Although winter took it’s own sweet time to arrive in Montreal, I think it is now safe to say that it is definitively here to stay. We’ve already experienced that first “Wow – the snow is So beautiful!” moment, and have moved rapidly into, “Careful! It’s icy out there! Don’t slip!”. For the record, the transition from the former to the latter takes less than a day.

If you grew up in Canada, or in the North Eastern US, you most likely also grew up with Frosty the snowman specials on TV, Friday night treks up (or down, depending) to the cottage, and the occasional school closures due to snowstorms (every school-age child’s dream).

I rarely have the time (or inclination) to watch Christmas specials anymore, but if you absolutely need to know when the Glee Christmas extravaganza is going to air, the Huffington Post has put together a rather exhaustive list of what’s on (you can find it here). When I can, I try to cook or bake for the holidays – it’s what an old friend used to call “kitchen therapy”, and for me, it works very well.

(Jamie Oliver is my go-to guy for quick and easy recipes, holiday or any day. Here are some of his seasonal recommendations)

My skiing days are – thankfully – behind me. I was a competent, steady skier: I almost always made it down the hill in about twice as much time as anyone I was skiing with, but I did always make it down the hill. Towards the end of my so-called skiing ‘career’, the vintage aspect of my skis and ski attire were the source of much merriment (for others at least), and so, when I finally decided that the time was up, no one was very surprised.

I did ski at Chamonix – a million moons ago – and at the time, thought I was very chic and soignee. Now, I think I would probably look a lot like the lady at right: hopelessly out of date, marginally overweight, and just so… wrong.

SuperPyro is still one of my all time favorite winter posters: it’s happy, it’s silly, and it makes you think of that first day of winter I talked about at the top of this article: the one where the snow is white, the air is clear, and the world – while infinitely chillier – is still full of possibilities.