Winterizing

It snowed for the first time on October 16th this year.  And today--only November 3rd!--it is -26°C out!

I have been slowly getting ready for winter over the past few weeks: got the car checked out, shrink-wrapped the windows, put away my summer-only clothes, brought the parka out of storage, and so on.  I also knit a new hat:

The stitch pattern is from some ancient knitting booklet that lost its cover before the internet was invented, and I just free-styled the rest of it.  It didn't turn out quite the way I had envisioned it, but nevertheless it looks lovely and is very comfortable and warm.  The yarn is Purple Label Cashmere Sock Yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts in the Royal Flush colourway.  I love Tanis Fiber Arts yarns;  I have ordered from her a few times (see the previously completed Swimming Pool) and have yet to be disappointed.

Despite the slow progression of preparation for winter, the fact that the ground is covered in snow, and that it is so cold out, is somehow shocking.  This is my third winter up here, so you'd think I would know what I am getting into.  Perhaps there is a difference between being physically prepared, and being mentally prepared.  Although wouldn't accomplishing one simply lead to the other?

Clearly the answer is that I need to be knitting more.

Post-Scipt:

I have to add: it is now 1:23 pm, and only just now has the sun risen above the hillside to cast direct sunlight on my cabin.  Daylight hours are so short already!

Solstices

I don't want to say that I'm over the whole 24 hour daylight thing, but this year I went to bed at 11pm on the 21st.  I've done the stay-up-all-night thing before, and just didn't feel the need this year.  It was a crazy week, with work, meetings and multiplying commitments all making me feel tired and old.  A good night's sleep--as good as I could get, considering just how bright it is in this cabin with its thin curtains--was more valuable.  I did snap a picture from my "desk" (the sewing machine table with my laptop on it) as I sat up reading resumes on Wednesday night.  At 11:04 pm, there was still bright sunshine out:

And yeah... the window doesn't stay open on it's own, so I use a rolling pin, and my grandmother's crystal lives next to a random cracked mug, some Ikea candle holders and my Donna Akrey sculptures.  I don't quite have the shelf space to display my objets d'art appropriately.

For comparison, here's a photograph from 2008, taken at 1:52 am:

Sunset-ish down at river-level, but up on the Dome above town it would have been even brighter.  The settings on the camera actually make it look darker than it was.

I was more diligent back in December, when experiencing my first winter solstice in Dawson.  I didn't manage to take a photograph every hour like I planned, but did get a few.  This is 10:18 am on December 21, 2010, before the sun was up:

I had to dress like this to go outside to take photographs:

It was only -31 outside--cold enough but not too bad.  At 12:36, the sun was just above the hills south of town:

And then the sun was pretty much set by by 4:36 in the afternoon, although the roses that Ben brought for me kept things cheery inside:

Looking at these dark photos it helpful for perspective: I shouldn't really wish these long summer days away, because once they're gone, there is a long succession of long winter nights to follow.  It's the balance and cycle that keeps it tolerable--and being able to go Outside and get away from it every now and again.  Going to the beach in January--even if it wasn't a tropical beach as such--cures a lot of things.

Botanical Beach in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park on Vancouver Island was chilly enough to require toques and scarves, but it was still fabulous.  And lovely to see the family--that's my brother, his wife and their baby-in-a-backpack watching the waves.

Fighting Off the Cold

My winter gear is a motley collection of old ski stuff and handknits, and most of it is pretty inadequate when the temperature really drops like it did last week.  My feet are consistently and comfortably warm--but that's because last winter I shelled out and bought a proper pair of winter boots, which are rated to -40.  I am determined to keep upgrading, and to that end I bought an absolutely hilarious but totally wonderful pair of mittens.  They are huge:

They fit overtop of the handknit-mitt-and-store-bought-liner combo that I usually rock:

They definitely reduce my hands to flippers--I have no dexterity whatsoever and can barely open doors while wearing them--but they are oh so warm.  They aren't quite the $350 hand-beaded fur beauties I saw at the TH Christmas bazaar over the weekend, but for $25 the synthetic shearling is working just fine.  Now I just need to survive another three weeks until I can go shopping outside and get myself a parka.  I really like the looks of this one...