Fire and Ice Dinner 2011 Edition (Fruzen Arse) Photos by Jenny Riviere

My wonderful sister tended this fire all night long and kept the candles lit. And helped me sculpt and shovel beforehand, taking my snow obsession in stride.

An Ode to my Fourth Favourite Season:
I am Winter
Queen of this land
Long before you arrived
By choice or by chance

I exist not just to be endured
Respected, yes, for I can be fierce
But come play with me also
Gather your friends and build high your fires
Prepare your finest, warmest foods                                        
And invent new sport in my clean, cold air                             

Your reward will be days unforgettable
And nights unmatched
For above all things, I love a party!
-Jenni

Even an outdoor party needs some adornment!

Part of our cozy, indoor warm-up area that celebrated the Danish concept of Hygge, or "well-being". Mulled sour cherry merlot glogg and rosehip apple cider also helped!

The lovely Tracy, a welder by trade, helped serve the four course meal, then performed atop our makeshift mountain. "Time to Smile" by Xavier Rudd and Izintaba was the perfect song choice for her fire dance. Thanks, Tracy!

Dinner! And then I slid down the hill on a potato bag.

These "monkeys in a tree" were the life of the party!

Jackpine "candles" courtesy of my father. The idea came from our new friends, Mark and Zoe, who rang in 2011 while winter camping in the boreal forest. Check out Mark's awesome blog www.wildpaddler.ca 

All that nice seating, and they end up around the fire?

Might I Request a Table in the Snowbank?

Our event hung between a string of bitterly cold, -30 ish days. The temperature at our dinner was around -12 and the wind died down just before guests arrived.

Stairway to Heaven (and the scene of my hip hop yoga stylings which hopefully will never, ever end up on YouTube!)

There's no couch like a snow couch. And no friends like these. How about the other Jenny's faux fur leg warmers and hat? She whipped them up that very day! Love you! And speaking of friends, Angela and Donna were my kitchen angels.

This menu board is the only photo evidence that we had food at the event! No one took any shots of their meal, you ate quickly while it was warm. And eat we did. Rabbit and Juniper Pizza with Low Bush Cranberry Aioli, Northern Pike Gravlax, Blue Cheese Shortbread, Rhubarb Fennel Ice Wine "Soup", Chocolate Lefse, Roasted Carrot, Beet and Carraway Chowder. Mmmm...

I bet Martha Stewart has never frozen her hand to her back door whilst making iced orchid centrepieces at 2 a.m.!