When I left, it was autumn, and I had just finished the last of the raking. A light rain was falling on my way to the airport. When I arrived in Gothenburg, the grass was (and still is) a deep green. Many trees were holding on to their leaves. Now I’m back, and everything is white. What happened?

I shouldn’t complain. From what I heard (over and over again), I dodged a weather bullet, both here and in Sweden. It stormed in Edmonton, while I was basking in the balmy breezes of the Baltic. Historically, the weather in November in Gothenburg is rainy, windy, and often snowy. It rained my last day there, but all the other days were perfect. Mostly overcast and humid, but perfect for all the walking and sightseeing we did. Thank you Odin.

After staying up almost 24 hours travelling from Sweden to Edmonton yesterday, I am still a little crazed by the time change. Nevertheless, Maggie and I went for a walk in Whitemud Creek this morning. Pleasant and refreshing in every respect, and I gotta say…there’s nothing more jolly than a dog in the snow, or this particular dog in the snow. The sudden presence of the white stuff in my life has added to my discombobulation, but perhaps a little more sleep and the cruel slap of reality at work tomorrow will, in theory, put the mountain standard time back into my circadian rhythm.

Not that there’s anything wrong with getting up at 3:00 AM.

1:30 PM/9C