Baby It's Cold Outside


That's our sliding glass dining room door. More specifically... the INSIDE of our glass dining room door. Which should paint a pretty frosty picture of just how cold - 49 C with the windchill is.

Nah, "cold" is not nearly descriptive enough.

Frigid.

Bitterly Glacial.

Frickin' Insane.

And because of Mother Nature's demented sense of humour, we endured not one, not two, no... not even three excursions into the Arctic blast. We ventured outside on four trips to the mall yesterday.

The first was at 10:00 am when Daughter and I went Christmas shopping. I took my van and Daughter took her car, since she had a six hour shift at Starbucks after shopping.

The second trip came at about 7:30 pm when Daughter called home after her shift to inform us her car wouldn't start. And since the mall was still open, the parking lot was way too crammed to even get close enough to boost her. So I simply picked her up and brought her home until the mall closed at 9:30.

The third trip occured at 10ish to hopefully find her little car accessible (luckily parked far enough away from the 24 hour Wal*Mart lot). But even though we could drive up nose to nose, her now Ice Cube On Wheels couldn't be persuaded to turn over even with a boost from the van.

Trip number four was taken at well past midnight to finally meet CAA who were running nearly three hours late. Sadly, even THEY couldn't get the poor thing going... so off it was towed to our local Canadian Tire.

Yep, it was quite a Saturday night alright...

And it's not even WINTER yet.

31 People would rather be commenting:

Cupcake Blonde said...

That sounds like the night from hell. And the picture of your door gave me a chill I can't shake. Brrrr. I love the slightly perplexed kitty wondering why she can't see out.

Kathy said...

I have to leave your blog now. It seems my laptop screen is icing up. I'll come back later when it thaws. In the meantime, I hope your temps rise to a balmy -28 and kitty can stop worrying you live in an igloo now.

Irene said...

I am appalled at all that ice inside you door. It must be impossible to open it now. That poor cat can't go outside. Well, you probably don't want her to anyway in that kind of weather. You people must be very tough and hardy to live under those conditions. incredible! How did the early pioneers manage? Obviously, they arrived in the summertime. I take my hat off to you, Maureen, for going out in it 4 times in one day.

Anonymous said...

I always thought Manitoba was situated below the arctic circle.

Maureen said...

Vegas Princess: Yeah, it was NOT fun, let me tell you. Good thing I have a very long warm down coat. I was just hoping Dakotah wasn't going to try to lick the door!

Kathy: Well, this cold front is spread over much of Western Canada, so we have at least another day and night of extreme weather ahead of us. At least our power is still on; unlike those out East...

The Finely Tuned Woman: Well, our door is our own fault... we have vertical blinds covering them most of the time and only open them in the summer. That's why I only discovered a few days ago that we forgot to close the outside panel of one side; now it is frozen and I have to wait until it thaws to try to close it. Hence the frost... And you're right about the Pioneers; I have no idea how they survived. At least we have heat and light. I also wonder how the heck any wildlife can live out there in this.

Be.Bart: I thought so too.... silly me!

Anonymous said...

I wondered about the door. Figured it was like my bathroom window which is hidden behind the curtain. I opened the windows (storm included) to vent but forgot to close the storm window and have a similar problem. I have to wait until its a wee bit warmer to try to close it. I don't know about you but I'm sick of the cold and can't figure out why I live in the tundra.

JoJo said...

Do you have enough Canadian Tire Dollars to cover it? lol

I'm thinking you guys need to work on your drafty windows too!

AshPup said...

oh man, that looks inviting. here we are dealing with a "cold snap" too- but i'll spare the details as i can hear your eyes rolling already! my blood is thin, i really hope we can get up to a balmy -30 or so by this time next week!
i hope the car is ok, what a pain at this time of year!

Babs (Beetle) said...

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! Minus WHAT?!!!
We get -2/3 wind chill factor and we think we're freezing!

I thought it was your freezer door.

I would NOT go out!

Ed & Jeanne said...

Good thing for global warming, huh?

Meg said...

Were you able to score any of that good coffee to keep you warm?

Maureen said...

Jen: Ha! Glad to hear I'm not the only one to forget to close a window... yup, it's gonna be a loooong winter alright.

JoJo: No way we had enough Canadian Tire dollars... but daughter got some back when she paid the bill (which trills a teenager to no end)!

Ashley: Hope you still own some warm clothing. You're gonna need it! Can't believe we'll see each other in just a week!

Babs: It certainly does take a helluva lotta willpower to climb out of a nice warm waterbed when the radio broadcasts the morning weather report nowadays.

VE: Exactly what Daughter's friend said today!!

Prefers Her Fantasy Life: Oh, you'd better believe it!

Em said...

That is insanely cold!

Swubird said...

Wow! What a day. I get grumpy if I have to go to the grocery store, let alone four trips to the mall. Our mall is so packed you'd have to park a half a mile away. And the people driving around trying to find a parking space are like cut throats and thieves. They will cut you off, nearly drive you down, and block the isle for thirty minutes just to get a spot to park. I'm afraid it's the time of the year that brings out the best and the worst of us all.

Happy trails.

Anonymous said...

Man... that's incredible! I have never seen something like this forming on the inside of a window, here in Chicago it's 7 degrees but I have none of that! Stay warm!

Anonymous said...

I hope your cat doesn't put it's tongue on that window; it'll end up like Flik in "A Christmas Story". You may have to call the fire department. ;)

NH Yocal said...

Holy smokes. That looks soooo cold. I am getting chills sitting here.

BTW, love your blog look!

NH Yocal said...

BTW, your black kitty is so cute. He looks like mine!

JD at I Do Things said...

Oh, holy crap! I'm freezing just looking at that picture. And here I was complaining because it was around 14 F here yesterday.

Poor Daughter's car!

JD at I Do Things

Bruce Johnson said...

Reminds me of the time when I was a wee-tot in the Dakotas and we got snowed in with a 5 day blizzard in APRIL. Our house was totally covered in a snow drift and we had to dig our way out of the house. I don't really miss those days that much.

Maureen said...

Em: Yes, yes it was. It has warmed up a bit... it's only going down to a balmy -33C tonight!

Swubird: It is indeed. Which is why I like to get there as soon as the mall opens. We get a spot without the hassle... then I am happy to wander about the warm mall. Next time, we'll just have to go out and warm up the car every few hours!

Chicago Cancer Treatment: Yeah, it was quite a sight. Today I smartened up and went outside and was able to close the outside door most of the way. By pulling back the verticals and directing the floor vent to the door, the frost / ice has melted off... Doh!

Nuke Dad! Ha! That's EXACTLY what I was thinking (and actually telling her NOT to lick it). THE best Christmas movie ever!!!

Melinda: Aw thanks... Yeah, it is so spooky to see another yellow eyed black cat; I have seen so many "Dakotahs" on other people's sites!

JD: Well, Daughter is happy to have it back, that's for sure. Now she just has to get her money back on a two week old battery that had a five year warranty!

Bruce: Oh, yeah. Been there. Done that. I've had about three instances where the snow has gone up to the roof. Most years we get drifts well over six feet... but some March's we get that blizzard that just dumps on us. It means literally digging out a tunnel from your front door just to get out. What is really freaky is opening up the curtains and just seeing blinding white...

Anonymous said...

Did the cold kill the battery? Poor DD, and poor you!

But wait - you mean people actually go outside in those teperatures? I thought bits of you started dropping off when it got that cold!!

I hope you have a back-up generator!!

Anonymous said...

Wow. I thought for sure you were going to explain that the furnace broke. Or something.

Damn.

Jeff and Charli Lee said...

Uh oh... looks like you need to seal that puppy off! I just put plastic over my sliding glass door the other night and it made a HUGE difference in the temp of my dining room. In the meantime, keep your tongue away from it.

Jo Beaufoix said...

Blimey that does look cold. I can't believe that's inside. Wow. And Sam had fun by the looks of him. Did you get him that sleigh? And yay for the buying of gifts for loved ones, hee hee.

Maureen said...

Jay: Hah! "bits dropping off" is a great mental image... You just have to learn to dress for it. Yes, the cold did the battery in, but as it turns out, it was a bad battery in the first place (and only two weeks old!)

Cardiogirl: Oh, thank the Gods it wasn't THAT. Our furnace kicked the bucket LAST year.... brrrr!

Jeff: Well I finally had an epiphany and ventured outside to close the outer door (Doh!) It has helped immensly; now most of that frost is gone. But I caught one of the cats licking it this morning... luckily, she wasn't stuck ;)

Jo: Poor Sam didn't get the sleigh. Which is just as well; it's far too cold for kittens outside anyway ;)

Lady Banana: It's really amazing what you get used to. During the Fall as the temperatures drop, you start to complain. But once it gets below - 30, it all just feels the same -- excrutiatingly unbearable.

Anonymous said...

Damn! That's cold. What hellish corner of the world do you live in?

Maureen said...

Rhea: We are in a place that's even colder than Siberia; Winnipeg, or as we lovingly refer to it most months: Winterpeg.

Janet said...

Holy crap, Maureen! Are you supposed to have that much ice inside your house? I think not!!

Maureen said...

Janet: No, no we're not... but at least now it has thawed. Mostly.

Irene said...

Hi Maureen, I have managed to write a posta nd am about to write another one. The evil rpoviders will not win this battle. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon, because I miss you guys and want to read your posts and comments. I keep hanging in there with grit and determination.

Much love, Irene

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