Some couples celebrate their anniversary with candles or getaways. Ours falls on December 29, stranded between Christmas exhaustion and New Year’s chaos. This year, we leaned in. What followed was a full-blown spaghetti-western anniversary dinner: wild boar burgers, smoked Gouda, Cognac mushrooms, and a solemn bottle of Barolo as the sheriff of the table. Costumes were donned, Morricone played, dignity surrendered. Dinner became theatre, and the anniversary - against all odds

Calgary may be buried in December snow, but I found a spark of joy in a full Rioja tasting paired with cheeses- a tiny rebellion against winter. From bright Joven to stately Gran Reserva, matched with everything from soft and mild to gloriously stinky, it became a cosy ritual of seasonal denial. For one evening, the blizzard felt less like a burden and more like a reason to sip, savour, and pretend the tundra was Spain.