I am Canadian!

Hey  Everyone!
I know I said I wouldn't do any blog posts during the summer but I thought I would drop you all a line and let you know what life is like in Canada since a lot of my audience is based outside of this beautiful country! There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about Canada that I want to clear up....

• we do not have snow all year-round. I live in Alberta and our winter (snow) usually starts in November(ish) sometimes a little sooner and it usually melts around mid to late March. Again sometimes a little later. In the summer we hit highs of 30 degrees Celsius- this year we've been particularly lucky and had few days that were 31!!!!

• we do NOT buy moose at the store, we do NOT live in igloos, we do NOT ride in snow mobiles and dog sleds. We have homes with normal siding and insulation, ride snow mobiles for fun otherwise we drive cars year round,  and we can only get moose or deer during hunting season if we hunt them! I don't know any one who has an igloo and I don' t think I've ever actually seen one in real life! Lol! FYI-These are actual questions I've been asked by Americans while vacationing in the States. 
• we have block heaters on our cars- a block heater is a device that keeps the car's engine and oil warm so that the car will start more easily in the winter. You have a plug on the front of you car and plug them in at night. If  you forget you run the chance of you car not turning over. Because of our colder winter (-35 degrees Celsius with the windchill is a cold day that may occur as many times as a few weeks up to a month during the winter) we are harder on vehicles. Salt on the roads and cold conditions make for newer cars more often!
• we have beautiful mountains, prairie and trees! We have all types of beautiful scenery and miles and miles of open spaces- that are uninhabited!
• we never, ever wear our shoes in our homes! It is considered rude! We have snow, dirt, sand, and mud and wouldn't even consider wearing footwear in our friends and families homes!  We would never want to track in the mess, especially on a rug!
• we get really cold water from the tap. I vacationed in Florida and couldn't believe how warm the water is from the tap. DUH, I know, but it's funny how you take the little things for granted!
• we don't have a lot of smog or pollution- it's usually blue skies for us!
• Canada is a beautiful country full of nice, intelligent, hardworking people who love to visit the world, and have others visit us! Here are a few pictures I've found to show you about my province, Alberta! (Directly north of Montana).