Winter on Salt Spring

Hi everyone,

Well, it snowed unexpectedly here last night, and was just beautiful. Looks like it'll mostly melt away with the sun today, but it sure feels like it's marked the beginning of winter.

Winter has often been spoken of negatively on the island - things slow down and there's not all that much to do. I felt this way when I lived here previously, but can't agree with it now.

The community offers all kinds of activities during the winter months. There's the movie theatre, art shows and our incredibly active theatre community's productions. There are indoor fitness centers, writing workshops at the library, art, yoga and wellness workshops all over the place. There are great restaurants - and in the winter you can get a usually get a table right away. At home we rent videos or play games as we always have, spend time cooking, reading and working on renovations or creative endeavors. We have people over for dinner parties, or venture out for appetizers and drinks with friends. I try to figure out what I'm missing from the city, and with the exception of our friends who still live there, some of the shopping centres and individual stores, I can't find anything.

And there is so much the island offers that Vancouver doesn't. For instance, I have been astonished at how much sunshine we get over here, even in the cold months. While it's brisk outside to be sure, we've still been enjoying forest and beach walks every weekend - even just walking our puppy around the neighbourhood feels like a satisfying nature walk.

Besides all that, the community really shines here in the winter. People lend a hand to folks who's power goes out or who have car troubles, charity Christmas sales are abundant, as are craft fairs selling the wares of local artisans. Everyone has a cheerful 'let's get through winter together' attitude.

As you might gather, I'm a big fan of Salt Spring year round.

Stay warm - N