Not skating yet - thanks El Niño

12C this coming weekend, with rain. 12C! It's the middle of December and I haven't been skating yet this year. Climate change? Probably has something to do with it. The weather pattern for eastern Canada this late fall has the cold air we normally experience (highs should be around -4C this time of year) pushed far to the north. Instead of the cold, we are getting warm air masses from the U.S. deep south, which are mild, though not necessarily wet.

I am holding out hope that once the winter season is here in another couple of weeks, temperatures will at least have dropped to near seasonable. I don't actually like to sweat when I'm on ice. I'm not playing hockey after all! I just want to enjoy a skate in the cold.   

Citizenship - take those sample tests!

You may not be aware, but you can prepare for your Canadian citizenship test online by taking sample tests directly from the CIC. While other sources of citizenship preparation are available, it's important that you ensure your preparation comes from the CIC citizenship guide, Discover Canada, and that any tests you practise with are also based on that material.

Here's an official list of study questions you can use for your own preparation.

For those of you with an Android device, the app, How Canadian Are You, Eh? is the CIC's official test preparation tool, and the one I personally use.

The actual test is comprised of 20 multiple choice questions, and most of these tools simulate the real test.

Luck favors the prepared! Get studying!