Mumtaz’s birthday takes place in early January and we were in lockdown again. We decided that last year’s plan was successful so we duplicated it this year. Compare the photos and you will see what I mean.

Here is a photo that popped up in an archive. It is Mumtaz in her teens in Quebec City.

In Mid January, we experienced an epic snow storm … 50cm here in St. Catharines; most snow seen since we returned to Canada 22 years ago. We are quite smug in St. Catharines, we typically see 3 significant snow falls a winter and rarely more than 15-20 cms. By contrast, Fort Erie/Buffalo, around 1/2 hour from here, can expect several significant snow falls a year 2 – 3 of which will be massive city crushing events. As I write this, it looks like another 20-30cms will hit us towards the end of Groundhog Day; I guess we have had too many mild winters recently.