We've had a couple of months in the lead up to this week where blue skies and sunshine have been interrupted by showers and overcast skies. But nothing really like these last few days with promise of more and more to follow. The clouds sit very low everywhere - days provide only a glimpse of the mountain top. And when you can see the mountain top, the middle and lower sections appear to be "decoratively wrapped" in a cloud.
As a serious aside - rounded out the late night by watching "Twilight" - with Charlie's car pulling into the mushy driveway - and then school grounds shrouded in cloud - car skidding sideways in the parking lot, clouds, rain, trees etc - I think that movie must have been shot on location here! (Fact Check - yep, the Fandon page online lists locations - loads filmed here in BC!)
Bus adventures very wet - wet roads, wet paths, waterfalls where they have never been before, decaying slippery leaves
The whole "school thing" is amazing. No "wet lunch" calls here - the children would never get outside. It was pouring rain today at first recess. And that is just "status quo" really. There are no thoughts that you would stay inside. The while routine of layering up, now includes wet weather gear. All the kids are independent and pull on whatever combination they have. Some kids "aren't cold" and/or "don't care about the rain" and go out without protective gear ... their choice! Crazy - some with wet gear clinging to their bodies, many with soaked hair caked to their heads.
The little ones squiggled into their over pants, complete with braces, got their arms in their jackets, zipped up those big slide- in-at-the-bottom zips, squirmed their feet into Wellington boots and skipped outside. Teachers are not exempt. Playground duty and supervision still has to take place - so they too are layering and zipping, swapping shoes and in many cases popping an umbrella.
Kids run around, walk around, set up ball games, jump and climb on the playground equipment and trudge through the forest. But the biggest eye opener was the kids playing in the mud - carving out waterways, making dams and diverting water .... sticks, stones, branches ... all resources used in this alternate to a sand pit.
This blew my mind - you can choose just to "get wet" - how does that go when you get inside - to be fair, probably dried in 10 minutes cause of the heating inside
200 plus children- and one bucket of balls - that's it - guess it explains why the mud pies are an attractive alternate
And then, it's all in reserves 20 minutes later when they come back inside. Of course repeated for the long recess for 40 minutes of outside fun. Imagine when you add snow or slush to the mix. Apparently, in winter when there is snow, the one bucket of balls isn't such a limiter - the kids make snowballs to throw at targets on the outside of the building.
The "differences" don't end at the school gate. From October 1st all the vehicles are required to change to their winter tires. It was one of the first jobs for @Mindy and @Ian on their return. A big deal - and of course getting a "fitting" time means you have to get in the booking queue and spend the day in #Squamish while the job is done. They are booked in for early next week which means extra diligence on the road in the current wet, cold conditions. As soon as there is water and a drop in temp, things get a little slippery out there. We were hoping to get out this evening to get some groceries - but conditions were not in our favour.
Didn't venture out. Our usual walk to get groceries in the afternoon. Nit so much because of theeh rain but because the grizzly is still out doing its thing up near #Nesters. We are hatching a plan to head in the "ohjer" direction tomorrow at #Creekside if conditions are better. Need a few essentials - Mac's definition of essentials are a little different from mine.
Big news - DHL delivered my referendum pack today. But absolutely no sign of @Mac's. The conditions of the vote stipulate that the vote must be made and witnessed on or before the day of the referendum - guess unless I was prepared to get my "witness" to fudge the date - I am out of the vote count. Need to resort to Plan B now, which is to register online that I didn't vote. What a crazy waste of money organising postal votes for overseas constituents. You'd think there would be an understanding of how much time is needed to facilitate this process. Bring on a system for online voting.
Admitting that thoughts of warmth and sunshine are starting to enter the mind. On the "reverse" countdown now - started sorting gear in our drawers for repacking, checking bus and flight schedules. The countdown is reinforced in class each morning - the horror of Halloween heralds the eve of our stunt as Canuck locals. Need to make the most of it even on rainy days.
There are of course many positives to rainy days:
Extra crochet time AND extra cuddles on the couch
PS; There's always sport! Phew for Aussie men's cricket to start the day and MORE NFL for the Monday night games. In overload!
No comments:
Post a Comment