You probably wouldn't have seen it

So there I was yesterday, out in -20 C weather with my camera. Mostly standing on ice. Surrounded by a bunch of kids zooming around on skates as they waited to visit with Santa. Everybody seemed to be having a good time. You can see the link to the photos on my community association blog page here.  Even I got to visit Santa, thank you Mara for clicking the shutter button. Since you probably won't have followed the link and look for the promised photo, here it is.

I was a weenie this morning, bailing on the Sunday swim. It's -24 outside, and I can see one of the nearby trees moving a bit. It's going to be a good day to stay inside and work on inside projects, where it's warm inside, perhaps giving Celina a lap for a long time, inside.

Meanwhile, at oh dark thirty because I slept poorly, I'm up drinking coffee and browsing. Looking for other people on VERO to follow because they post interesting photos. If you follow me on Instagram and wonder why I haven't updated recently, migrate to VERO and look for me there. Once a day. Looking at other blogs, the few that remain. 

Browsing the news headlines, in a horrified sort of way. I laughed at one Facebook meme: ALBERTA: 0 Days without being a national embarrassment. So true. This is what happens when we let the inmates run the asylum.

Overheard at the Skate with Santa event, a theory that Smith was actually surprised to win the leadership of the UCP. She had entered the race only to raise her profile and increase her radio show ratings. She still talks like she's on the radio, trying to stir people up by being controversial. That's instead of trying to govern effectively, which she doesn't have a clue how to do. 

She is from the whackadoodle fringe of the conservative spectrum, believing any fool thing that appears to vindicate their mindset, where it appears the main thing is to own the Libs. I see it as spill over from the nonsense happening in USA. 

I'd like to think that she will split the conservative side of the spectrum back to where it was before Kenney came along, with mostly mainstream Conservatives in a clump a bit right of centre, and a fringe way off to the right. Kenney saw that Smith and her Lake of Fire split the vote and let the NDP govern, which was absolutely the worst thing that could ever happen, and he was determined that it wouldn't happen again. (Anything bad that has ever happened in Alberta is the NDP's fault, or so they think.) So he welded the the two parties together, after Smith and Prentice botched the merger, kind of like Frankenstein's monster. 

Except they really are two parties, with entirely different outlooks. Let's hope that split happens again before the next election, though even without the split, the NDP are doing well in the polls. When people in ever so blue Calgary Glenmore, one of the safest Conservative seats in Alberta, which pretty well overlaps Calgary Heritage for federal elections, which is where PM Harper was elected in one of the safest seats in the House of Commons, are considering voting NDP because they're seen as more sensible, then your party has a problem. We can but hope.

Of the Day

Driftwood

Let's go with a nice beach scene, which might take your mind off the deep freeze outside.

Flower

Peony

Tombstone

River Reflections

Celina and Film

We are convinced this is a solar powered cat.

Lynx