It's wearing long underwear, fuzzy socks, two shirts, sweatpants, and a scarf in the house cold here. How 'bout where you are?
Currently, it is 1 degree F outside. Wind chill is -18. It's snowing. We have a Winter Storm Warning until Monday evening and a Wind Chill Warning (which I didn't even know EXISTED) until Tuesday morning. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Oh, and the local utility company has issued a peak advisory due to the extreme cold and high demand. We don't have working fireplaces, so if the power should go out, I guess we'll just set fire to the house....
Lest I sound too whiny and ungrateful, believe me when I say I am extremely thankful for a roof over my head, even if it leaks a little and cold air seeps (and rushes, in places) into the house around the windows and doors and, interestingly enough, when you open a cabinet door in the kitchen. We have plenty of food, plenty of Diet Dr Pepper and Propel packets and cat food. These things that we may take for granted on any given day are all the more important to recognize as blessings when others are not so lucky, and they are the first item on this week's Ten Things of Thankful list.
Last week, it was cold. Not THIS cold, but definitely below freezing. We had freezing fog and a little freezing drizzle, and that, along with the cold, closed schools for four days. Do you have any idea how exciting that is for teachers? What a thankful!
We went back to school on Friday. It was Valentine Party day, so it was a chaotic day, but I do miss my little nugs when I haven't seen them for more than a weekend, and I'm glad we had a fun day together.
I'm also thankful for the many sweet valentine gifts and cards I received from my little humans. I love my job!
Yesterday, Saturday, we had a veritable heat wave. It got up to (wait for it) 15 degrees, and THE SUN WAS SHINING. It's been over a week since we've seen a peep of sunshine, and it made the day feel so much warmer than the temperature would lead you to believe. My husband and I got out and visited a couple of thrift stores (kind of our Saturday thing) and picked up a few groceries in preparation for this week's snow forecast. Let it snow, man, because we now have 10 pounds of potatoes! Soup, anyone?
I often list my heated mattress pad on my TToT list, and it deserves the recognition, because it is sooooo nice to slide my cold feet into a warm bed, and I remain grateful for it, but now I can add that I am thankful for fleece (yes, FLEECE) sheets AND that my husband was willing to put them on the bed. See, I always wanted flannel sheets, but he put the kibosh on it, saying it would make him too hot (he who tries to slide his cold feet onto my heated side of the bed before I kick him back to his own side). Turning over doesn't go as smoothly with fleece sheets, but being between them is like being cuddled in a fluffy cloud. I've been looking forward to bedtime ever since I got up today!
Here's a non- weather related thankful: my daughter was selected as one of 71 Seniors of Significance at University of Arkansas. These seniors were selected from more than 600 nominations based on academic achievement, leadership skills, and extracurricular activities (the number 71 is commemorates the university's founding date of 1871). We're sure proud of her!
No school tomorrow, which I'm super grateful for, because I'm honestly not sure my car will start right now. It was sluggish to turn over yesterday, and it was a big 15 degrees. And if I COULD get it to start, then it's unlikely to make it up the hill I live on, and even more unlikely to stop on the downhill side of said hill, let alone make it over the low water bridge unscathed.
I don't know how many thankfuls that makes, but I think it's pretty close to ten, so I'm calling it good. Our link is live until Monday at midnight CST, so join us if you haven't already done so. It will make you warmer!
We have ice everywhere, and that's not normal here, either. It's a swamp, so we are nto creatures of the cold.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your fleece sheets and days at home.
February weather has been ROUGH. We went from ice to snow (lots of it). We aren't used to getting more than an inch or two of snow maybe a couple times a winter. We are paralyzed!
DeleteThe fleece sheets are da bomb!
We saw the sun for the first time in a few days. It's rainy here a lot lately. But I'm not having to go out so it's a good thing. I remember those long john days from living in the Midwest. An old house which we had to plastic seal the windows. It was still brrrry.
ReplyDeleteI had to pass up a chance to get my covid vaccine because of this snow! We also put a blanket over the front door and it helped a lot. Old houses can be a pain!
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