NEW BEN AND JERRY'S FLAVOUR!

i love cheesecake ice cream.

in risk of sounding like bill bryson - 'alissa's notes on the great white north' - more snow observations. most people in wintry climates probably don't see the novelty in the snow stuff, but i love it.

the whole breaking and not stopping thing. i'm amazed at how many cars i see moving (sometimes frighteningly fast!) without their wheels actually TURNING...wheels still + car moving = not good.

everything seems to take one an other-worldly look covered in snow. bushes, planters, houses. i love the fact that everything looks, well, different than the other times of the year. maybe because i grew up in southern california where my house and yard looked EXACTLY the same pretty much every single day of the year? cars covered in snow may look cool, but uncovering them is a pain in the ass.

funny how the location of things like curbs, sidewalks, driving lanes, crosswalks changes in the snow. for instance, it doesn't really matter WHERE the curb on the corner actually is, the car just go around it where the snow ends, and if you are out walking, the corner you stop at is at the edge of the snow. curbs become invisible under lots of snow - trust me, i've tripped on my fair share. when you drive, you put your tires on the blank lines (hopefully snowless) on the road, regardless of where the lane actually is.

finally, i still can't get over the fact that this white stuff (currently about oh, 60cm deep?) will NOT MELT UNTIL MARCH. the ice on my roof is still there. after an hour or so of brushing and scraping i was able to get my ski racks on last night. i took it thru the car wash and there was still ice all over my car. don't they use HOT water in car washes here?

i think they need giant hairdryers to melt it all. if i ever do move here, and have a sidewalk, i will definitely buy a snowblower. there was an article and 2 letters to the editor in the local paper yesterday complaining about unshoveled sidewalks. it didn't stop snowing much for the past 3 days - and you don't *have* to shovel it until 24 hours after the snow stops...leaving many snowy sidewalks. i think it's kinda fun to walk thru, but my jeans get all snowy. :)