How's this - Saturday evening, 13th February.....
It was as cold as it sounds - believe me!
So, what do you do after dark on a Saturday evening at minus 28, forecast to go lower?
Why! You go out, of course!
The village has been en fête this weekend, there's been skating, (ice)-hockey, ice-carving; Saturday was the Souper a mechoui - barbecue supper; a sort of hog roast. Large numbers of villagers gathered together in general bonhomie to share a pretty reasonable supper as a fund-raiser for the Youth Club. Sounds familiar!
Of course, they took the opportunity to celebrate St Valentin, and there was balloon sculpture for the kids. One of the folks on our table came back with this - and my valentine posed especially for this picture!
The small creatures apparently hanging on for grim death are to represent teddy bears, apparently. Naturally, everyone knows that St Valentin is the patron Saint of teddy bears, don't they?
By the time we left, the temperature was down to minus 30, solid. This morning, Sunday, 14th February, it was minus 34. Despite the block heater having been on a good, long time, the car protested solemnly at starting.....
So, down to church at Arundel through the most glitteringly glorious morning. But it was nearly 15 km before we thought of taking hats and gloves off in the car! Bevin, a former PE teacher turned farmer in his "retirement" some years ago, and a Lay Reader, lead worship and preached from next week's Gospel (we've all done that, haven't we?). He told a story of a mother mud hen (American coot (Fulica americana)) defending her chicks in front of his baler when he was cutting a meadow and used it to bring to mind Christ's longing to gather Jerusalem into his arms "as a mother hen does her chicks". I've always loved that image, but now it has an extra layer to it.
After service - and coffee and cookies - we all headed off to a crêperie in St Jovite, fourteen of us. It was just such a lovely way to wrap up our involvement this trip. It will be different next time since I've been accepted by the Bishop of Montreal to be licensed here also as a Reader. Goodness knows what that will bring.
The trip back was lovely, via the potterie, Canadian Tire and IGA (no Rona; bye-bye Rona for this trip!) with the late winter sunshine slanting across the snow.
Much warmer - Minus 21 when we got home.
The house smells of linseed oil from the canvas-filling, but yesterday it reeked of spirit so this is a real improvement.
Smells of new window-putty :-)
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