Dry

Live somewhere else for a few years and then move back, you'll obviously notice differences (big and small) between your home town and adoptive city. I thought the irony of today's weather in Montreal would provide a perfect backdrop to a little discussion about moisture.

Winters in Vancouver are everything but dry. Anything you leave on a balcony (flower pots, BBQ, chairs) ends up as a breeding ground for moss as the city is drenched for weeks at the time in heavy rain. All your shoes end up leaking at one point or another, even your umbrella one day just gives up. But, to be fair, all this moisture in the air keeps the skin naturally soft and hydrated. I always used face moisturizer, but never bothered lathering up from toes to shoulders when I was living on the West Coast.

Let's talk about Montreal now. I can deal with the cold, love the sun and bright winter days, but why is it so dry? I knew something was wrong when my little home thermometer's moisture level indicator did not bother reading the air's water content. "Low" is what it said. My hair became limp and very unruly, all at once. Add a tuque to the equation and you then have to also deal with static. I started using a humidifier, but it's so much work to keep the damn thing clean and I think a spider has moved into mine. I feel I should leave it alone, it must be eating whatever bacteria is growing in the water left in the tank.

My bathroom counter is now host to a collection of moisturizers, body butters, scrubs, leave-in conditioners, baby oil, lip balm, and several other products that promise to keep me from madly scratching my otherwise dry, itchy skin. Fortunately, I have managed to stay away from scented moisturizers, because I would otherwise smell like a mix of strawberries, lavender, ylang-ylang and lemongrass, surely a combination that would keep any potential suitors at bay.