And since anyone participating in the Ten Things of Thankful knows it is a cinch to create that TToT list when everything's going your way, I have decided to find ten things about this loathsome season for which I can be thankful.
1. Indoor plumbing. I simply cannot fathom having to go use an outhouse
2. Snow days. Snow days are wonderful little gifts from God that are meant to be treasured. There's nothing quite like the anticipation of watching the tv screen to see if your school district is included in the cancellation list crawling across the bottom of the screen. (We have had three this week.)
3. Bulky clothing and heavy coats that hide a lot.
4. No one knows whether or not you have shaved your legs (see #3, above).
5. Hot soup for supper.
6. Heated car seats, or the bun warmers, as we call them. Pure bliss.
7. Car heaters at all. These are something you take for granted until you have a car in which the heater doesn't work. Which we do. (Since my husband says there's no reason to fix it, as spring is coming soon, I refuse to drive that car, because spring may be coming, but it isn't HERE. And that car does NOT have heated seats. It's really just a step up from driving in a covered wagon.)
8. I can buy ice cream at the grocery store, and it doesn't get mushy before I can get it home. (This is especially true if driving the car with no heat.) And yes, we still buy (and eat) ice cream in the winter.
9. It's club volleyball season!
10. Warm kitty bodies.
Forecast for next week: snow and cold. Maybe we'll get another snow day out of it....
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Heated car seats are heaven! I only just this year got a car with that luxury. At first I wasn't sure I liked it - I was thinking it was too hot and my backside was cooking (too bad none of the fat melted) but when winter really got going, I fell in love with that heated seat.
ReplyDeleteThey are da bomb! The car was a hand-me-down from my parents, but the next time I actually buy a car, it WILL have heated seats. And you bring up a good point: why doesn't it melt away fat, like a sauna? Hmmmm.
DeleteDyanne, I am so with you and loathe, hate and despise winter, too, because like you I am always cold also. But admit not so upset about snow days and they are definitely gifts from god. By the way we had 2 this past week and looks like we may get at least another next week, too. I guess spring won't be coming anytime soon! But love how you put a positive spin on winter and definitely made me smile!
ReplyDeleteWe might get another snow day next week as well. One more snow day, and we don't have to make up any additional ones (have to make up the first 6, half a day for days 7-10, then anything after 10 is forgiven by the state Dept. of Ed.). And I don't care what Punxsutawney Phil says, on Feb. 2 no groundhog could have seen his shadow, as it was gloomy and gray and threatening snow here.
DeleteI'll see your two snow days and raise you two delayed openings! Aaaand...maybe more next week again. Is it wrong that I'm actually kind of hoping we do get more? Because going to school for full days and five days a week is ppppfffffffttttttt now.
ReplyDeleteOK, the car heater thing - what IS it with husbands and car heaters? Mine is not working. He won't fix it because every time he gets in the car it "feels fine, hon." Yeah. OK, tell that to my cold tuchus every morning! It does work - sometimes. Like only when the car keeps moving non-stop. Then it's awesome. But the minute I hit a stop light, it's freezing cold air. Not. Happy.
As far as the outhouse idea is concerned, nobody has to pee bad enough to go out in the snow to an outhouse. Ever.
I think I would love a snuggie. I use fuzzy blankets that we call "snuggly browns" after Zilla's baby blanket of that name. They are snuggly. They are brown. Snuggly browns.
Stay warm! Spring has to come eventually. I, for one, will be greeting it with herald trumpets this year.
I'm so glad we don't have delayed openings! That's just mean!
DeleteIt's our minivan that has the heater issue. The back heater works-ish. It takes a long time, at full blast, for it to muster up warm air. The front heater blows cold air and cannot be turned off without turning off the back one as well. So any heat you WOULD get from the back is diluted with the cold air from the front. CAN'T WE JUST GET IT FIXED???
I don't know if I would rather go out in the cold to use the outhouse or stay in and squat on a commode. Wait, I know! I don't want to do EITHER!
Snuggies are really awesome, even though people make fun of them. The sleeves are what make them. I wouldn't mind having a heavy-duty one, made out of thicker, fleecier material. Maybe there's a business venture in there for me....
Come on, spring. Pleeeeeease!
Actually we love delayed openings, or late starts, as we call them. Sometimes we find out about them the night before and then we just sleep until we wake up, about 7:45 - 8:00 AM. Bliss, to wake up naturally when it's light outside. If we find out in the morning, we just go back to bed and snuggle back down into sleep. Hey, just found your blog, I like your attitude. Have a great week.
DeleteIf you love the heated car seats you should definitely get a heated mattress pad. Climbing into a pre-warmed bed is seriously the best thing ever, ESP if you live in a drafty house (which, I do). And soup. Yesssss, soup.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am all about the heated mattress pad, but I already put it on a TToT list back in October, so I didn't put it in here, too. Mine is on right now, getting my side of the bed all toasty and warm. Add a cat or two at the foot of the bed, and I have some seriously warm feet!
DeleteSoup AND warm bread and butter. Mmmmm!
Sometimes I get cranky when the toilet seat is cold in my apartment so I definitely can not fathom having to go outside either!
ReplyDeleteI would have made the world's worst pioneer.
DeleteWe haven't had snow, but this week has been damn cold. I accidentally left some left-overs in the car last night - and I didn't have to throw it out! I should put my ice cream out there too. Then my husband won't eat it. Stay warm!
ReplyDeleteStoring ice cream in your car could go very wrong very fast.
DeleteBlessings to keep you warm, Dyanne!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle!
DeleteWe had 16 inches of snow this week and expecting more tomorrow... I do love snow but know I was not born in the wrong era... as loving snow now vs then is such a luxury... toilets inside, heated car seats ( although I think they should also vibrate like those machines the old exercise places had while they melt off your ass fat...) ... stay heated Dyanne... love the Ruby ... she is getting big! soon she will be able warm your feel all on her own... also lastly... man your daughter looks like a seriously good player .... great form... scholarship material?
ReplyDeleteI'd be good with 16" of snow for about two days, then I'd want it gone. Can't imagine living somewhere where you don't see the ground from November until spring. You may have something in that vibrating seat idea, but I don't think vibrating the fat off your ass is going to be your best marketing plan ;) And thank you, she is a good player, but she's short.
DeleteI thought of the chair thing after I wrote it but thought I would keep it and throw you a bone... ooooo.... that ones loaded too....
DeleteThere are millions to be had here. Maybe go on Shark Tank?
DeleteYou did a great job of coming up with a list despite the miserable winter weather. You make me glad I live in Florida even if it has been raining here for four solid days now. I'll be very happy for you when this winter ends. Until then..stay warm in your Snuggie! (No judgement!)
ReplyDeleteI am so cold right now, save for the occasional hot flash. It is a blazing 22 degrees outside. I will trade it all for your four solid days of rain. I have rain boots.
DeleteI actually can identify with the benefits of living lap-warmers (LLWs). Our dog, Una, is only about 50 pounds, so she able to levitate onto the couch when I come in at the end of a warm day and ears and other warm parts are quite comfortable.
ReplyDeletethe outhouse? nah would never have happened.
I have 40 pounds of cat, spread out over three of them. Not evenly, I might add. The only problem with using one as an LLW is he (or she) always wants to lie across one or both of my arms, severely hindering my typing abilities.
DeleteI HAVE NO PIONEER SPIRIT. I don't camp. I don't use outdoor privies. I don't like outdoor sports (or indoor ones, really, now that I think about it). Endless rain isn't a lot of fun, either. How warm is warmER?
ReplyDeleteMen are lucky that they don't have to sit on a cold toilet seat to pee.
I was getting worried, almost thought there was no Ruby photo this week. Whew! You saved the best till last.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to find things of thankful when things aren't going so well. You have had some winter! We have yet to have more than about 2 minutes of snow fall. I'd love a little, but probably not what you've had.
I'm totally with you on indoor plumbing. When I was a kid we had a few elderly relatives with outdoor ones, and they were the non-flushing kind too. It was not fun using them and I'm definitely glad those have gone!
Yeah, I've used a real outhouse before, too, when I was pretty young, and I was scarred for life. Winter sucks, especially THIS one. And I take dozens of pictures of Ruby every week, so I've gotta do SOMETHING with them!
DeleteI am ALL ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE ALL ABOUT! hey cool thing Lizzi made you! xox jean
ReplyDeleteAwwwesome, Jean!
DeleteLike my lemons?
I usually refer to the car seat heaters as "nut cookers", as that's what they truly are :-) So cute little Ruby cuddling with you, and I bet snow days are the best. We don't get many of these here in Germany, and none actually for me, as my work never shuts down :-( But I totally second your soup. Soup is awesome! Have a great weekend, Dyanne!
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why my husband isn't so crazy about them...?
DeleteCold toilet seats are THE WORST. I agree.
ReplyDeleteWe've had TONS of soup this winter...and still ots still planned on the upcoming menu. I love soup...it's cheap, it's easy and you can hide all sorts of stuff in it that the family may not otherwise eat. Par example: lima beans and cabbage. ;)
Love me a bun warmer. The 12yo began riding in the front seat over the summer (once he turned 12 and was tall enough) so this is the first year he's experienced the beauty of the bun warmer. He'll choose to ride with me for that reason only. I feel so loved.
I do have to disagree on the ice cream point..I do like some soft ice cream that is on the verge of soupy. That way it HAS to be eaten right away when I get home from the store...you can't wait until later for perfection. Don't judge. ;)
Maybe I need to keep a heating pad on the toilet? Electricity. Water. What could go wrong with that?
DeleteMy daughter and I crank that seat warmer up!
You need to set your ice cream on the heated seat for the trip home from the store.
That's the best explanation I've heard for the PV yet.
ReplyDeleteWe call them hiney warmers, but we don't have any. Maybe someday.
Ice cream not getting mushy is really finding a narrow silver lining, but you do have a good point.
Notice Santa waited until he got his fat ass back to his cozy home at the North Pole before he sent the arctic cold our way?
DeleteI can find a silver lining in anything.
Way to reframe this lovely weather we are having! Car seat warmers are "pure bliss"! Too bad, I don't have any. I had to borrow my in-law's vehicle earlier this winter and they do have this marvelous invention. Certainly love not having to shave my legs, too. Hot chocolate nightly is one of my favs.
ReplyDeleteSeat warmers should be standard in all cars.
DeleteI do like hot chocolate....
40F is cold, although warmer than ZERO. And rain? Maybe the snow isn't so bad after all....
ReplyDeleteI've seen the Go Girl! I'll take my chances and freeze my ass.
I hate winter too - and I live in Florida. I totally couldn't hack it in a state that gets really cold.
ReplyDeleteI love my electric blanket and my fleece blanket....they make me lazy though, I don't want to get out of bed!
PS My mom used to have these cloth things that go over the toilet seat....I hated them because they felt kind of weird but they would probably be nice for you on those cold potty visits!
ReplyDelete"Driving in a covered wagon".....Bwaahahaha! Our heater crapped out on us this year too! Thankfully it wasn't MY car.
ReplyDeleteI think the same thing about winter weather and grocery shopping. I even have time to stop by a friend's for a beverage if I want to. :)
Ohhh...I remember riding to school with my neighbor when their car heater had gone out in the winter. Yup, we were awake by the time we got to school!
ReplyDeleteI remember putting away groceries when we lived in Mammoth and thinking: You know it is cold outside with the refrigerator feels warm.
ReplyDeleteKitty bodies.... sigh
I am with you on not driving that car- IT IS NOT a covered wagon. That can be without heat. A CAR?!! Must needs have heat.
So I was not alone driving most of the winter without heat in my car! Now that I've had it fixed I am in heaven. Can relate to the the bulky coats and layers. I felt like I was the Michelin Woman throughout our coldest weeks. LOL
ReplyDeleteI will send many school cancellation thoughts your way Dyanne:)
Btw, felines on/over the arm? The trick is making them adapt to the movement of your arm and hands. I bet at least one of your cats will learn to "hang" while you type:)
Well, I was pretty certain I was here and wrote a lovely little piece about the outhouse and unshaved legs…but now I can't find it on your comments. But I too am thankful we don't have to use an outhouse. I'm headed to Ireland this May and one of the cutest places I've ever seen was going to be the place we stayed for two nights. Rock siding, country setting. Well, until I learned we had to go outside in the middle of the night to pee. It did not have inside plumbing. Boy was I bummed. Anyway, if this comment is already on your post somewhere and I'm just writing it again, please disregard. I can't believe what I wrote before isn't here.
ReplyDeleteBun warmers...that made my day!
ReplyDeleteStay safe and--you know--warm!
I truly despise winter as well so I honestly don't blame you! I can relate to so much in this post. I remember looking on the bottom of the screen when I was in school hoping that it was canceled! LOL. Funny my kids won't have that luxury since I'll be homeschooling. I plan to break things up and make it fun so hopefully they won't mind "school time." Snuggies are it! I would totally want one if we still lived in your kind of climate. Your cat is one of a kind. I love it!
ReplyDelete