Reasons 11 through 20...

11. I survived a Northern Ontario winter…
12. …without forking out for snow tires (“Who’s that skidding down the hill?” “Ah, it’s just that blonde reporter again.”)
13. I did, however, buy a pair of Sorel boots, and they remain two of the most awesome things in my life.
14. On a Saturday night, I drove out to the Elliot Lake dump to bear-watch. More than once.
15. I picked enough wild raspberries to satisfy my unsatiable belly.
16. I spent three weekends lounging on an Algonquin dock, one of which in the company of an adorable 18-month-old. It doesn’t get much better.
17. I drove across the country with the man I love, with sunny July skies and trivia Podcasts guiding the way.
18. In said trip, we caught the last night of the Montreal Jazz Festival, a cavalcade of hot music and smoky bars.
19. We also visited PEI for both of our first times, and I was finally able to understand fully what one of my greatest literary heroines was on about. Then again, I don’t know that Lucy Maude wrote much about giant inflatable lobsters and Official Dirt Shirts.
20. I also arrived in Halifax for the first time, and found it warm, historical, rowdy and beautiful – everything I like in a city. Plus, power hour! Whoo!