Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Snow Queen




Sweet Olivia was introduced to me as the Snow Queen; a title she took seriously. With her blonde hair and lovely coat and hat, she looked like a child from 18th century Russian aristocracy.
I was honoured as she held my hand while we skipped through the snow. We photographed amongst the trees, a neighbours winter garden, and around a sandstone castle. Alas, other stately duties called and I was dismissed with a wave of her hand and an 'I don't want to be photographed anymore'.
But no one can take away my 15 minutes of fame with the Snow Queen.

Warm Winter Place







Placencia..a very small town at the end of a very long and skinny peninsula on the SE shore of the country of Belize in Central America. For the geographically challenged, the country of Belize, with a population of under 300,000, is just below Mexico.

Wether walking or biking, even we friendly Canadians found it a pleasure to be offered a smile, a nod, or a hello as just the most casual, normal, and polite thing to do. Perhaps that's because no one is really in a hurry. Wherever one is going, it is still most likely to be there whenever one arrives. And, you don't have to go very far wherever you want to arrive!

Although the weather wasn't up to Placencian standards, (high overcast only reaching 75F), it was a wonderful reprieve from our annual Edmonton snow and chills. Whatever....the 'cold' weather did not affect our enjoyment of the fresh fish, fruit and veggies, jungle walks, or evening views from our balcony. The only sad part- I missed two hockey games with the guys. Upon return, however, none of the guys mentioned that they missed me! Hmmmmm!