Getting ready for Christmas North of Great Slave

I see on the TV that the Miramichi got hit with the kind of wet winter blast last week that hasn’t been seen in years.
Well, you can have it.
I’m not a big fan of the wet winter weather the Maritimes are infamous for.
Give me snow any day of the week, but that cold winter rain is a heartbreaker.
The only precipitation I’ve seen up here North of 60 since the middle of October has been the white fluffy kind. I’m not sure how much is on the ground, but unless there’s a sudden heat wave the chances are pretty good we’ll be having a white Christmas on the North Shore of Great Slave Lake.
Not that I’d mind some bare ground for a change. It’s not even winter yet and the novelty of a winter wonderland wore off for me quite a while ago.
But what is new up here lately is the cold. And when I say cold I mean bitter cold. Midday temperatures hovered just this side of – 40 C for most of last week.
But that didn’t keep people away from their Christmas shopping, no sir.
Cause if you live in Yellowknife and you need something for Christmas, you’d best get it yesterday. The ferry across the Mackenzie River is out of service for the season and the ice road isn’t in yet. People up here know from experience just how empty even the most generously stocked shelves can get in the weeks before Christmas while you’re waiting for the ice to get thick enough for the big trucks full of goodies to deliver their wares.
There’s no shortage of money up here in the Diamond Capital Of North America but no amount of money is gonna buy what can’t be gotten.
If you need the latest camera, computer game, fashion accessory or even a turnip or cranberries for Christmas dinner, it’s never a bad idea to buy these things weeks in advance, unless you want a lot of long faces on Christmas morning.
I’m proud to say that my shopping for Christmas presents is already done. For a change, I didn’t leave it all until Christmas Eve at 6 p.m.
Everything’s already bought for Christmas dinner too. The turkey’s in the freezer, the turnip is in the vegetable crisper and the frozen cranberries are ready to become cranberry sauce on Christmas morning, no matter how bare the store shelves get in the next 10 days.
It even warmed up to –25 C today. All in all, I’d say things are pretty good.
Christmas can be a stressful time, but I’m sure looking forward to this one.
No matter where we are I think we can all use a little peace on earth and goodwill toward men.