This post originally appeared in January 2014. I'm thankful to report we dodged the more recent Polar Vortex. No precip here; lows overnight in the 30s - ABOVE zero. I've hated watching the news of all the weather in the Midwest. Stay warm! Higher temps due any time now!
It's cold here, and getting colder by the minute. Much of the country got hammered by Mother Nature this week. We are far enough south that we won't get any white stuff this go-round, thank goodness. But it's plenty cold enough, into the teens over night. That would be above zero, also thank goodness. My former neighbors in Minnesota have good reason to make that distinction.
As a Native Texan, I have zero cold weather defense mechanisms. My survival skills are designed for hot weather: mainly seeking shade and sweating. I can sweat like a horse. But when cold weather rolls in, I'm helpless as a reality show actor without a script. I have some body fat, but it doesn't help much. I am middle-aged, but there's never a hot flash around when you need one.
Beautiful place, Minnesota, but I could never get used to the cold. When the
opportunity arose to move to a warmer climate, we took it. Now we're back in a climate where the chances of snow are about equal to the chances of the Cowboys winning another Superbowl - possible, but unlikely. Fire hydrants are antenna-less, as nature intended. The closest thing to a survival kit in my car is lip balm and a cell phone charger. So we will ride out this temporary meterological unpleasantness. The fire is roaring in the fireplace. I have on my favorite flannel jammy pants. As I learned from my time in Minnesota, whenever the temp is above zero and in double digits, life is good.
*Permanent Snow Cover - the stuff that is not going to melt until spring.
So great.
I understand y'all may have some white stuff in your future later this week. Stay warm!