A Canadian Winter

It's been a long, LONG time since I've been in a real Saskatchewan-style Canadian winter.
And I don't even think I can call this one a 'real' one, as it's been one of the mildest I've seen in my life. The photo above is from my first day here in January and it was nearly -30C... but now we don't even have snow (the photo below is from yesterday). However, rocking up from the Caribbean tends to make anything under 25C feel a little chilly.
Everyone here keeps asking me what the hell I'm doing here in the winter. It's not the time I usually choose to visit (even when I lived in Vancouver I normally tried to schedule my family visits in the summertime - there's a reason I left Saskatchewan and it is WINTER). This visit was not a regular one. Unfortunately, my grandpa was terminally ill and I came home to spend time with him before he passed away. I only got five days with him before he passed, but I am so, so glad that I got them and that he knew I came. I'm happy that I was living the kind of lifestyle that I was able to drop everything and leave for an undetermined amount of time - I know not everyone has that option.
This trip has been different than the others, and not just because of the reason I came. This is the first time I've come back from Roatan and not been itching to get back to the island after a week or two. In fact, I extended my time here in Canada by nearly a month. I didn't want to go back. I spent a glorious week in Vancouver, eating all the things, and another lovely lazy week in Saskatoon visiting old university friends. The rest of the time I've been in small town Saskatchewan with my family and friends, enjoying luxuries such as drinking water out of the tap, walking around safely at night and non-rotten vegetables at the grocery store. I'm headed back to Roatan in a couple weeks which will be interesting. I miss my friends a lot, and the diving. I can't wait to get back in the water. But I don't feel the pull that I usually do to get back there.
Lots of big changes are happening for me this year so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you need me I'll be over here eating sushi all day until I leave.

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