Minus forty two is damn cold!

Photo courtesy of Vangruvie on Flickr

As a born and raised West Coast girl, I didn't even know what to pack for my first trip to the prairies. Ugg boots, DC snowboarding jacket, warm gloves, scarves and tuques. I managed in Saskatoon. I was cold, but I could handle it. We jumped in a cargo van and drove to Regina, where it got a little colder. Yesterday, we flew into Winnipeg. Walking to the restaurant for dinner at 9pm after we finally got settled in the hotel, I actually thought that I was going freeze to death. Mark and I were both near tears (which would have frozen on my face had I actually cried, I'm sure!) I wouldn't have been surprised if my nose and ears had fallen right off. I certainly had no idea what that kind of core chilling cold would be like until I felt it. Thankfully, we are staying in one of the nicest hotels in the city. I'm on the 29th floor and in a city this flat- you can actually see the entire city from up here. Looking out this morning, it's beautiful.

I'm not sure if I knew what to expect of life on the road. It's busy and exhausting and I feel a little disconnected from regular life. Despite having my laptop and blackberry, and though I am technically connected in so many ways, I kind of feel like we're on a whole other planet. E-mails and notes from friends are collecting in my inbox, which I have loved reading but have had no time to respond to. Almost any down time is spent doing paperwork or organizing for the next showing or entering an order. In fact, this is the first chance I've really had to sit down and write anything personal at all. In truth, the whole experience has been super fun despite the intensity. Meeting new people, visiting new places. It's all very exciting. Glamourous at times, and completely the opposite at others. It is HARD work. There's no doubt about that. I have cuts and bruises and probably some new muscles. Let me tell you, hauling bags (especially for the biggest season of the year) is no easy task, least of all at the end of a long day.

Today will likely be our longest and most strenuous day of the week. We're both entirely beat, but we know that a plane will be waiting to take us back to Vancouver tomorrow, back to our own beds, back to regular life. At least for a little while.