What's happening in your world?

[Nuytsia]

That's still shorter than my winter days. I'm about as far south as one can go in Canada, and our shortest winter day is about 7 1/2 hours long.
Farseer: Schools of the Air are real? I always thought that was a myth they told us to make us feel better about going to a rural high school!

Whoa I was actually surprised to find out our shortest day is 9 hours! (I had to look it up!). We are sort of in the mountains where I live so unfortunately actual winter sunlight (as opposed to daylight) hours are shorter for us....

Heehee it never occurred to me other countries might think of school of the air as a myth. I guess there are probably a million things I think are myths that are true and even more things vice versa!
I suppose you also think drop bears are a myth!

Farseer didn't you say the aircon was on all day (and night?) just a while ago? And now you're freezing at 30C? (Hey you haven't still got the aircon going have you, that would do it )
But seriously, I hate to think how hot it was for you to have to have the aircon on if you're cold at 30 !

I'm directing all people who complain how cold Tasmania is to Lord Punctual's post above! I particularly like '-25 is cold but it isn't that cold'
Tee hee!!! It's all relative isn't it. It's amazing how you CAN acclimatise. I had to handle temps above 30 (often far above) pretty well every day for a couple months in Perth, and just took it for granted, but now I feel hot when it gets over 25 !!!! Granted, aircons were on pretty well everywhere you went in Perth, but here I only used our aircon a few times for a few hours at a time here in summer.

[Lord Punctual]

You're probably going to find this hilarious, but I pretty much feel that I have to have the air conditioner on all summer long in order to survive my Canadian summer. That, or hide in the basement. Good ol' basement.

My sister and brother-in-law lived in the Northwest Territories (interesting fact - it's not actually the westernmost of our northern territories) a few years ago, and it regularly got into the -50s and -60s without counting wind chill. That was also far enough north for there to be 24 hour darkness in the winter months. I can honestly say I've never experienced that kind of cold, but I'm told it's cold enough for tears to flash freeze on your eyelashes if you aren't careful. (Terrifying, eh?)

[Nuytsia]

Hehehe to tell you the truth, we certainly wouldn't even HAVE an airconditioner if it wasn't for the fact the heater we have does both (heat pump/aircon). In Australia they don't sell heat pumps that don't also cool. (AFAIK). I grew up in Melbourne which is quite a bit warmer than where I am now and we never had an aircon when I was growing up. I felt like a wuss for using the aircon here!!!!! (Sorry Environment!)

Hehehe -60s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All I can say is: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's happening in my world: I went to plant the rest of my garlic today (better late than never) and something has EATEN chunks out of the cloves that I had on a table just outside the back door/front door (fun fact I only have one door). WHAT eats raw garlic? Suspect No.1 = possum. But really, RAW garlic????
Garlic appears to be super easy to grow , as the first time I tried IT DIDNT DIE! It didn't grow amazingly, but ok. I actually had something to eat at the end, which is more than I can say for almost every other thing I've tried so far.

Also happening in my world: Something is stalking me in my bed. I had a shower the other morning and discovered five tiny red bites on my shoulder. The next night I woke up with a really sore toe and that's red and a bit swelled up. I had thick socks on! WTF! Went through all my bedding but no sign of the attacker. Suspect No.1 = some kind of spider? Hoping it's (a) gone outside or (b) been squashed by my rolling around in the night.

[Farseer]

Your School of the Air sounds like it would combine some of the best features of Home and, er, regular Schooling. The individual attention and pacing of home schooling, combined with the the structure and educational outcomes of traditional school.

A very accurate assessment !

I have to say, I think they might have been pulling your leg about the frozen meat barbecue.

Hardly surprising when we tell 'foreigners' that windmills are giant fans for cooling down the cattle and drinking troughs for stock are, in fact, outdoor bathtubs !

I spent most of the evening outside with my Cadets without a jacket on. Of course, I'm pretty cold tolerant but we were all outside in our shirt sleeves.

Am not sure what Cadets could mean in this context? Please explain (sorry, Nuytsia, I couldn't help slipping a Pauline in there !).

I have also seen the term shirt sleeves used here before (ah, yep, it was Manephelien who earlier said that it was "shirtsleeve weather" earlier in this thread). I am assuming that, by this, you both mean you wear a t-shirt with short sleeves? In Australia we would just say we were wearing a short-sleeved shirt or a long-sleeved shirt.

[Lord Punctual]

Nuytsia: I eat raw garlic but I'm almost certain that I'm not to blame for your garlic vandalism. Your down under animals must be way tougher than ours here in Canada, because nothing has ever eaten my planting garlic, ever. (Well, except my father once, but he didn't realize it was for planting.)

I hope it was a spider and not bed bugs. We're having a bed bug epidemic in North America right now. *shudders* Luckily I am bed bug free for the time being.

--

I'm an instructor at a Sea Cadet corps. (A seamanship instructor, in fact.) In this context, cadets are teenagers that we dress up in strange hats and teach naval knowledge to.

In ones shirtsleeves refers to wearing a shirt that would normally be worn with a jacket over it. So, if one is wearing a suit and takes off ones suit coat or blazer, then one is in his or her shirtsleeves. In our case, it means we were outside without our uniform tunics on on account of the warm weather. (Also because we were building a gyn, which is a giant tripod for lifting things, and that tends to damage ones uniform.)

At least, that's the Canadian usage of the word. It might be different elsewhere.

[Nuytsia]

Nuytsia: I eat raw garlic but I'm almost certain that I'm not to blame for your garlic vandalism. Your down under animals must be way tougher than ours here in Canada, because nothing has ever eaten my planting garlic, ever. (Well, except my father once, but he didn't realize it was for planting.)

*finds more garlic eaten*
*shakes fist at the sky* 'Lord Punctuallllll!'
*thinks hmm or maybe her father?*

Yes our animals ARE tough, but I'd hate to see how they fared in a cage match style contest with YOURS!
Ours are tiny by comparison. Then again, some have a lot of venom so that could go in their favour.

I hope it was a spider and not bed bugs. We're having a bed bug epidemic in North America right now. *shudders* Luckily I am bed bug free for the time being.

I'm not so sure I'd go so far to *hope* a spider bit me, although as I'm still alive I guess it wasn't one of the killer ones. BUT aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee bed bugs!!! That sounds so gross!!! *madly Googles to see if we even get such a thing*

I'm an instructor at a Sea Cadet corps. (A seamanship instructor, in fact.)

Cool! You must love the liveship books!!!
I used to see cadets doing ..... whatever it is cadets do .... think they were marching and stuff... at the front of the greyhound/trotting arena (gees sounds really obscure when i type it) when i drove past every week in WA. I think it was some sort of army cadets though...... I do know they had snappy uniforms. So we do have them in Aus, or at least in West Aus.

In ones shirtsleeves refers to wearing a shirt that would normally be worn with a jacket over it. .....

I knew it meant in a shirt but I never really thought about EXACTLY what it meant! That makes sense..

What's happening in my world: Yay we got 5 mm of rain yesterday .... (well our nearest weather station did, I think we may have got a bit more but who knows). So our water supplies are slightly topped up. Now we just need 50 mm of rain and we'll be set. Hey it could happen - last June we got 150 mm in one day. WTF! I don't really want that though..... we DON"T want our bridge washing away now do we?

Oooh this one's for Farseer - it is now officially winter no matter what the calendar says. Our max today was 8.4 C, it was 2.8 C at 7.30pm tonight and it has got down to 1.3 C between then and now ..... so I suspect it will be a white morning out there tomorrow!

[Farseer]

I'm an instructor at a Sea Cadet corps. (A seamanship instructor, in fact.) In this context, cadets are teenagers that we dress up in strange hats and teach naval knowledge to.

I thought it would have been something like that but, after my 'gym' thing, I thought I'd better check ! Like Nuytsia, I immediately thought, "Oh, Lord Punctual would have been able to fully appreciate the Liveship Traders books then!"

'Cadet' jumped out at me as my eldest son is a Cadet Under Officer in Army Cadets. He is always off doing something on a local, state or national level....in fact, he partnered his girlfriend at a debutante ball tonight so had to miss the beginning of this weekend's bivouac BUT I will be driving him to the site by 0600 tomorrow morning.

My other son was in Cadets for quite a while also but it eventually conflicted too much with his number one love, rugby league. If I’d been able, I would have loved to have been an Officer of Cadets (lucky you!) but it is too difficult in my current location/situation. I am the Leader of a Lone Guide Unit for isolated girls though (like Girl Guides but for those who are unable to participate as a regular member), and this is something fun (though time-consuming!) that I can do pretty much from home the majority of the time.

Oooh this one's for Farseer - it is now officially winter no matter what the calendar says. Our max today was 8.4 C, it was 2.8 C at 7.30pm tonight and it has got down to 1.3 C between then and now ..... so I suspect it will be a white morning out there tomorrow!

!!!! Well, there goes my little dream of a Tasmanian * tiny Farseer/Tawny Man spoiler *

Spoiler

Fitz-like

cabin in the snow (not to mention a holiday to see the beauty of either New Zealand or Canada in the winter!). The sheer reality of the figures from you all has now permanently put paid to the complete romanticism of those fancies! Have I mentioned I have never even seen snow ?!

I don't even understand how you're managing to type (aren't your fingers freezing?!) let alone go outside and grow anything in your garden OR get bitten by intruding creepy crawlies! Brrr! How many layers do you wear to be warm?! Lord Punctual, that you (or your sister and brother-in-law!!!!) are able to survive at alljust shocks me...

Funny how our life experiences limit us in or help us appreciate/make a truth of what we read...I read Robin's books but big ships and blankets of snow are as ficticious to me as * a sort-of Realm of the Elderling spoiler *

Spoiler

the Skill or the Wit, or serpents, dragons, Elderlings and Others!!

[Nuytsia]

Hah I've already dissuaded my mum from moving here with my stories of coldness!!! She's visited many times but never in winter!
Well don't worry too much, it doesn't generally snow where I live, although I have been told by the neighbour it HAS ! That's something for me to look forward to.
It does snow about 10km up the road, but I've never actually seen it myself as it melts quickly.
Well my fingers aren't freezing cos we have a heater and as much insulation as would fit in the roof, walls and floor!!! But then again the temp I am happy with in here WOULD probably freeze you Farseer. Many others who live here seem the complete opposite and have the heat cranked up to 'tropical desert island' mode when it's 8 degrees outside.
As to going outside, I guess you just get used to it and you wear warm clothes. I can't speak for what to do in - 25 C though! Probably the same but more so.
Here's a pic of this morning's frost - starting to melt at 11am ......

[Farseer]

But then again the temp I am happy with in here WOULD probably freeze you Farseer.

I'm thinking you'd be right !!! No doubt it is as you say, though...you just get used to it. Maybe I'd have to inch south, little by little, each year and then, by the time I got to Tassie, I'd be right.

Not sure if I've mentioned it but I HAVE been to Canberra at the beginning of winter (June) and while it was mind-numbingly cold outside, I do remember just walking around indoors in just a suit jacket and skirt (I attended an education conference and a national awards ceremony at Parliament House...Australia's version of the White House, I'd guess you'd say, for the benefit of non-Aussies...very swish!).

I have heard many people say that when you visit Canberra in winter you get a small snapshot of what it would be like in Canada (as I have never been to Canada, I can't confirm or deny that observation!) but the trees and their autumn colours etc were beautiful, despite my being in a city centre!

Great pic, Nuytsia, despite it making me feel cold just by looking at it! *heads off to make a hot cup of tea*

[Lord Punctual]

Winter in Canada:
[Image: ice+storm.jpg]

Just kidding, that doesn't happen often. It does happen from time to time, though. That is the result of freezing rain.