Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Not Enraptured by the Weather

I wake up and look at the graphical weather forecast and see that the weather gods have pulled a switcheroo. The high we've been tracking has pushed south and the weather we're getting instead is a low pressure system bringing lots of snow. The first flakes are visible already in the lights outside the hotel window.

We eat breakfast and plan our day: nothing until afternoon, then go out at three or so, before it gets dark, and brush the snow off the airplane. Of course when the time comes that's a two step problem. Step one: brush snow off car so that car can be driven to airport. Step two: brush snow off airplane. The accumulation on the airplane is not great, and although it's a thick layer, it's very light snow. It's about -25°C so the snow is not at all wet and clumpy. Kind of the opposite of last year in MontrĂ©al with all the freezing rain. It's a good thing we came out, though, because one of the cords has come unplugged and a couple of tarps have loosened. The problem is that bungie cords completely lose elasticity in these temperatures. I'm not sure if it's just the temperature or if it's frozen moisture in the material of the cord, but the cords now have no tendency at all to retract from their stretched lengths.

We go to Canadian Tire and get some more bungie cords, then come back and do a more thorough job on the tarps. Finally there's Tim Horton's for coffee and doughnuts. Do you get a more Canadian Day than that? Snow shovelling, Canadian Tire & Tim Horton's?

The title of this post made more sense when it was combined with tomorrow's post, but I've run out of time to write both halves.

4 comments:

dpierce said...

After reading this blog for so many years, I've developed a strange yet keen interest in visiting a Canadian Tire.

gmc said...

dpierce - I was wondering if anyone might have posted a "virtual tour" of a Canadian Tire store for you. Well, almost. Here's comedian Rick Mercer with Paul Martin when he was Prime Minister - off to Canadian Tire together. Only in Canada!

Canadian Tire action starts at 1:55 in ... Enjoy!

Aviatrix said...

GMC, that is hilarious!

The non-Canadians may need to be told that 24 Sussex Drive is the Canadian equivalent of the White House. A comedy talk show host is showing the elected leader of Canada how to cut drafts in the official residence. I love Rick Mercer.

dpierce said...

gmc: Thanks for that! I presume Canadian Tire started with car care and evolved into a full DIY retailer? When I was a kid, Goodyear tire stores in the US used to have a reasonably thorough offering of retail goods in front of the counter.

If that skit was at all genuine, your ex-PM seems quite accessible.

(I tossed a bungie in a deep freezer to see what happens to them. Mine did indeed become worthless.)