Brrrrr...

Winter moved in this year with very minimal warning and made itself completely at home here in the South. I jotted some notes during January and part of February about it and in my absence from blogging, I'll share some of it with you.

It's gone beyond chilly or cold to full blown frigid. We've had some decent cold spells already this winter, but this latest weather fiasco takes the cake. Yesterday morning we awoke to cloudy skies and 52 degrees above freezing; this will be important later. By 7 o'clock in the evening it was below freezing and we had a half inch of snow on the ground. Absolutely amazing really. Today's high temperature was a whopping 10 degrees above zero but if we factor in the wind chill it felt like 10 degrees below zero. For many winters when it has been so cold I've said that this body was not made for cold. And it's true-- my knees ache incessantly thanks to old sports injuries; my hands, feet and lowest areas of my legs are very difficult to keep warm; I have Reynaud's Disease to give credit for that one. During the course of this week, the temperature here was colder than the temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska three days in a row! During a normal winter here when I find myself whining about the cold, I can ask my friend in Alaska what the weather is where she is and I'm instantly zapped back into proper perspective. This year, however, I find myself part time wishing I could trade with her.  But, I find myself adapting to this cold in ways I never imagined. The week after this particular week or temps below 20 degrees all week, I went out one morning with Uglymug and Lard about 6:00 a.m. It was early, I was groggy and really warm from sleeping and didn't think about a coat. Five minutes out and suddenly I'm wondering why my hands are cold. I came in and checked the weather and it was 34 degrees. I went to work that day with no coat because 34 degrees felt warm! It's slightly scary and highly unnerving--why would I, flip flop and sandal goddess come to tolerate cold? I have no idea at all, but it makes me giggle. I went out during the "warm" week for a shopping trip with flip flops on when the temp went above 50 degrees! Such has been our weather thus far this year. As much as I don't enjoy cold, I am hoping that it helps kill of a lot of the bugs :)