>>>>Grady,
>>>>
>>>>What do people do when their pipes freeze up there? Here they thaw out in a day or so. I would think it could be months up there....
>>>
>>>It was minus 24 celcius this morning. Pipes don't freeze very often here. Our water supply pipes are twelve feet underground where the temperature is supposed to always be about 55° F. The pipes enter the house through the basement cement floor eight feet below grade. Almost every house has an insulated cement basement. There is an indoor and outdoor tap on any pipe such as one for a garden hose. For winter the inside tap is closed and the outside tap is opened and the water between the taps is drained, so the pipe will not freeze. Even with these precautions, sometimes a pipe at the twelve foot depth will still freeze, expand and break resulting in a water volcano in someone's front yard, but the city is quick to fix that if it happens. Of course that disappoints the kids who like to run and slide on the ice. BTW, the kid next door and his buddy have made a half size igloo in the back yard. (true:))
>>
>>You could do your own reality tv show - "everyday life with extreme living"
>
>Too late - It's warmer today. http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-22_metric_e.html
>Oh well. . . . The next cold snap usually happens in late January or February, then two and half months of waiting for Spring. :))

Looks like you should move further North. Apparently Northern Canada is 10C *warmer* than normal:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2010/pr20100106b.html