YES I do know it's cold outside.

Jenny - posted on 02/24/2011

-8 right now with a high of -6. I hate winter. I'm wintered right out. Gimme my hot beach back.

Tara - posted on 02/24/2011

I remember Juan Krista! I had an online friend who was buried in snow, her kids thought it was great that they could jump out the second story balcony down to the back yard!
We've had a lot of snow this year too, not too long ago we had about 24 inches dumped on us in about 3 days of straight snow. But then we had a melt in January too, and so far February isn't that bad, mornings can be below minus 20 brr...fuckityfuckingcold. But then it warms up, right now it's only minus 4 Celsius and overcast with some small snow flakes falling. But soon, spring and winter will fight in earnest and I love watching it, because the spring always wins!!! Sometime in the next 8 weeks spring will arrive in full force and my crocuses will pop out of the snow and say "hello Tara, are you really going to dig us up this year and spread us around to the sunny side of the house, or just say you're going to do it like last year..."

Krista - posted on 02/24/2011

Yeah, some parts of Canada are definitely worse than others. The Prairies can get some awfully wicked-cold temperatures. The coasts are usually milder, but they're damp, so when it DOES get cold, it just goes right through you.

Usually here in NS, we get a bit of a thaw around January, and then winter settles back in. February is usually the worst month, I've found. This winter has been the shits, though. We had a green Christmas, and then it started snowing right afterwards, and it hasn't frigging stopped since. We've had at LEAST one snowstorm a week, sometimes two.

But this is really quite unusual for us.

Now last year, we had hardly any snow at all. Go figure.

One year, we got a wicked storm here. In September of that year, we were hit by Hurricane Juan, and then that winter, we had this crazy snowstorm that everybody called White Juan. Some places got over 30 inches of snow. At once.

Jenni - posted on 02/24/2011

I don't complain about winter. I just hibernate. Besides I live in the most southern part of Canada. But this winter we had heaps of snow dumped on us :P

Stephanie - posted on 02/24/2011

@ Julianne-
Speaking of being an unfit mother for taking the baby out in the cold...
After I had given birth to my baby boy we were set to leave the hospital. It was cold and snowy (November, Seattle, Wa., USA). I bundled up my newborn, then put him in a snow suit with just enough of his face exposed that he could breathe, plus had blankets and a carrier cover to shield him from the weather. I'd say he was pretty toasty in there. So here we are in the elevator and a man looks at me and says "I cant believe you brought that tiny baby out in weather like this! He'll catch pneumonia!".
Yeah buddy, if I could shove him back up my hoo-ha to keep him nice & cozy til we get home I sure as hell would but unfortunately they've already stitched me up. Jackass.

Shannen - posted on 02/24/2011

I'm a winter girl through and through. I grew up in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains NSW. It was beautiful during winter and summer.



I am now living in country NSW and i hate summer. It sucks arse where i live although not as bad as where Emma lives.

This week has been beautiful 14C overnight and up to 30C during the day. Ahhhh Bliss.



@ Erin anything over 34 kills me if i don't have a cool night. Like a couple of weeks ago when we got 27 overnight after a stinking hot day the next day i was so stressed from the heat.

Jocelyn - posted on 02/23/2011

Today (I'm in Alberta), I told winter to go fuck itself.

Becky - posted on 02/23/2011

Complaining about the cold even though it's the same every winter is what makes us Canadians! :) Calgary's not so bad, at least we get the chinooks. Although, some people get horrible migraines from those and hate them. I'm lucky, I don't. I hate winter though. I've been back in Canada 17 years and I still think it's cold if it gets down below 20 C! My husband keeps telling me I'll get used to it, but I think, if I haven't after 17 years, there's not much hope! He doesn't like Calgary and wants to move, but unless it's to BC, everywhere in Canada pretty much has worse weather than here, so I say no way!

Erin - posted on 02/23/2011

I can deal with 37C Emma. I don't like it, but I can deal with it. Anything beyond that though and I struggle.

My favourite is autumn. It's starting to feel a bit autumn-ish here this week. It's still warm through the day (30-ish C) but is cooling down nicely to about 18C at night and feels brisk in the mornings. And winter doesn't bother me. Well, I will clarify.. a Newcastle winter doesn't bother me lol. Night temps average around 5C and days around 14C. Pretty mild.

Stifler's - posted on 02/23/2011

In far north QLD it's nice. But I live out west so it's horrible. Plus if you live here you think anything below 20 degrees celcius is cold hahaha.

Janessa - posted on 02/23/2011

The only thing I HATE about Canada is the long winter since I am from the island.I should be used to the weather nope I am not. But i wish winter was only -20 at the most then it would be fine.I live in Saskatchwen omg it hurts just looking outside sometimes. I say we Canadians should just invade a warmer country. My home country Haiti looks like it needs a new leader it should be part of Canada it is arleady french speaking perfect. The only thing I like about winter is skiing but i live in Saskatchwen now good like finding mountains to ski :( oh I miss British Columbia my home province.

Jodi - posted on 02/23/2011

Emma, how can you hate winter - isn't winter still pretty warm in QLD? Every time I've been there in winter, it's been gorgeous, LOL.

Jodi - posted on 02/23/2011

I was about to say what Erin said, so Canadians bitch about winter the way we bitch about summer. And the summers where I live aren't even as hot as where Erin is :D

And although I live in one of the colder places in Australia, I actually like winter here. Usually we have nights just below 0 and days around 10-12C, and it is often fine and sunny - we have a very dry winter. But the trade off is the hoirrible summers.

Stifler's - posted on 02/23/2011

It's going to be 37 degrees all next week apparently. NOOOO>

Erin - posted on 02/23/2011

I'm an Aussie and we get the exact same thing, but in reverse. Every bastard has an 'omg it's so friggin HOT!!' on their FB status. Mind you, when we had a heatwave a few weeks ago of 45C/113F temps for a week, you better believe I was complaining. It may be normal for us, but it doesn't make it any less revolting!

Wanda - posted on 02/23/2011

I've lived in Canada my whole life and I hate winter - this winter most of all - the wind chill has been brutal. I bitch and complain about winter but you'll never hear me complain about summer - the hotter the better.

@Kelly - When there's an extreme cold warning there are extra beds available for the homeless. They open up churches, gymnasiums etc. so the homeless have some place to go. They aren't required to get in out of the cold but the option is there if they want it.

Julianne - posted on 02/23/2011

build an igloo...there warm...lol

seriously i use to be a drifter, would hitch hike around with my ex, and in the winter thats what we would do....lots of homeless people freeze to death in the winter here though.. :(

Isobel - posted on 02/23/2011

they sleep on the heating vents outside of buildings. And unfortunately yeah, a lot of cold-related deaths.

Kelly - posted on 02/23/2011

What about the homeless people? We have shelters here, but not nearly enough space for all of them, they sleep on the streets. If we get a really cold spell the shelters fill to capacity and the churches start to open up, but even then they have to take turns--so if it is a "healthy" homeless person, they cannot stay more than 2 nights in a row in the shelter--if it got THAT cold, they would die....so where do the homeless people go?

Kelly - posted on 02/23/2011

I think not on the polar bear swim--I would surely die.

Well, I'm glad to hear they have heaters in the little huts, but the fact that it is so cold the heater doesn't melt the ice just....well, I don't even know what to day about that!

Summers here, the temps average in the upper 90's from about June-September, but it's humid so sometimes it feels really hot--I LOVE IT!!! A few people do die of Heat Stroke every year, but if you drink lots of water and keep cool it's fine. I bet you guys get a lot of Hypothermia deaths up there. Does that happen much?

Sorry for all the questions....it's just all really interesting to me.

Joy - posted on 02/23/2011

I think they do a polar bear swim up here in one of the lakes. I would totally do that, but that's because I'm crazy....not because I like the cold lol. Plus, it's supposed to be good for the skin and the circulation.

Julianne - posted on 02/23/2011

umm on jan 1st my home town have the polar bear swim and a bunch of people jump in the ocean...thats nuts

Joy - posted on 02/23/2011

I saw ice fishermen for the first time this year. Those people are nuts. And hearing you all talk about how they have heaters isn't helping lol It still reminds me of Ice Road Truckers and how nuts THOSE people are. I miss Florida! I'm like Sara H....I'll take 85+ ANY day over this! My body and my blood and my temperment were NOT made for cold weather. What the hell was I thinking???? Upstate NY. Fuck. Is it summer yet? LOL

Krista - posted on 02/23/2011

It very well could have been. I used wiki as my source, which is likely a lot less reliable than your grandfather. Personally, I won't even walk out on ice unless I know it's at LEAST 8 inches thick. And even then, I'm a nervous wreck the whole time.

Isobel - posted on 02/23/2011

serves me right for believing my grandfather...or maybe it really was that thick up near North Bay ;) who knows.

Krista - posted on 02/23/2011

I've never gone ice fishing, but yes, some peoples' ice huts are heated. The ice is usually very thick at that point, so the residual heat from the hut won't do anything to it.

The neat thing is that ice doesn't actually have to be that thick to support a lot of weight. Eight to twelve inches thick, and you can support a car.

And yeah, the snow and the cold can be a royal pain in the ass. But, we get through it. Some winters are worse than others. This one has been really bad, but much of the States has had it just as bad or worse. Then, I've seen some winters where we hardly have any snow at all, and it's more of a damp, chilly type of winter than anything else.

But yeah, if every winter was like this one, I would have probably moved to the south of France or something by this point.

Tara - posted on 02/23/2011

@Kelly,
Yep all our lakes are frozen, not solid, but they all have at least a good 10 inches of solid ice on them. My dad ice fishes, those things are called "ice huts" and yes most have heaters, there are even ones that are cabins, you can sleep, cook, watch tv and fish all in the same building, on a frozen lake, complete with coffee trucks etc. (lake simcoe Ontario).
They don't melt the ice, in fact we've had bon fires on the ice, you just have to build it right.
My dad will fish outside on a lawn chair on the ice with no hut in -20 weather for 8 hours without catching a thing, I think he's crazy.
:)

Good Day! - posted on 02/23/2011

I hate to brag, but it got up to eighty degrees here today. :P Anyway, those complaints sound exactly the same as what you would hear in Louisiana, say, mid-July. Replace the word "cold" with the word "hot" and you've just about got it! Honestly, I prefer the heat to the cold though. I've been to Canada twice in the summer...if it weren't for the winter I'd consider living in your beautiful country!

Julianne - posted on 02/23/2011

thats weird to see someone rushing out over a frozen lake...pretty standard here....lol

Isobel - posted on 02/23/2011

yes, the lakes really freeze, and yes, you can have a heater in an ice fishing hut...the ice is several feet thick or else you can't take your skidoo out on it. ;) Plus...the heater doesn't really do all that much to melt the ice, cause it's really THAT cold.

Kelly - posted on 02/23/2011

Wow....I don't know how you ladies do it.My husband took me to Presque Isle MI a few Christmases and there was like 2-3 FEET of snow on the ground!! All the time!! And the LAKES FROZE--I simply could not get over an entire lake freezing. People drove trucks out on them and sat in little houses and fished--in the cold!!! Do you have frozen lakes? Are there heaters in those little lake house things? I think it would melt the ice, but those people can't really sit out there all day without them, can they? I wanted to ask a fisherman, but I was too afraid to walk on the ice (I know) and no one would tell me :P

Krista - posted on 02/23/2011

I know -- being a Canadian and bitching about the cold is like being that guy who always goes to the same restaurant but bitches about how much he hates the food.

However, THIS winter has been enough to try the patience of a saint, and my sole comforts are hot coffee with a giant slug of Bailey's, and uttering the vilest, most profanity-laden epithets against winter.

Please don't deprive me of the latter, as it may result in an ill-advised increase in my intake of the former.

Bonnie - posted on 02/23/2011

I'm also in Ontario. There has been a lot more complaints this year compared to the average winter. A lot more snow this year (although a lot of it has melted at this point) and a lot more -20 degree celcius temperatures.

Joy - posted on 02/23/2011

Laura, I love the changing of the seasons. In Florida, it's just pretty much green all year long and the "winter" usually lasts maybe a month, usually the month of mid-December through Januaryish. Sometimes less. One thing we did this year, out of our sense of "our tradition" is that we grilled on Christmas day. We figured "why not?". It's our thing! In Florida, we have done it every year for the last 7 years, and called snowbound relatives to brag that we were grilling in tank tops and flip flops on Christmas Day. Now, I'm mentally going back in time to kick our asses for rubbing other people's noses in it lol I do like the changing of the seasons though. Spring last year was amazing, mostly because of the colors and also because we had moved up here in mid winter so anything warmer than 30something was AWESOME to me. Plus, it was nice to see grass again. Who knew it was still alive under the snow??? Not me. Then summer, ohhhh summer. THAT'S what I'm looking forward to. Windows open, 75+ degrees every day, perfect. Fall was gorgeous too but it made me sad because I knew this winter shit was right behind it. It felt like fall only lasted like a week lol And this winter feels like it's lasted 6 months. Well, it's been 4 snowy months....so about another 2 months of it and it WILL be 6 months. I remember in April of last year, standing at the kitchen sink and looking out the window to see it snowing and I was LIVID. I literally wanted to punch the sky in the face lol Snow in April. Ridiculous. :P

Julianne - posted on 02/23/2011

well when winter lasts from november to may...no wonder we get fed up with it...lol

Isobel - posted on 02/23/2011

I'm just down the road in Toronto (I actually saw an American news guy do a story about the G8, claiming to be in Muskoka in front of the CN tower...ummmmmm no)



anyhoodle...I love the changing of the seasons because by the end, I hate them all. By the time September rolls around I am grateful to cool off and the fresh white snow in December is wonderful.



The only season that lasts TOO long is winter. I'm usually good until mid-February...then I'm done. I know I shouldn't complain, it's no surprise...



You know what is a surprise though? The fact that it still pisses me off every year at the exact same time lol.

Joanna - posted on 02/23/2011

I'm from North Dakota, where it snows from October to April, though a year or two ago it snowed in June. My parents still live there. There's an oil boom and the state is growing, so there've been lots of construction workers flocking there. When October hit, 9 out of 10 of the new construction and oil workers fled. All that money I guess cosby make them stay!

I lived there for 20 years, but after being in California for 6 years, I could never do it again!!

Joy - posted on 02/23/2011

Well I'm full on moaning and bitching about the cold this year. I've only been in NY state a year and this most certainly isn't the Florida weather I'm used to. So yeah, I've been bitching up a storm since about September ~ Octoberish. And I will continue to complain until approximately May, when it warms up enough for me to open my windows lol

I heard another quote about the cold the other night on tv. I can't remember what show it was but these two guys were talking about this girl's boobs and one of them said how cool it was that she was smuggling raisins in her shirt....I about died laughing ROFL!

Julianne - posted on 02/23/2011

I go out pretty much everyday, i have random people telling me to bring my child out of this freezing weather. Oh my the poor baby out of the house in the winter!!! what an unfit mother i am...i guess her 3 layers and show suit are not good enough

Sneaky - posted on 02/23/2011

I have to point out the hell reference - is not entirely inaccurate :o) I have been told (never read it myself) that Dante wrote a poem called the 'Divine Comedy', it has three parts one of which is called the 'Inferno' and is about the journey one man takes through the nine circles of hell . . . the interesting thing is, as he gets closer and closer to the ninth circle were the Devil is trapped, hell actually gets colder and colder.

Of course, I doubt all the people who are bitching to you about the cold know that . . . . did I just help the cabin fever or make it worse?

Lady Heather - posted on 02/23/2011

I ran away to Victoria to escape winter and came home to even colder temps. -30s all day with the windchill. Should have gone away this week.

One more month? Although I suppose the snow will be around longer than that.

Stifler's - posted on 02/23/2011

I hate all the seasons except spring. It's always too hot or cold unless it's spring.

Toni - posted on 02/23/2011

Yep for us Brits, we moan about how cold it is in winter, how hot it is in summer (when I say summer I mean the 2 weeks we get any continuous sunshine), we moan about how wet it is and we moan about how dry it is when it's not raining. It drives me insane, be happy when it is warm and dry (although being preggers I WILL moan about this this year) and just put up with the sucky weather, although I do love cold crisp frosty mornings so they aren't sucky.

Teresa - posted on 02/23/2011

I would not survive......

Katherine - posted on 02/23/2011

That's sounds about right. That's how Michigan is.


The roads SUCK!!!-------yeah and........don't drive like an asshole like everyone else.