Well it is a *beautiful* day in my neighbourhood, and it's FRIDAY...so I am in good spirits today. The weather is cooling down which means autumn, though not "officially" over...is long gone. I'm a bit sad that I missed most of it coz I was stuck at home recovering from surgery. I missed the leaves changing colour which is one of my very favourite things about living in Canada. Just LOOK at this picture (click for the big beautiful larger version) of the trees changing colours in a Toronto park and tell me that it isn't one of the most beautiful sites ever! But now the leaves have blown off and the trees are bare and waiting for snow (we don't get a lot of it here in Toronto, and it usually doesn't snow much until mid-January).

There is something so amazing about the seasons changing, and I have grown very nostalgic about it in the last year or two. I think it's because I have considered living in Israel, a place where I will no longer be able to experience these things. The crisp scent in the air... the smell of wood burning in fireplaces at night.... the sight of my breath hanging in the air... and eventually the crunch of snow under my feet (I know, I know...Jerusalem occasionally gets snow, but it's SO not the same). If I moved to Israel I would miss these things so very much. I am a Canadian, through and through, and because of my time in Israel I have come to love winter that much more. I love the snow and look forward to big storms. I love the chaos of it all, and I love it when the city comes to a standstill because we are snowed in. No one goes to work, no ones goes to school.... but most go out and play. And then you come in to get warm and curl up on the couch with a blanket, hot chocolate and a movie. *sigh*

That's not to say I love everything about winter. I don't mind the cold, but wind really pisses me off. And the fact that the days are very short.... and often grey... I can get the winter blahs. Getting up and going to work while it is still dark out and then driving home again in the dark because the sun goes down so early, can really mess with your head. It can put me into a hibernation mode where all I wanna do is go home and crawl back into bed. I battle this problem by turning a lot of lights on when I am at home; not the most economical solution, but it helps give the illusion of daylight and really helps. And I make sure I go out plenty with my friends and enjoy all the joys and misery of winter together. :-)

See? It's possible to like winter. It's even possible to love winter. I can't wait for snow!!!!
Shabat Shalom.