winter

December has the shortest days up north. At 8 am it's still dark, at 4 pm it's already dark. I find it very hard to wake up in the morning. It's just so nice and cosy under the blanket, and it's dark outside, you just want to behave like bears and hybernate... Luckily for me I have the flexibility of starting work at 10 am the latest. And since I live just about 5 minutes walk away from the office, it gives me quite some time to sleep in the morning, unless, of course, I have plans in the early afternoon, in which case I need to start work as early as possible to work off my seven and a half hours. This past December was particularly bad because we didn't have much snow. Snow usually lightens up the scene a bit. Anyway, it's February now and winter has finally kicked in. We have snow, we have temperatures weeeeell below freezing and days are getting longer.

Talking about freezing temperatures. When all the lakes freeze, people actually drive on the frozen lake with their cars, and there are clearly designated paths for cars. What I didn't find out yet: how do people know when the ice is strong enough to venture onto the ice with their cars... I'm sure there are some rules, I just don't know what those rules are. I guess something like the thickness of the ice, a certain temperature over a given period of time and so on... Maybe I'll try it one day ;)

I have just learnt a new Enlgish word: mittens - the gloves that have the thumbs only, not the five finger glove. Well, I just bought a pair of mittens. I thought I had proper gloves, but at temperatures of nearly -30 C (-22 F) I soon had to experience that my hands were very cold in my gloves even on my short walk to work. So I went and bought a pair of mittens, because they actually keep your hands warmer. I'm very happy with them and they DO keep my hands nice and warm :)