Jill Browne, from home and away

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

We have the opportunity for great outdoor skating here, and indoors too.

My favorites: Bowness Park for outdoors. You get on the lagoon and just go, it’s wide open, and there’s the pleasant smell of woodsmoke when they have the warming fires going.

Olympic Oval for indoors. Pretend to be an Olympic star!

One year, when I was living in Mission near the Holy Cross Hospital, it was so cold in February that the Elbow River was frozen and we skated almost to Glenmore. Wonderful way to see the city.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Home

Just realized I haven’t left the house today.  Winter can do that.  We had a brilliant day, but the sun comes up at 8:40 a.m. and goes down at 4:40 p.m.

You snooze, you lose.

But some people in the family got out for a skate on our local lake.  It’s an urban, man-made lake, but out there on the ice, it feels as natural as any other lake.

In years when the ice is very clear, I feel my toes tingling and my knees getting a bit rubbery skating  just a few feet above the cold black water.  And when the ice cracks, or moans, or hisses, or does any of those active ice things, I want to run for shore.

It’s silly really.  They only let us skate on the ice when it’s strong enough to hold the Zamboni!

Happy New Year,

Jill