november is not my favorite month

.... november is probably second only to February as my least favorite month. it's cold, dark most of the time, and there's a good 3 months or more of full-blown, unrelenting, rotten winter staring me in the face. and the snow came early this year. the local kids were trick-or-treating in snowsuits. that 'true albertan' stuff sounds hilarious to a southerner, but it's not at all strange to a northerner.

the office where i work is in an industrial area, with a welding business across the street. often as i sit at my desk in the morning, there's a welder working across the street, in the dark, with the snow blowing around him. a wretched job that i wouldn't wish even on my ex-husband. but it's 'excruciatin' lovely', as Kipling might have said, to watch him. the hot blue light of the welding torch illuminates one side of all around him, with the rest in stark shadow, and the golden sparks shoot 10 or 20 feet away from him as he grinds the rough edges off the metal. i think of him as my morning wizard, conjuring up a light show and fireworks, and he takes some of the edge off the long, dark winter mornings for me.

Remembrance Day is this Saturday... Veteran's Day in the States. It was -30 degrees yesterday morning. it's warmed up more than 10 degrees, so we're thinking it'll be just balmy for the parade tomorrow. my dad served in the miltiary - voluntarily, as there's no conscription in Canada. so i always try to go to the service and parade, out of respect for him, even when the whole world doesn't seem to be at war.

lunch break over... must return to the paper mountain. keep warm, all.