Hockey Night in Canada

This afternoon we went with some friends to see the Surrey Eagles play hockey. It's our local team that plays in the arena where Anders has had skating lessons. It's the BCHL. We found out when Anders went to get some players' autographs after the game that most are grade 12 or just beyond. They looked really young. Which, they were.

There were two other families, all with kids close in age--so that was fun for them. We were the only ones from our group on time for the singing of O Canada and the 1st Period puck drop. Nils was actually pretty into the first part of the first period. He was standing on Beth's lap making all sorts of excited noises. They did fairly well, considering it was 2 1/2 hours, start to finish. The other hockey game they've been at was for one of the kids from youth group. So Anders was expecting to see him on the ice. But instead, Winger the Eagle helped make it fun. He thought it was pretty cool to give him a high five. And during the 1st intermission between periods, they had some young (like really young--not much older than Anders) kids doing a hockey game. During prayer time tonight Anders said that one of the things he was thankful for today was the "cute hockey kids."

But the Surrey Eagles lost. Blast those Pentincton Vees.

Super Bowl

The National Anthem is being sung as I type this (it's odd having kickoff be at 3:30 while it's still light out). It actually has a touch of nostalgia right now--I think it's the first time we've heard The Star-Spangled Banner since we've been here. And I don't know who the singer is, but she's doing a nice job (not a show-off type).

I honestly didn't know that the Super Bowl was going on until I was in the Sea-Tac airport last Monday (of course, it's always this time of year, so I knew it was coming). I knew the Packers were in the final four of course. But it's still hockey season up here, so I haven't seen much NFL coverage--not that I go looking for much of it--especially when it is still hockey season :) You know me well enough to know that I'm not fanatical about sports--but I have my moments where I enjoy them (I'm more about playing than watching).

The Super Bowl was always more about community for us than the game. We'd often be at someone's house. We had a few people over for lunch after church, but they didn't stay all the way through. Nate and Johanna might stop by later after getting some wedding preparations done. We're hoping they do; we enjoy their company, but they might also bring bratwurst to grill out (we've got ulterior motives, I guess). But hey, the Super Bowl isn't just about the game, now is it?

How's the Weather?

The most common question we get when people call us is: What's the weather like there?

Yes, we are north of the 49th parallel in the Great White North. But we're coastal, so the currents make a difference. We have had a bit of snow--it was at least 5 snowfalls in December and we've had a few more snowfalls this month. I haven't gotten the snow shovel out yet because the snow is fairly consistently gone within 24 hours. I haven't put the fleece liner into my winter coat. The coldest I've seen the car thermometer read is -3. Mind you it's Celsius, so that's like 26 Fahrenheit. The Celsius/Centigrade scale still doesn't register a whole lot in my mind (until I convert it into Fahrenheit), but I do like the fact that freezing is 0 and not a random number like 32. Anyways, most days hover around freezing. It's been as much from 4 to 8 degrees some days (40 to 48). We see people doing their daily jogging in shorts. I haven't wanted to one of those people who complains about how cold it gets, when this is very moderate compared to the Midwest (heck, it's almost tropical in comparison). But there are days I can't get warmed up (we rely on space heaters in our offices at church instead of turning the heat up during the week and I probably should dress warmer when I'm outside); but I think the coastal factor makes a difference in how the temperature feels.

That's enough of weather talk--but I wanted to give a picture of what it's like here, since that's what we get asked. Melted snow does freeze overnight, so there's ice on the roads in places, and sometimes there's a thin layer on it on ponds and other standing water. But we're still forced to ice skate indoors (as demonstrated by Anders in his third week in this round of skating lessons).

Our Backyard in November

So I took this picture today. Honest, I did. There's a few more blooms in progress, too. Mind you, it's a mum, which is a hardier, cold weather plant (our coleus has succumbed to the frost). But I'm still in awe that it's almost December and we have flowers in bloom outside.

For the record, the last few days have been around 6 degrees Celsius/Centigrade (that's about 43 Fahrenheit). We have had to scrape frost off the windshield a couple mornings. Last year this time (on Christ the King Sunday), the church had to cancel because of snow. So, we'll see what the winter brings. We're good either way.