Dark Days and Christmas Goodness on the Horizon.

   This will be the darkest week I have ever experienced. The sun literally does not start peeking above the horizon until first recess. And when it does, it just seems to stream below the treeline and then disappear again. Today was indoor recess because the windchill has caused the temps to drop below -30 again so since I'm inside supervising hyper kids (last week of school before Christmas break- just in case you didn't know!) at lunch I miss my only opportunity to get a glimpse of the yellow ball blurred through the clouds. Sometimes, if I drive to school, I have to start the car mid-day and then I get to bask in the yellow glow for ten minutes while I let my vehicle recharge.

   I'm thankful that Marcel and I haven't felt any affects of S.A.D. and that by leading an active lifestyle and taking our Vitamin D supplements we've been enjoying the snow and going for brisk walks (as well as the reward of a hot cocoa upon sucessful return). Friday is the shortest day of the year and in Whitehorse the sun will rise at precisely 10:10 am and set at 3:48 pm. I just noticed by researching this Daylight Hours chart (http://www.timeanddate.com) that each day we were losing less and less time. This also means that each day after Friday we will gain more and more time. I was under the impression that our loss/gain was about five minutes each day, but it looks like it is sequential in pattern, gaining more and more time each day we are further from the 21st of December.

   I have also become grateful that I don't have to be in Whitehorse on the shortest day of the year, Winter Solstice; however, the chart below indicates that this Thursday is only one second longer than Friday. Ha. Well, I'm just glad that after Christmas the days will be getting brighter and brighter!

Rising and setting times for the Sun

			Length of day		Solar noon
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	This day	Difference	Time	Altitude	Distance
							(106 km)
Dec 17, 2012	10:07 AM	3:46 PM	5h 39m 00s	− 48s	12:57 PM	6.0°	147.204
Dec 18, 2012	10:08 AM	3:46 PM	5h 38m 24s	− 35s	12:57 PM	6.0°	147.191
Dec 19, 2012	10:09 AM	3:47 PM	5h 37m 59s	− 24s	12:58 PM	6.0°	147.179
Dec 20, 2012	10:09 AM	3:47 PM	5h 37m 46s	− 12s	12:58 PM	6.0°	147.168
Dec 21, 2012	10:10 AM	3:48 PM	5h 37m 45s	− 01s	12:59 PM	6.0°	147.157
Dec 22, 2012	10:10 AM	3:48 PM	5h 37m 56s	+ 10s	12:59 PM	6.0°	147.147
Dec 23, 2012	10:11 AM	3:49 PM	5h 38m 18s	+ 22s	1:00 PM	6.0°	147.138

   That said, I'm so excited to be going home to Ontario for Christmas!!! There is a new baby niece to meet, lots of family to hug, lots of great food to eat, and beautiful Christmas events and church services to attend. I try not to think too much about going home until its almost close enough to touch... three sleeps until our plane departs is close enough... I'm EXCITED!! My suitcase is open, gifts are wrapped, and soon I will begin my traditional pre-Christmas clean of our apartment so we can come back home to a neat and tidy home and cozy clean bedsheets. But first, our Christmas tour begins with only one free day left on our itinerary that I'm sure will fill up fast. It's going to be a quick, packed full visit of friends, family, and memories. We aren't sure when the next time will be that we are in Ontario so we are going to squeeze every drop of goodness out of it and collapse on the plane ride home.


3 MORE SLEEPS!



Oh- and here is the Toronto Rising/Setting times if you're interested. It doesn't seem like a big difference (3 hours or so), but do you ever feel it!!

Rising and setting times for the Sun

			Length of day		Solar noon
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	This day	Difference	Time	Altitude	Distance
							(106 km)
Dec 18, 2012	7:46 AM	4:42 PM	8h 56m 00s	− 14s	12:14 PM	23.0°	147.191
Dec 19, 2012	7:47 AM	4:43 PM	8h 55m 49s	− 10s	12:15 PM	23.0°	147.179
Dec 20, 2012	7:48 AM	4:43 PM	8h 55m 44s	− 05s	12:15 PM	23.0°	147.168
Dec 21, 2012	7:48 AM	4:44 PM	8h 55m 43s	− 01s	12:16 PM	23.0°	147.157
Dec 22, 2012	7:49 AM	4:44 PM	8h 55m 46s	+ 03s	12:16 PM	23.0°	147.147
Dec 23, 2012	7:49 AM	4:45 PM	8h 55m 54s	+ 08s	12:17 PM	23.0°	147.137
Dec 24, 2012	7:49 AM	4:46 PM	8h 56m 07s	+ 12s	12:17 PM	23.0°	147.129