It's supposed to be officially winter today but strangely, the weather felt as if it's still Fall - nice and warm, albeit a little wet. It's always a pleasure to stroll around the area, in fact the serenity feels as if we're staying in some small village, which we really appreciate because it calms the mind and makes us feel more relaxed whenever we're out. And that's why we're out so often, whenever we can.

We had our own little version of 'Chinese thanksgiving' this afternoon with a dumpling lunch. It's the winter's solstice today, which officially marks the commencement of the winter season. While the occasion marks the darkest day of the year, it's also a distinct turning point, as we'll soon be moving towards longer days with the arrival of spring. Certainly, so long as we stay positive, there're really plenty to be optimistic about.

Today we celebrated the end of a very busy period by planning for the festive season's break, and the highlight was the advanced booking up to Whistler, the ski mountain that will host the Olympics outdoor events in February. Really can't wait, Girl's checking out what we could do up there already!

Out again, the usual happy route, stocking up on goodies. A quiet weekend.

An ongoing Canadian advert all bankers should watch many times over.

It's always nice to be prepared for winter, and Girl's got a nice set to keep the skin supple and the feet warm in the house as the temperature and humidity dip.

We took a short afternoon walk in the park today as usual, en route to our favourite supermart. It's fantastic to be able to hit the outdoors, thankfully I have a flexible schedule and the heavy workload is easing. The best thing is Girl's lovely Burberry-esque sports jacket arrived a couple of days back, with a few more additions to her winter wear collection now, warmth is all but assured!

The weather turned surprisingly 'warm' yesterday night, and all the snow of earlier days have turned into rain, and everything melted away this afternoon as the sun came out. Nowadays we take every opportunity we get to go out for strolls because people can feel lackadaisical or even depressed staying too long indoors during winter (so we read!), and with the temperatures going up again (it was 9degC just now), it felt very comfortable to be out and about. Eventually we went to stock up on more sweet potatoes (they call it 'jambo yam' in North America, and seems to be still in-season) at the supermart, hey those are delicious stuff, we love it!

It wasn't snowing as heavily in the early afternoon as it was in the morning, so we managed to go on a mile-long stroll. Indeed the whole neighborhood has been transformed by the snowfall, and it is a beautiful sight indeed. I think it'll look better in a week or two as the accumulation thickens, but we're already enjoying the white charm!

When we woke up in the morning the street in front looked just clear and dry, and there wasn't a hint of snow in the air. But right after breakfast, we were treated to a surprising snowfall performance. While there were tiny flakes in the air yesterday, we didn't expect snow would beginning to fall this morning, but it did!



And the snow just keeps coming! Suddenly the streets and cars are getting a white blanket! Hopefully there will be more accumulation later, we want to be out enjoying a lovely 'white stroll'!

The past two days have been really cold and overcast, and this morning we saw our first snow flakes. The temperature is hovering around freezing, so I think it will begin to snow more heavily in the next fortnight. The news footage of last year's winter showed really heavy snow, with buses and cars encumbered because the snow couldn't be cleared away from the roads, hopefully it won't happen this winter! We still managed to take a relaxing walk out to the grocer's, although now we need more heavy duty winter attire (I think Girl looks great in her Adidas Stella McCartney jacket, while I took on a Russian farmer look) to keep us cosy and warm. Indeed, the wind chill effect can drastically make one feel way colder (up north in British Columbia it's a scary -40DegC), and we wouldn't want any of that!

We woke up to another bright morning, feeling very glad to see sunshine in the room. It seems like the autumn wet spell is finally over, and while the air is very much colder (it's already -10degC up in the mountains, and here in the lower mainland we're very much at the freezing mark), at least the sun's out and the ground's no longer wet. We originally wanted to take a short post-lunch stroll around the neighborhood, but after checking the online flyer of a newly opened supermart nearby, we decided to walk the mile there because the deals are just too fantastic!

Talk about deals, prices for groceries here do fluctuate quite a bit, and different supermarket and grocery stores offer different prices, so comparative shopping is important (thankfully the big supermarts all have online weekly flyers!). Sometimes you can get really high-quality stuff at almost ridiculous prices, which makes it worthwhile to pay attention. Even prices of eggs can oscillate by a dollar per tray, so it makes sense to buy more during sale periods, and that was what we did today: we got 3 trays of eggs, Kettle chips, smoked oyster, and many more, and for the effort we managed to save more than ten bucks (which could total up to quite a bit by the end of the month, this month alone we already managed to save almost a hundred dollars through the deals, and it's still only the first week of December). Throw in the marvellous weather and serene scenery, the stroll wasn't actually an effort at all, it was pure enjoyment instead!












Our 'loot', easily enough to last us quite a while...

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Vancouver is its geography: the city is surrounded by alpine mountains, a naturally-protected sea lane that stretches out to the pacific, and lush temperate rainforests. All these make for a perfect coexistence between urban development and nature, which also means there're plenty of natural places for locals to escape the urban frenzy. We had an early lunch as we wanted to head out for a stroll to enjoy the sunshine! We were fortunate enough to be so close to the coast, and so we decided to visit Jericho Beach, which is just 2 bus-stops away from our place.

The walk to the beach was a highlight in itself (it was a very pleasant 15-minute stroll from Alma), because the weather wasn't as cold as we thought it would be, and it just felt so good to be in the sunshine! Also, as we maneuvered through the quieter lanes of the Alma neighborhood, we felt that the whole place actually resembles a small European village that is suffused with a very calming tranquility, it really made Jurong Point seem like a distant memory!








The beach was surprisingly quiet, given that it's a Saturday and the weather's great, but we thought it was just as well, because the whole place was a popular spot during summer for all sorts of water activities, so it was good to have the whole place literally to ourselves. Despite the cold, the whole area still seemed like summer never left, what with the sunshine, clear skies and rich blue waters (the max temperature was 5degC today but there was someone swimming in there!).




















As we moved further up the beach, we discovered that some parts of it are already beginning to freeze (you could see ice layers on the sand and logs!), so we were actually lucky to have come today, because the whole place may soon be filled with snow and it could be too hard and slippery to enjoy a nice stroll along the waters.







Although we actually walked for a good three hours, it was extremely refreshing to be out, taking deep breaths of fresh air and coming up close with nature, it really helped to clear our minds. And certainly, while the whole experience was free of charge, just being there already made us feel like a million bucks.

A huge slab of Alaskan silverbrite salmon, baked to perfection, you could literally see the fish oil ooze to the surface. How about that for dinner? :)

...as we found out, over a delightful dinner this evening.

After a busy spell I'm finally able to take a short break today, and fortunately the long period of rain has halted and the weather was glorious - bright sunshine, clear blue skies and crisp (albeit quite cold) air. We decided to make the best of the weather and take a stroll around the area, and then walk to the bank and sort out some usual admin matters.






We could already see the snow on the mountains from afar (aren't they gorgeous?), and I think it won't be long before we see snow in front of our doorsteps. The weather forecaster mentioned that a blast of Arctic air will soon blow our way, which means temperature will soon fall below freezing. I think it's time to seriously think of getting some ear muffs and more winter gear, it certainly ain't no fun when it gets too cold and you're literally freezing in your pants.








And to round off the delightful afternoon, we headed to the liquor store and got a 2007 bottle of Chianti wine, it was a surprise because they imported several brands, including one we bought when we were in the Tuscany region in Italy last year, can't wait to enjoy the delightful Chianti taste yet again!

This afternoon Girl tried her hand at making beef patties for a hamburger lunch, and it turned out super-delicious! Rather than using frozen pre-made patties, she used the fresh minced beef we bought yesterday and mixed it with onions and some sauces. And bingo, juicy beef patties which went well with ketchup, cucumbers, BBQ sauce and the soft wholemeal bread (which tasted better than the regular burger buns). And the best thing is the lunch didn't cost our pants, just three bucks and a little effort did the trick.