spring flowers and good food

[Sheilajeanne]

I spent a winter in Edmonton. In January and February, nighttime temperatures often dipped to -40 (which is the same on both the C. and F. temperature scales!) and daytime highs were -30 to -25. It was a really bad winter - we broke a record for snowfall, and nearly broke one for the number of days below -25. What saved us was a chinook. They are common in Calgary but rare in Edmonton. In the space of 24 hours, the temperature went from -30 to just above freezing, then plunged back down again, accompanied by freezing rain, then a blizzard!

The street I was living on was not very high on the priority list when it came to plowing. As a result, the snow got packed down, and when they did plow it, they weren't able to get down to bare pavement. Then, spring came, and that layer of snow melted into about a foot of slush, which would refreeze when the temp. dropped at night. Both my landlady and I got a lot of exercise pushing cars during this period, both ours and the neighbours!

I was all too happy to move back to the Banana Belt of Southern Ontario when spring came! I left during the last week of May. Saskatchewan had just had a major spring blizzard. Somewhere there's a picture of me wearing shorts, T-shirt and sunglasses, standing in a very big snowdrift! 

Life in the Canadian prairies ain't for the faint of heart!

Edited July 8 by Sheilajeanne

[Johanna]

It's funny how the whole world uses the metric system and Celsius (or is it centigrade?) and we Americans don't have a clue past 0 is freezing (32 for us).We can't calculate kilometers or meters. We automatically think a kilometer is less than a mile and a meter is more than a yard. We sorta know liquids because 2 liters is about a half gallon. If you ever smoked dope, you know there is about 28 grams in an ounce. We Americans can't picture a gram when we are looking at a bag of potato chips or a jar of nuts. We buy butter by the pound, gas by the gallon, and it's 737 miles from here to the beach in Charleston SC. My husband measures to 10,000 of an inch at his work, and he probably knows the metric equivalent, but my brain just says "really tight". I wonder how long America will hold out using the Imperial system (that we inherited from a country that has converted to metric) or if we'll ever get the world to switch back?

All I know is that it's really cold at Northmount's house, probably less summer than my cousin has in Montana, and even colder. And the roses are beautiful.

[toxo]

4 hours ago, Johanna said:

It's funny how the whole world uses the metric system and Celsius (or is it centigrade?) and we Americans don't have a clue past 0 is freezing (32 for us).We can't calculate kilometers or meters. We automatically think a kilometer is less than a mile and a meter is more than a yard. We sorta know liquids because 2 liters is about a half gallon. If you ever smoked dope, you know there is about 28 grams in an ounce. We Americans can't picture a gram when we are looking at a bag of potato chips or a jar of nuts. We buy butter by the pound, gas by the gallon, and it's 737 miles from here to the beach in Charleston SC. My husband measures to 10,000 of an inch at his work, and he probably knows the metric equivalent, but my brain just says "really tight". I wonder how long America will hold out using the Imperial system (that we inherited from a country that has converted to metric) or if we'll ever get the world to switch back?

All I know is that it's really cold at Northmount's house, probably less summer than my cousin has in Montana, and even colder. And the roses are beautiful.

As a soon to be 76yr old Brit, I was forced to change after getting used to imperial. Probably a bit more au fait with metric than you guys but I still get confused sometimes but no-one can deny it's easier to mess with units of 10 than it is with 12 etc.

[fredk]

When I moved to the UK as youngster I no sooner got used to the £ s d of British money when they went and changed to decimal £ p!

afaik the US Army in Vietnam used kilometers as a measure of distance; 1 km = 1 'click'

My '78 Cadillac, built in New Jersey, had 2 different metric bolt threads (fine and coarse) and 2 different US threads (UNC and UNF) plus a few other odd threads

[Sheilajeanne]

Canada changed to metric when I was in High School As a result, here's how most Canadians of my generation measure. This is NOT a lie - I have only a very vague idea of what my weight is in kilograms but would have to divide by 2.2 to really be sure, and have NO clue how tall I am in cm.!

 

[Darren8306]

10 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

I spent a winter in Edmonton. In January and February, nighttime temperatures often dipped to -40 (which is the same on both the C. and F. temperature scales!) and daytime highs were -30 to -25. It was a really bad winter - we broke a record for snowfall, and nearly broke one for the number of days below -25. What saved us was a chinook. They are common in Calgary but rare in Edmonton. In the space of 24 hours, the temperature went from -30 to just above freezing, then plunged back down again, accompanied by freezing rain, then a blizzard!

The street I was living on was not very high on the priority list when it came to plowing. As a result, the snow got packed down, and when they did plow it, they weren't able to get down to bare pavement. Then, spring came, and that layer of snow melted into about a foot of slush, which would refreeze when the temp. dropped at night. Both my landlady and I got a lot of exercise pushing cars during this period, both ours and the neighbours!

I was all too happy to move back to the Banana Belt of Southern Ontario when spring came! I left during the last week of May. Saskatchewan had just had a major spring blizzard. Somewhere there's a picture of me wearing shorts, T-shirt and sunglasses, standing in a very big snowdrift! 

Life in the Canadian prairies ain't for the faint of heart!

I lived in both Edmonton and Calgary for years. I still drive (about 1000 miles) 1500 km or so south to visit family in Edmonton. The winters here are like the ones in Edmonton, but are long and cold.

 

I love winter, and the summer heat, while a treat, is only good in short bursts. Currently we are at (61F) about 16C, and if I don't hurry up and get my run in early, it'll just get warmer.

 

 

[Handstitched]

When making belts, I use inches,  but I also use millimetres  and centimetres for a lot of other things I make , I'm just weird .

In the 'olden days' going from one country  town to the next  would be a  ' 2 can or 3 can trip, ..... as in beer  lol  , can't do that these days

@Northmount not sure what that plant is but it looks lovely . 

i was born in the uk and it snowed every christmas as a kid, i miss that .

our summers here in Oz at the peak   are often around the high 40's , and even tops 50 degrees c on occasion , as in Celsius   

[Northmount]

5 hours ago, Handstitched said:

not sure what that plant is but it looks lovely

It's a climbing rose, but I haven't tied it up so it's getting kind of droopy.

 

5 hours ago, Handstitched said:

i was born in the uk and it snowed every christmas as a kid, i miss tha

We usually have snow, but many years it is a brown Christmas.  We have SW winds called Chinooks that come in over the mountains.  As the air descends about 3000 ft, it warms up 20C to 40C.  A roaring Chinook can melt a foot of snow overnight.  Wind gets pretty bad sometimes.  Dec 31, 2018 Hwy 22 about 2 hours SSW of Calgary.  Lots of semi-trailer roll-overs in this area as well as on Hwy 2, due south of Calgary.

What the sign is supposed to like like.

 

 

[chuck123wapati]

On 7/7/2025 at 10:21 PM, Johanna said:

It's funny how the whole world uses the metric system and Celsius (or is it centigrade?) and we Americans don't have a clue past 0 is freezing (32 for us).We can't calculate kilometers or meters. We automatically think a kilometer is less than a mile and a meter is more than a yard. We sorta know liquids because 2 liters is about a half gallon. If you ever smoked dope, you know there is about 28 grams in an ounce. We Americans can't picture a gram when we are looking at a bag of potato chips or a jar of nuts. We buy butter by the pound, gas by the gallon, and it's 737 miles from here to the beach in Charleston SC. My husband measures to 10,000 of an inch at his work, and he probably knows the metric equivalent, but my brain just says "really tight". I wonder how long America will hold out using the Imperial system (that we inherited from a country that has converted to metric) or if we'll ever get the world to switch back?

All I know is that it's really cold at Northmount's house, probably less summer than my cousin has in Montana, and even colder. And the roses are beautiful.

this reminds me of a story. My brother, father-in-law, and son were going to Canada on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As they crossed the border everything became metric and the son, 20ish, seeing a speed limit sign in KPH asked him how long it would take to get to the lake , thinking he couldn't possibly know. George was stymied for a minute, but then realized he could use his speedometer to calculate because it was in mph and kph lol.  His son never caught on to the trick the whole time. 

23 hours ago, Northmount said:

It's a climbing rose, but I haven't tied it up so it's getting kind of droopy.

 

We usually have snow, but many years it is a brown Christmas.  We have SW winds called Chinooks that come in over the mountains.  As the air descends about 3000 ft, it warms up 20C to 40C.  A roaring Chinook can melt a foot of snow overnight.  Wind gets pretty bad sometimes.  Dec 31, 2018 Hwy 22 about 2 hours SSW of Calgary.  Lots of semi-trailer roll-overs in this area as well as on Hwy 2, due south of Calgary.

What the sign is supposed to like like.

 

 

[chuck123wapati]

On 7/7/2025 at 8:21 AM, Handstitched said:

@chuck123wapati I do hope  things are improving for you and yours and your daughter is getting better 👍 

I take dad to the local hospital every 2 days to get his dressings changed, and the nurses keep telling me his op site continues to improve.   Being in the bush ,We have a video conference  with plastic reconstruction nurse  at the major hospital in Perth every 2 weeks  , and is looking (cautiously) optimistic  for him .  

Just about to make a pot of soup using ham bone leftovers , it's really cold here atm  , 

You take care friend , 

HS

Things are great here, she is well again and no holes anywhere to patch up lol.  i'm wondering why they couldnt teach you to care for his dressings  as you are so far from help? That is just crazy. They taught me  then when my daughter went back in because of the fistula they had me teach two new nurses how to do the dressings. 

 Today is the hottest day of the year so far it is 94, but my bbq lid thermometer setting in the sun reads well over 175 I could cook in it without any fuel. I fired my first real piece of pottery this morning made from clay I harvested in the wild. i am now the proud maker of an earthenware pot you couldn't sell for three bucks and only spent two weeks of my time and energy lol. But I've proved to myself it can be done and for little money, i can have another paying hobby. I think i'll make weird raku pot pipes and sell them over the border in communist Colorado lol. 🙂 The wife made chicken noodles yesterday, my grandmother's recipe, Pressure cooked gizzards and hearts, cooked till they melt in your mouth, and homemade noodles fresh not dried mmmmmmmmm......... 

You take care now and stay warm!!!

Chuck