Tag: Snow

Winter Wonders

On By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

As I sit here listening to the squall winds roar, swirling the snow around and darkening our already shortened day, I am so happy. I know I’ll have to put several layers of clothes on both me and the dog before we brave the cold and the wet for another trip outside, but somehow, I enjoy that too. I often try to share the beauty I see in winter through my photos and memories, but this month, I want to share my feelings through my words as well. Ultimately, I just want people to give winter a chance! It’s so much more than the sum of its parts, but honestly, I think even those are to be enjoyed. So here it goes, my ode to winter wonders.

The Snow

The first thing I love about winter is the possibility of snow. Fresh snow is so magical! It changes everything: how things look, how they sound, how they feel. It brightens, quiets, and softens even the harshest of winter climates. And even if you live in a place that doesn’t get much snow or doesn’t get any snow at all, there’s still the anticipation. Is it going to snow? Will we get a day off? I’ve have friends from tropical countries who were forever intrigued by snow, wondering when they would see and touch it for the first time. It’s certainly one of the more romantic weather phenomena, right? I mean, there are countless songs and poems written about it; millions of paintings that try to capture its essence; it’s the plotline of at least a dozen Hallmark movies – clearly, it’s something special.   

Winter sports

Some people need more than just weather to excite them though, and that’s where winter sports come in! Winter allows for a plethora of seasonal activities that often make you feel like a kid again, think sledding, ice skating, snow tubing, and building snowmen. Nothing but smiles when you’re flying down a mountain in a gigantic innertube, am I right? Plus, who doesn’t like variety in their choice of exercise: skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, shoveling, etc. Honestly, I’m much more active in winter because when it’s hot outside, I feel sluggish and gross, but when it’s cold, all that generated body heat comes in handy! Winter also offers its own selection of more exotic options like ice climbing, dog-sledding, and snowmobiling – truly so much variety to be had!

The Cold

Okay, so I know the cold is one of the main reasons people don’t like winter, but hear me out. Do you like mosquitos? Of course you don’t. Well, they die in the cold, which is reason enough for me to like it! But more than that, cold weather can be so refreshing! Invigorating, even. Most people sleep better when it’s cold, and cold weather is said to improve heart health, brain function, and metabolic rates, so even if all those winter sports don’t help you out, apparently just being cold every now and then will. I mean, some people pay hundreds of dollars for “cold therapy” or Cryotherapy treatments for better skin, pain relief, and mood enhancement, but winter gives you all those benefits for free! Also, I’d just like to add something pretty much every Canadian has told us: there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. As long as you have the right clothes, you shouldn’t even feel the cold!  

Cozy clothing

And while we’re on the subject of clothes… don’t you just love when you get home and switch your jeans out for sweatpants? Or when you put on your favorite pair of pajamas and hop on the couch? What if you could wear pjs, sweats, and all sorts of soft, comfy items no matter where you’re going? Well, that’s much more feasible in winter given all the outerwear that likely means people will never even see what you have on underneath. I seriously get so excited every year when I get to break out all my cozy clothing: the warm, fuzzy sweaters, the fleecy thermals, my giant sweatpants, and thick, fluffy socks. I’ve definitely never been that excited to put on a pair of shorts or a tank top, and I can’t be the only one either because who feels more comfortable sleeping without a blanket or laying on a hardwood floor without a rug? Only psychopaths, obviously. Comfy is king!

The Holidays

If you’re not on board yet, maybe the holidays will remind you of the magic of winter. Sorry to those of you who grew up in the Southern Hemisphere because holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are all infinitely better celebrated in winter, and I feel like the vast majority of holiday media backs me up on this. Imagine singing, “Oh, the weather outside is delightful, but the horde of insects is frightful”. And can you imagine if Home Alone took place in summer? It would totally lose its heart-warming, “appreciate your family” vibe! Plus, what about the horror of putting on a few holiday pounds while also having swim practice and/or trips to the beach to think about. No, absolutely not. The holidays are meant to be spent holed up inside with family and friends eating all the things and not feeling bad about it because, hey, we’re hibernating here!

Comfort foods

And speaking of the food… I just don’t think we’d enjoy all our hearty soups, cheesy casseroles, and warm, freshly baked cookies near as much if it wasn’t winter. The cold, the dark, the challenging weather – all of that is part of why the foods we eat in winter are so comforting! They stick to your ribs, which is something you definitely wouldn’t want if it was hot, sunny, and you were already sweating, right? I mean, who wants to turn on the oven in summer? But when it’s below freezing… yes, please! Winter also gives us a chance to eat different things. We might never have discovered the delight of pumpkin spice or peppermint drinks if the seasons hadn’t changed. Maybe we’d have never looked twice at gourds or lentils if our go-to vegetables were as cheap and plentiful as they are in the warmer months. Think of all the different flavors and nutrients we might have missed out on!

The Dark

Alright, the shorter days are another difficult one for some of you, and I get it, but I think the real culprit here is Daylight Savings Time (let’s save that rant for another time though). For my pro-darkness argument, I’ll start off with the coziness factor again, which for me is generally brought about by early evenings, twinkling lights, and flickering candles. Ahh! In wintertime, my apartment generally gives off calming, resort spa vibes, and I absolutely love it. Another great thing about it getting dark early is we tend to spend more time at home, which isn’t a bad thing. Winter is a great time to catch up on your reading list or clean out your closets or simply stay-in and save money – the sanctuary of your hearth and home is your oyster!  

Hygge

A lot of what I love about winter is a little hard to pin down, but the Danes use the word “hygge” to sum up the comfortable coziness that I keep trying to describe. Hygge is all about taking the time to enjoy life’s little pleasures. The time spent chatting after or between meals, a warm fireplace on a cold night, a hot chocolate enjoyed in bed, listening to the crunching snow as you walk the dog – these are some of the many little joys we often take for granted; however, I find that I can usually pinpoint and enjoy these moments a bit more easily in winter. Maybe it’s the shorter days or the holiday celebrations or even the starkness of winter landscapes, but something about winter allows for a different kind of focus, and it’s one that I absolutely love!

Slow down 

Another great feature of winter is its ability to slow us down. Everything quite literally takes longer in winter: putting on extra layers, driving more carefully, heating up the house or car – it all forces us to slow down, and it’s not just us. Trees and plants go dormant, many animals hibernate, even our pets tend to sleep more in winter, which should be our sign to do the same! Winter is the best (and longest) excuse we have to take our time, enjoy the temporary calm, and just rest. I love to use the dark and the cold to my advantage and simply do less and relax more – something my usual go-go-go self definitely appreciates! The best part of having all the holidays at the beginning of winter is that once they’re over, we still have months left to focus on other things or nothing at all before the warm weather calls our attention elsewhere.  

Reset

And my final, favorite thing about winter… it’s the perfect time to reset. Whether you’re a New-Year-new-you kind of person or just an avid spring cleaner, this season has always been associated with change. If there’s something new you want to try, winter is a great time to do it. The year starts over, the seasons start over, you can start over. Winter is the perfect time to plan ahead, but even if you don’t have any changes or plans you want to make, I find that winter is also a great time for reflection. Take a look back and see how far you’ve come since the previous winter or the winter of 2020, for example – hard to believe that was over 5 years ago now! Regardless of how you feel about the idea of winter, it will keep coming around, so maybe this year, your goal could be to reset any biases you have about this beloved season of mine. :)

So, what do you think? Can you give it another chance? Can you learn to enjoy winter just a bit more than before? I hope so because as the proverb says, choosing not to find joy in the snow/cold simply means having less joy without changing the amount of snow/cold. So find your joy and relish the wonders of winter! Bon hiver à tous!❄️

Winter is Coming (Again)

On By Dani Francuz Rose1 Comment

Ah, December. The pinnacle of the holiday season, the last month of the year, and the official start of winter – yay! Last winter was our first in Canada, and we gleaned so much information. For example, we know that the first snow Ottawa had last year was on October 30th, and the last snow of the season was on April 24th. The coldest day was January 19th at -20°C (approximately -5°F), but overall, it was really a very mild winter. I, personally, hope this year we get a lot more snow and a much longer stretch of extremely low temperatures. How else will I put all our new northern climate knowledge to the test? Knowledge like:

Preparation is Key

One of the first surprises we encountered last winter was just how much preparation both the city and its inhabitants have to do before winter. Everyone started putting out salt chests and snow markers well before the first snowstorm. Businesses added tents and flaps to entranceways; boot trays and coat racks were everywhere, and we even saw insulated porta-potties at nearby construction sites. For our part, we were focused on acquiring all the right winter clothing, which I’m happy to say was well worth whatever we paid for it all! We also had to buy quite a few car accessories, such as shovels, scrapers, sand, winter tires, and non-freezing windshield wiper fluid. This time around, it has been less buying and more restocking, but still, the preparation really makes for a smoother transition.

Probably still quite cold…
These things are everywhere!
Time for the seasonal tire switch
Now we have quite the collection
Great for keeping the salt and any Amazon packages dry lol

Everything Takes a Little Longer

So many layers!

Even after all the preparation was taken care of, we were still surprised by how much longer literally everything takes in winter! Getting dressed, lacing up boots multiple times a day, warming up the car, walking carefully on the ice – it all adds up like we couldn’t believe! Maybe this year I’ll time how long it takes to get the three of us dressed and ready to go outside because I’d guess it’s an extra 10-15 minutes every time. The other time-suck that I didn’t even think about prior to having such long winters was how much more laundry we have. When you’re wearing so many more layers every day, it really turns into a mountain of laundry after just a couple of days.

Winter is Kinda Messy

This is why Canada is shoes off.

Having only lived in northern climates as a child (and/or for short periods of time), I was completely unaware of just how messy snowy winters can be. Everyone walks inside constantly dripping on the floor – the floors of restaurants, our building’s lobby, and worst of all, the entryway of our apartment. It didn’t take long for me to put an extra mat and towels by the door (yay, more laundry), but it doesn’t matter because there’s no containing it all. And you might be thinking, “hey, no big deal, water dries”, which is true, except this isn’t just water. It’s salted, which means everything gets a nice crusty white layer of salt even after it’s dry. The salt and sludge obviously got to the car as well, and we ended up having to get a carwash halfway through last winter because we literally couldn’t see out of the windows. I’m pretty sure I could count on one hand the number of times we’ve ever washed our car, and I would have never thought we’d have to wash it in the dead of winter!

There’s Quite a Bit of Extra Work

Okay, so we learned you have to prepare in advance, spend more time than usual, and always expect a mess, which, of course, requires some extra work, but the amount of extra work really kept surprising us! Scrape this, shovel that, clear a path for the dog to get to the “grass” because the snow walls are taller than she is! On and on it goes! Jenn, too, has to put a bit more effort into her daily tasks. She has to endure the multiple layers of clothing, scale snowdrifts when looking for a place to pee, and get wiped down whenever she comes back inside – all to her chagrin. On the bright side, I do feel like we still meet our exercise quotas because walking in the snow and scraping ice are definitely high calorie-burning activities!

So much fun!
Good thing she’s adaptable!

So Many New Tricks to Learn

Another huge positive is that we developed a whole new set of skills. The best way to stomp excess snow off your boots? We know it. The best way to layer for easy transitioning between indoors and out? We’ve got it down. We’re also now very attuned to the sounds of the snow plows, which comes in handy, and I’m very happy to report that I didn’t fall on the ice even once last year (which I cannot say about our first Polish winter). I’d also add that we’re now very good at switching between Fahrenheit and Celsius, and we’re pretty much experts in interpreting the various weather alerts and winter vocabulary, regardless of the source. If you want to know more about the difference between hail, freezing rain, and sleet, I got you fam.

Lots of Surprises

All in all, I think we took everything pretty well in stride last year, but there were still a few things that we just didn’t believe until we experienced them ourselves. For example, our neighbors told us to watch out for the sunny days because they’re often the coldest, and wow, they were absolutely right! Apparently, clouds signal warmer temperatures – who knew?! We were also extremely surprised by how quick and easy it was to do some of the winter challenges, like freezing ramen noodles in mid-air. It took less than ten minutes! Another thing we didn’t think much about was how gas mileage would be affected, nor did we think we’d even notice if it was. Spoiler, we absolutely did. And perhaps most surprisingly, it didn’t take long at all for 0°C (32°F) to not really feel all that cold. After a week at -10°C (15°F), hovering right around freezing felt downright balmy.

Luckily, It’s Incredibly Fun and Beautiful!

I know most people reading this will say things like “that’s why I hate winter” or “I never want to live somewhere like that”, but even with these added challenges, we had an absolute blast last winter and are so eager to do it all again (hopefully just a little more efficiently this time). Winter is definitely still my favorite season even if it does require a bit more effort up here. In fact, I’d say we actually enjoyed it more because of those extra efforts. Ultimately, it was fun to slow down, get a little messy, and learn a plethora of new things. For me, winters like these are so fun and so beautiful that I quickly forget about any negatives. So, who wants to come visit us in January and see for yourselves? Our winter wonderland will be waiting!

Winter Wonderlands (of years past)

On By Dani Francuz Rose1 Comment

It’s December! Only a few days from the official start of winter! You might already know this about me, but I absolutely love this time of year. Of course, I know not everyone feels the same way, and I also know that this year is different (in about every way possible). Typically, during the holidays, Tucker and I do some traveling: we disconnect, explore someplace new (often somewhere we can play in the snow), but alas, 2020 has kept us pretty tethered…in Florida of all places. So, for this month’s post, I ask you to humor me as I look back at some of my favorite winter destinations of years past. I’m aiming to turn this pining into planning, and I invite you to do the same. There’s always another winter coming!

Tatra Mountains, Poland

This is the trip I always find myself looking back on around this time of year. Magical is the best word I have to describe our snowy hike in the Tatra Mountains. It felt and looked exactly like a fairy tale (well at least until our inadequate clothing choices had us pondering the effects of frostbite). Zakopane was the little mountain town we based our trip around, and the mulled wine, grilled oscypek (a mountain specialty), and the handmade wooden crafts in the local markets made it all the more beautiful.

Harbin, China

Even if you don’t like the cold, you should still be able to appreciate the incredible Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, China. I’ve never been to the North Pole (or any city that associates with it), but I definitely got Santa’s Village vibes while we were there. Snow sculptures as far as the eye could see, entire buildings and playgrounds made of ice, and, if I recall correctly, there was even a VR experience with penguins. Definitely worth the icy eyelashes!

New York, USA

A post about winter trips must include New York City. It’s truly lovely any time of year, but bundling up on a ferry crossing the Hudson, drinking hot chocolate while watching the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center, and feeling the fierce winds tunneling through the skyscrapers are some of my favorite memories of this iconic destination. I also feel pretty strongly about the fact that it smells much better in winter – no baking garbage or sweaty subway seatmates. Bonus!

Bergen, Norway

We actually booked our trip to Bergen on a bit of a whim because we found cheap tickets from Warsaw, and we had the time off. In hindsight, I can’t believe we hadn’t already had such an amazing place on our travel list. We loved strolling down the snowy cobblestone streets, and the fjords and scenic train rides were absolutely breathtaking. If you ever find yourself in Norway debating whether or not to do one of the “Norway in a Nutshell” tours – do it!  

Chengdu, China

Perhaps a somewhat surprising winter location, but since Chengdu is known as one of the “Furnaces of China”, I vowed to stay away in summer or anything summer adjacent. Thus, we visited in January and had the most amazing time! Pandas are adorable year-round, and I found the outdoor tea houses and consumption of extremely spicy food much more enjoyable in cooler temperatures. The mountains (and yaks) just outside the city were also extremely beautiful covered in a pristine blanket of fresh snow.

Sydney, Australia

Just for fun, let’s say you’re like me and would love to have TWO winters in a given year. A trip to Australia can grant this wish! The Southern Hemisphere, of course, has their winter from June-August, so one year, we spent July in “wintery” Sydney. It was a mild winter to say the least, but the general vibe was there as we walked by ice rinks and snowflake décor all around the city. Like NY, Sydney is an amazing place to visit any time of year, but the less touristy off-season was perhaps even more enjoyable.

Lisbon, Portugal

Another, slightly warmer location we really enjoyed one winter was Lisbon, Portugal. The city is incredibly gorgeous, but really hilly, so we were very happy for cool weather/less sweaty hikes. The local wine and food we had was also very fitting of the season: thick stews, warm egg tarts, and strong vinho verde, just to name a few of our favorites. I’m also a big fan of quiet oceanside walks in winter, and Lisbon’s coastline did not disappoint.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

And finally, because I realize many people take vacations to hotter climates in order to escape winter, I’ll include Chiang-Mai on this list. We were there in January one year, and let me tell you, it can definitely be considered a “hotter climate”. While Bangkok and Phuket might be the more famous of Thailand’s must-see destinations, Tucker and I fell in love with CM. The temples, the mountains, the food (omg), and the small-town feel with some of the friendliest, calmest locals we’ve ever encountered, Chiang-Mai is a great place to relax during one of the most stressful times of the year.  

So many memories, so many possibilities! My mind is spinning thinking about future winter trips! But for now, I’ll make do with reminiscing and enjoying a quieter, calmer winter. Happy holidays everyone!