We head for home tomorrow.

We pack the snow-covered car today. I will need to find my gloves.

And the camera, and the doll clothes, and the cell phone charger. Our lives are spread all over the house.

But first,

a nod to my Canadian friends.

We have spent the last few days playing games (dozens of them), going to movies, eating and laughing with friends and family, reacquainting ourselves with winter sports and ice scrapers, and ringing in the new year.

In addition to this, we have acquired a few Canadian life skills:

travelling by automobile in freezing temperatures,

eating indoors with mittens on,

ice skating with grace and aplomb (or something close to it),

and sledding down ice sheets.

Too many pictures to post properly.

My father-in-law gave me a new video editing program for Christmas. I am an amateur...can't even figure out how to "fade to black" yet, but here's my first go: four minutes of the family learning one of our favorite "Canadian life skills." They were red-cheeked and grinning from start to finish. Our niece, Rachel, joined us on our adventure. She was equally red-cheeked and grinning.

(Ethan says we are dancers.)

Oh, and happy new year.

My darlings and I celebrated.

It was a lovely beginning.