riders on the snowstorm

if i learned anything this year, is that first there are some very cold days. 4 or 5 consecutive days last week at somewhere around -15 to -18C (not considering the windchill factor, which some people don't ~believe in, though i tend to. cause yeah, when your face is burning, you've got to believe in something).
then, it comes after dark, stealthily. three times now the snow has started after dark, though you know, dark takes up most of the day these days. anyway, it will happen that i look out and haaaaa! all is snow-covered already. this was how it was on saturday night, around midnight.
and it was tiny snowflakes, but persistent. this time it kept going for an entire day, which built up to about 30 centimeters on the ground. very bright and dry. now starting to settle into freezing, and crunchy underfoot.

i was advised to clean my balcony and in front of my door right away, lest the snow freezes hard there and i get blocked inside. i was sitting up in bed and figuring out whether i have provisions for 6 more days (this friday it's supposed to be 0C, so i thought that would thaw it.) but then of course, of course, i went and cleaned it. with my neighbours' shovel.

the thing is, i would have stayed in, but these days i kinda have to go out every day - a girl has a life. i went out, and...everything was functioning. a merry, bright sunday at noon, people were unburying their cars and porches, in a very matter-of-fact way. the road was mostly cleared. no problems with transport (well ok, luckily i don't have to take any buses. i think bus schedules might have suffered a bit...). in the neighbourhood and downtown, people everywhere in the street, like on a perfectly normal day. which it was, just extra white. it bugs me that because of the white-on-white thing i can't take clearer pictures.

daylight is brighter and does seem to last longer because of the snow.
it kept being very cold (-12) and snowing at the same time, which i thought was weird. then it stopped snowing and got colder. of course. apparently -22 as i type, she typed braggingly. why am i bragging that it's cold, instead of ruing the day i moved to quebec? not sure. maybe the fact that now i have a "real" winter coat -finally- makes it bearable? it was about time though. i have good boots since last time too. the hat and gloves situation is kind of dire, i don't know...
yeah, dammit, lesson learned: take a backpack instead of a handbag when you know you'll be doing grocery shopping; otherwise you end up holding a full bag in severe cold, and, with crappy gloves on, on a 10-minute walk, this can have unpleasant effects.

at night, the glittering takes my breath away. it's like piles of jewels, i swear. this is still very clean, almost fluffy, pure-looking snow.

the size and multitude of these piles never ceases to amuse me. (i seem to have never EVER seen anything like this in cluj or bistrita, though there is big snow there too, occasionally. what happens to that snow?? does it just melt faster?)

but i mean at least these days there's no lack of conversation to go around. everybody has their personal stories of wonder re: cold weather. mine is, i have no idea in retrospect how i survived the winter of 2010-2011. 

i somewhat wish i were one of the people who see snow for the first time up close, though. hah, it would freak me out so bad!

my street after midnight, dec. 15