Winter Wonderland 2011-2012 Recap

For the 3rd winter in a row, this year we had snow and cold enough weather that the man-made lake we live on froze over.

But, this year, unlike 2009/10 and 2010/11 there was no White Christmas, more like a White Valentines day in 2012. After the snow at the end of January, there were several days (weeks) of very cold weather for the Netherlands...like 20 below Celsius! Considering we live at or below sea level here, that's cold, especially when coupled with the ''normal'' icy wind we get about that time every year.














The upside.....the lakes and canals stayed frozen for several weeks and weekends. We got to go sledding, ice skating...all nearby the house in the (cold) fresh air!

The sled we already had, but the ice skates that were double blades, pull on over your sneaker variety were not cutting it this year with Kev's new exacting standards. He wanted ''normal'' skates, with the boot and single blade - which scare mom as I imagine ankle injuries, to say nothing of sliced off fingers due to falls and and blades and children......Ok, I'll stop. You get the idea.

Normally, the first day of snow or ice leads to a run up in all shops and second hand sites making it impossible to find ice skates. This was the issue last year, and I was hesitant to buy a pair of skates that we would get use maybe one weekend or two before the thaw and would then most likely be too small by the time he could use them again next year - but it's so hard to say no to that face!

I was saved by a combi set thing that I found - at all places - at the local DIY store.The adjustable boot spans 4 shoes sizes, so we should get a few years use, and even better - you can swap the ice blades out for roller blades - so you can pretty much use the things year round. Score!

So, from Ice Skates in February......to Rollerblades in April! Love, love, love this idea!