Cold Tuesday

It is frigid in: the outdoors, my office, the refrigerator, the car, the boathouse, and the staff house.

There is ice on: the sound, the river, the buildings, the cars, and some trees.

It is warm in the:......

It's cold everywhere you look feel, and smell. It doesn't take long for the nostrils to freeze over, either.

Despite the peculiarity of the above statement, there is a point. Go outside, right now. Or go out in the weeee hours of the morning, where it's just you, the air, and your endurance. Can you take it? Can you deal with Mother Nature's coldest offerings. You are a human, right? Don't be to cold, or to hot to do anything, especially things with family and friends. Cold weather is the perfect time to stew up a good stew or make a pot of chilli.

Hot desserts like peach cobbler also hit the spot this time of year...lots of heart and sweet quick breads and cookies are fun to pass the time with kids or friends. As much as every one has complained about the temps (and it's always either too hot, too cold, or too unseasonable), there is so much to do that can take advantage of the temperatures...my friend Callie has taken up knitting, and henceforth knitted articles of clothing to cover her entire body, including her paws.

Other cold weather beaters, like I mentioned earlier, might include baking or cooking...I like to put all of my refrigerated foods outside just so that I can pretend I am prehistoric...despite the fact that all of my food has a label or a wrapper. There's nothing like running outside, early in the morning, in your PJ's, to fetch some milk. I remember when my dad did this during the blizzard of '93 in Alabama. That was the year my cowboy hat blew across our pasture (right after my sis swatted it from my skull)...I chased it for 400 yards before a snowdrift/hole ended my journey. It was a denim cowboy hat, virtually irreplaceable, and certainly doomed to an ill-fitted fate.

If there is snow...make a snow person...or snow cream. If the snow is dirty, leave it alone. In eastern NC, there is virtually no since in trying to ski or snowboard here, yet many have found ways to entertain themselves using old garbage can lids and tractors - but I will never condone such activities. You can always make snow angels, too.

Yeah the cold weather relegates many to dreaming of scorching, steaming, UV-rich beaches...but come August, those same folks will be waiting for...

Enjoy the day.