Here comes the ... snow?

I should reiterate, for those who think that all Canadians live in igloos, that I live on the west coast, where winds, unimpeded across the biggest expanse of ocean on the planet, bring mild and moderate temperatures all year round.  We get a lot of rain, but we don't get much freezing.

We get snow--occasionally.  There are winters when we get no snow at all.  Snow is a rarity: a pond or small lake freezing over is a wonder.

We are having a cold snap.  The *high* temperatures have been, and will be, freezing or below for almost a week.  We are having what TROC (The Rest Of Canada) refers to as "but it's a *dry* cold!"  It's common there: it's unusual here.

Thursday was the prototypical "dry cold."  Below freezing, but sunny.  Friday, though, was colder, still sunny--and with snow.  Mostly *light* snow, to be sure, and not enough to stick on the ground except in the cracks in the sidewalk (although there was a brief time when the snow was getting pretty heavy).  But it was falling out of a not-quite-completely-clear but definitely-*patches*-of-blue sky.

(I've now got blinds on my windows.  The windows are double-glazed, but still allow some cold to seep through.  The blinds, when closed, definitely reduce the heat transfer.  But, even though it's very cold right now, I still find that I am keeping the blinds open as much as possible, even before the sun comes up [which means the-second-best-view-in-Port-Alberni is not quite as impressive as usual].  I'm not sure why.  Am I still trying to convince myself that the-second-best-view-in-Port-Alberni is still worth living for, in spite of everything else?)