Black Ice!

This is my first winter living in Canada. When we moved here last summer we had a similar conversation with person after person (the realtor, the neighbors, coffee baristas, retail personnel, the postman, the painter, and the carpet guy . . .). It (very cheerfully) went like this: "So, you just moved here, eh? How do you like it so far, eh? Do you like the cold, eh? The winters are pretty cold, eh." It was June! It began to appear that people felt a collective obligation to begin preparing me early for what was to come.  Fast forward to now. My husband and I like the cold. We lived in Wyoming when we married 31 years ago. We have a home in Colorado. We snow ski. Hey, we like winter. But maybe I am beginning to get the picture that all those welcoming souls were trying to convey. We have been running the heater for over 2 months. (Our cute little old house isn't exactly airtight.) I have acquired long underwear. One of the neighbors has a bright orange electric cord strung from their house, across a tree, and hanging near their car in preparation for plugging in their engine block heater. I have already upgraded my winter coat to a North Face knee length puffy job. And yesterday I encountered significant black ice. Not fun. Tally and I went slipping and sliding on our walk yesterday. My own front steps nearly took me down! It is a funny sight to see a 58 pound black lab try to carefully navigate steps- sideways. I know how she felt. Have you heard of "Yaktraxs" eh? They go on your shoes and look like little tiny Slinkys. Anyone remember Slinkys? (Think snow chains for your shoes.) I wonder if they make Yaktrax for labs? Eh?