed by chinook winds in that area. Empty semis on Hwy. 3 south of Calgary have been blown over by the winds.

Today we have cold and blowing snow and tomorrow is supposed to be worse, so I'm about ready for a chinook. Bring it on!