Monday, January 25, 2010

Winter in White Rock--Remembering the scarf.

I just can't help but be drawn to the West Coast.  Not everyone feels that way--especially in the winter.  It rains a lot during this season and it does get dark with clouds. Many miss the snow they would get in other parts of British Columbia or in every other province in Canada. I do not miss the snow!  You don't have to shovel rain!

The nice thing about the Coast is that, if it snows, it doesn't last long--Jason and I were thrilled one Christmas that a beautiful snowfall came Christmas Eve day and then was gone by Boxing day.  Some people, who have lived here for a long time, might disagree with me on this, but it rarely feels cold.  Yes, the cold moisture can leave you feeling chilled; but, it rarely gets below freezing.  You never feel like you can't move even if you have a few layers between you and your raincoat.

 I don't know how many people have seen the movie, "Christmas Story".  In it, the youngest boy in the family is being dressed by his mother in so many layers of sweaters that he can't put his arms down.  I felt like that last winter.  It was -25 PLUS a WINDCHILL that brought the temperature for a few days down to -35.  I think it could've even reached -40 at one point.  I remember having an undershirt and...and a dress shirt, sweater, scarf, hat...etc.  I could barely move and struggled to figure out how I'd not only get to the train, but get my HUUUUGE mits inside my purse to get my keys out.  I'd put my winter scarf back on over my nose and my glasses would steam up.  Then they'd FREEZE.  Not only did I look, sometimes, like a bear walking upright with arms in the air, I couldn't see anything.  There had to be an angel watching that I didn't walk into any posts.  Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not too much.

My glasses rarely steam up out here; though, with the changing climate, we could have another series of freak winter storms where the snow and cold lasted longer than West Coasters are used to.  I'm still new and I know that the lower mainland and the islands suffered horribly for a couple of weeks.  It could happen again. The most anyone really seems to need here is an umbrella, raincoat, rain boots, fleece, and--scarf.  It is beautiful out here, though, enough that people will sniff the air and get dressed in their shorts.  When it's sunny and warm, you tend to forget you're still in the winter.

 Everyone wears a scarf out here.  It's a popular accessory everywhere in the world now, but so far, I think there must be a law that makes it MANDATORY to wear one here.  There should be a sign on everyone's front door (on the inside) that asks, "Are You Wearing your Scarf?".  Since I've been living with my mother and step-father, I seem to have attained at least 3 new ones (one of them a purple boa style).  It sounds very minor, I know, but I actually hate wearing scarves, especially winter ones.  I always worry about being strangled (I have no idea of how I died in a past life) or that my glasses will get so steamed up so I can't see.  Out here, it's more the strangulation factor I think. Seriously though, do NOT let your scarf get too near an escalator!  On that note, I think I'll wrap this for now, as I'm getting kind of wound up.