Our Snowy Street

Here is our street, taken a couple of days ago. Yesterday we did not get any snow. It has been 16 days since we recieved our 15" of snow. Even in a place that is accustomed to lots of snow, it takes a long time to move it all. It has only been in the last 2 or 3 days that the sidewalks have started to get cleaned. The downtown core started to become passable 4 or 5 days ago, but even for us only 5 blocks from the downtown core, it has just been yesterday that it was noticable, that the sidewalks are somewhat clear.

Downtown is pretty nice now, not only have the sidewalks been cleared but the snow has been trucked out.

A week today it will be Christmas. Ho ho ho. It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. I must be having fun because time is flying.

While waiting at the bus stop yesterday, I was approached by a gentlman and his wife who needed some information about the bus. This guy and his wife are from Beijing, China. They have been in Canada just five years, and within the last two months they received their Canadian citizenship. They were obviously happy, proud too, but noticably happy. As with many new Canadians their point of entry had been Toronto, and after one year there, they moved to London.

As a result, I was able to practice the two words I know in Mandarin ...Ni Hoa and Shi ese. I probably didn't write them correctly, they are supposed to mean: Hello/How are you? and Thank you.

This couple love London and Canada and intend to return to China only for visits. He told me our weather here is like the weather in northern China and Mongolia. His wife and himself like it here despite the cold and snow. I told him how important it is to layer clothes in this climate.

Not a whole lot going on today, I am going to go for a walk and then probably will do some inside stuff the rest of the day.

Happy holidays.