The Funk

Well, it's that time of year again... the winter blues! I could blame Canada, which would be an easy scapegoat, but I think "the funk" (as I endearingly like to call it) will find you no matter where you are. Whether it's below freezing, snowing and I'm sliding around icy sidewalks - or just gray, rainy and blah (another of my favorite descriptive terms) - January and February are not my cup of tea!

My self-prescription? Lots of soup-making, baking, movie-watching, hot yoga, cuddling with Ben and Bosco ... and as of today, Vitamin D supplements, apparently a winter survival secret of Canadians.

The upside? Snow is beautiful! I've never been a big snow person, but it's growing on me. Case in point: a few weeks ago, after a frustrating ski day for me in Fernie, British Columbia, Ben and I suddenly found ourselves alone in a winter wonderland of the sort that I had only seen in ski movies.

It's these moments, when I realize I'm striding the side of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by pine trees ensconced in fluffy piles of snow, that all the cold and stresses melt away and I find myself thrusting off my skis and throwing myself into a powdery pile of the white stuff, laying down and soaking it all in. Or when I feel the thud of a snowball on my back as I'm coasting down a clear hill, only to turn to see Ben crouched down with a "catch-me-if-you-can" grin, and we take off after one another on skis and snowboard, feeling like kids.

It's True, Home is Where the Heart (and Family) Is!

I have been the ultimate blog slacker of late ... and the farther behind I got, the more daunting it sounded to catch back up. However my ever-helpful sister-in-law (thanks Jenny!) pointed out that it's not necessary to comb over every detail of the past few months, since our return from our epic roadtrip in September. Perhaps a photo highlight reel will suffice to cover our adventures (my birthday celebration, our new rental house, ski trips, hockey games, out-of-town visitors, hikes ... pretty much the usual stuff for us!) Stay tuned - I will try to do a future blog with a quick photo update :)

Oh, and did I mention that I am now working full time? I've joined the ranks of 9 to 5-ers at Ben's company, partly to counteract my growing restlessness and desire for more daytime social interaction, and partly to compensate for our travel expenses, past and future!

At the moment, Ben and I are happy to be back in Calgary with Bosco, but after 10 days of visiting with family and friends in Tennessee, it feels strangely quiet to be in a house with only the two of us. We are licking our wounds a bit after non-stop drinking and eating over the holidays, but what a fantastic trip home!

In spite of all the deeply stunning and dramatic scenery we've discovered in Western Canada over the past year, a short hike around the mountains in Chattanooga (pictured above) reminded me that Tennessee will always be the most beautiful place to me. There's something about the hills and valleys, the emerald green moss, willowy trees, humble mountain streams, and the limestone rocks that make my heart feel at peace.

It's funny how sometimes you have to go far away to discover where home really is. With talks of extending our contract here in Calgary, it may take us longer than planned to get back to Tennessee for good, but we are definitely looking forward to getting there!

On that note, a very happy New Year to all and I hope your holidays were full of joy and happiness!