It’s a month since we came back to Vancouver. The week before Christmas was unseasonably cold, with snow lying on West End roofs, sidewalks, and streets for days on end. It’s now warmer, and the relentless Pacific Northwest rain has returned. I’ve become familiar again with morning choices of waterproof clothing (raincoat or gortex?), footwear (rubber, hiking, or leather boots?), and decisions over the size of umbrella. We check weather