This will be a brief one but I thought I should write about the lovely weather we're having here in Milwaukee. This morning I awoke to light--actual sunlight (we haven't gotten much of that around here lately)--streaming through our bedroom windows. It's amazing what that does for the psyche of someone who is not a morning person; randomly, I felt like I actually wanted to get out of bed on a Saturday morning in the dead of winter. I looked out the window and it was perfectly clear, blue, and sunny. I was happy.
Until I opened the door half an hour later to let Vinny outside and realized it was all a sick joke, a lie of the most hideous kind: today, quite possibly the prettiest day we've seen in months, the temperature outside was -3 degrees (and that's not including wind chill). I have never seen a more miserable dog in my life than Vinny, hopping through the yard, hunchbacked, ears pinned down; at one point he actually sat on the snow mid-pee because the frozen ground was so cold on his poor little paws.
I didn't fare much better. I had to go out to run a couple errands and firstly, I was shocked at how long it took Matt's car to start. For a few seconds I thought the thing might be completely dead, but as it turns out it was just playing dead in the hopes that I wouldn't force it to transport me anywhere. I let it warm up for probably five minutes, but when I went to back out of the driveway I could hardly even shift into reverse, and I had to literally muscle the car into first, second, third gear, and trust me, it protested noisily. The 10 second walk from the car to the store was torture but I have luckily learned by now that fingers and ears don't last uncovered in this kind of cold, so I had my mittens and my yeti hat and I made it. I haven't figured out the nose problem yet, though. I have definitely seen people wearing full face masks while shoveling the driveway, or taking out the trash, but I'm not sure that would go over too well in the grocery store.
So, that's the news of the day! Apparently the low tonight is -8 with a wind chill of -25. Oh well. At least I've gotten lots of cleaning done, and I'm looking forward to warmer temperatures tomorrow: the projected high is 6 degrees! YAY!!!
P.S. Please note, I'm attempting to add some more interactive-type features to this blog. You might notice there will be new links to the side of the posts, or even a poll now and then since blogger has that feature, so please feel free to participate! And leave comments, too--it encourages me to write more often. Also, you can subscribe to my RSS feed (which puts a little button at the top of your browser that allows you to see my recent posts) just by scrolling to the bottom of this page and clicking on 'Subscribe to: Posts' and clicking 'ok' for anything it asks you thereafter.
P.P.S. I have a three day weekend!! Thanks for being so awesome, Martin Luther King Jr!
4 comments:
Caitlin, Keep warm! Please know, since you are new to that neck of the woods, during these very cold times, make sure the gas tank is AT LEAST half full -- I think it has something to do with crystalization (sic) in the gas which can cause problems with the engine. Also, when the temps really dip (like now) you may need to go start the car if you aren't going to use it, just to keep the battery charged. Usually running it for five minutes twice a day keeps the battery from draining. AND, you can buy cold-weather boots for Vinnie at Trixie and Peanut. It's funny to watch them walk in the boots, and the dog is usually miserable; but, it truly saves those tender little paws from frost bite, cuts and gives traction! Love and hugs, Cindy
I think some people, at least, wrap a scarf across their nose to keep it warm. Though then, of course, your nose gets wet from the moisture of your breath bouncing off the scarf!
Ah, ya wimp.
Look at the bright side: no mosquitoes!
Jacko sends
that's true about the mosquitoes....man. every season has its downfall here, i suppose. except fall, which is perfect, but lasts two weeks.
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