Today is Saturday, December 13, 2008 and I want you to know that at 2:00 in the afternoon, the temperature is -30 C…that converts to -22 F !!!!! It is going to be a LONG, LONG winter!!!

I have yet to take any pictures of this area. One reason, is I am afraid that my camera may crack in this cold! Also, right now, it isn’t all that pretty. Maybe that will change when we are in our new apartment that overlooks the river! We don’t have much snow…just little dustings at night. However, the locals are saying that it is too cold to snow now!

Last night was the AMEC Christmas party. There were about 300 people in attendance. It was a lovely event at a convention center downtown. There were various rooms in this center and there were about 6 or 7 other company parties going on. Our party was a buffet, open bar and dancing to live music. A good time was had by all!

Today, David is at work and I found the farmer’s market that happens in Saskatoon, on Wednesdays and Saturdays all year long. Obviously, it is inside! It didn’t have many veggies, mostly baked goods, meats, cheeses and knit goods. Would you believe that I found “Whoppie Pies” there??? I was amazed and asked the lady where she had found the recipe. I told here that I was from New England area in the states and that they were popular there but I had not seen any outside of New England. She told me that she gets cookbooks from the library each week to read and she had come across the Whoppie Pies recipes. She said that the cookbook had said that they are from the New England-Pennsylvania states!

Of course, I had to buy one. I just had a small taste and saved the rest for David. It was actually quite good. She got the frosting just perfect but needs to work on the cake part a little more. She said that there was a recipe for pumpkin with cream cheese frosting, which I agree, sounds great. However, I am too much of a traditionalist when it comes to Whoppie Pies….nothing beats the “chocolate cake cookies” with vanilla frosting in the center!!!

Despite the fact that it is ungodly cold here, we are still very grateful to be in Saskatoon!!! We just feel so grateful that David has a project with the way the economy around the world is. Many projects that were being offered to David, during the two months that he took off, have slowed down or stopped completely. We just believe that our guardian angel was working overtime when she brought us here. The events that led up to the offer to work on this project keep us believing that we are where we are suppose to be at this point in our lives. We are truly blessed!

Stay warm and may their be joy in your hearts during this holiday season.