Date: January 30, 2006
Weather: -35°C and Ice Crystals
Sunrise: 11:27
Sunset: 16:50

It has warmed up a little. Five degrees is not much, but it is a move in the right direction at least. The walk to work is a little more comfortable, but as usual, things have started to freeze by the time I get there. Typically it’s the nose and ears that are subject to the dangers of frostbite.

I find that I have adapted a $50 standard here, whereas I was used to a $20 standard. By that I mean that pretty much anything that you buy in the south will cost at least $20. If it doesn’t cost $20 then the little bit of change left over will jingle around in your pocket until, it too is gone. In the north – the $50 standard prevails. The items you can buy for $50 and still have some real cash left over are few. The frequency of the purchases is much less though, so it probably evens out. With the exception of groceries and a few essentials we bought before our furniture came, I don’t think we have spent much money at all. The folks at Visa and MasterCard won’t be happy with us at all!

Cheers!