“Nothing burns like the cold.”
“Marley was dead to begin with.” Okay, that is stolen directly from Dickens, but I did use quotation marks. I wanted a dramatic opening, and that is one of my favorites. Winter is holding sway was all I could come up with as my first line, and it’s a weak one. I wanted drama, I wanted a “Stella!” moment to describe the change in temperature.
It is now is 24° on the Cape and in the teens in Boston. The sunlight has a cold look, a sharpness, to it. The sky is a deep blue but its color lacks any warmth. When the breeze blows, I can feel it fly up my sleeves and down my neck. This is what I remember as being cold.
This is a bundle day, a pull out the afghan day and a nap under the warmth of the down comforter day. I’m going nowhere except upstairs for that nap. Earlier, I went to my usual Sunday breakfast. When the alarm went off, I jumped out of bed to turn it off then I jumped right back under the covers. I wanted to stay in that warm bed, and I know both Gracie and Fern hoped I would. They were warm cozy against me on opposite sides and didn’t move when I tried to get up. Finally I gave them no choice, and the three of us left the warmth of my bed.
The roads were empty this morning. I saw only a few cars, and after breakfast I saw some people walking into church. They were huddled together and bundled. Many of the old ladies wore long coats with fur around the collars. I suspect they also have boots at home in the closet, the kind which slip over shoes with clunky heels and are transparent. The hats they wore this morning were purely decorative.
I don’t have to ask today where winter has gone. I know exactly where it is.
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February 12, 2012 at 1:24 pm
We’ve had quite the opposite weather here today. Sunny and just below 32F and no wind 🙂 We took a long walk on the bog and Bertil decided to follow us out there 🙂
The sun gave more heat than I could have imagined before we went out so I stayed close to the islands instead of walking out in to the middle of the bog. But this is just temporary but I got the feeling of spring for a moment there 🙂
By the way, Do You know what climate zone You live in? My guess is 6 since You live that close to the ocean.
Have a great day!
Christer.
February 12, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Christer,
I think we’re like one of those snow globes that someone shook. The weather got turned upside down.
It has gotten even colder since the sun went down. It’s only 26° right now. It will get warmer later in the week.
I looked it up-zone 7.
February 12, 2012 at 1:48 pm
This morning our entire family went out for an all you can eat brunch at a local Mexican restaurant. They make some of the best black corn tortilla cheese enchiladas I have ever had along with a lot of other great southwestern “Tex Mex” dishes. It was a good way to do Valentine’s Day for the whole family. Valentine’s Day to me is a “Hallmark” holiday. That’s a minor holiday that’s promoted by the greeting card and candy industries to separate us from our hard earned money and to keep dentists in business. Dentists really need Valentin’s Day because fluoridation has really reduced the number of cavities that kids get today.
Our temperatures here are about ten degrees warmer that yours. Dallas is on the same latitude as the Sahara Desert while Cape Cod is on the same latitude as Istanbul Turkey. I am not sure that Istanbul gets much snow in the winter but the temperature difference may be similar.
When I was in High School in New York I took a swimming class which was conducted in the School’s indoor natatorium which was kept at a nice ninety degrees. When the bell rang to change classes the coach would yell, “Everyone out of the pool and no late passes”. To get to my next class I had to cross a courtyard after quickly drying off and putting on my cloths. In the winter my wet hair would begin to freeze and my wet cloths would turn icy against my warm body before I could get the door open on the other side. It felt like a minute of falling into the water in the Arctic Ocean.
Winter may have only paid us a short visit since the high temperatures here are forecasted for seventy two degrees by Wednesday.
February 12, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Bob,
I’m not a cynic about Valentine’s Day. I just think of it as a special day to tell the people I love how much they are loved. I send cards and I get cards, no chocolates though!
I love Mexican food, and there are few good ones around here. I would have loved that brunch!
I am not used to this cold. We have been darn lucky all winter. I don’t dare complain about today as it seems unfair.
I can only imagine how cold it must have been crossing from one side to the other. That seems really poor planning by the architect. I feel cold just running in from the car.
50 is our really warm winter day!
February 12, 2012 at 11:44 pm
I could have walked from the pool to the class through the crowded halls and been late. I braved the cold and snow to prevent being late to class.
February 12, 2012 at 1:58 pm
I loved those old hats and all the ones I picked for my Mother she never bought. I wonder if there’s a message there somewhere. Sad about Whitney. I am combing the net to find out how she died. She was a real star.
February 12, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Z&Me,
My mother wasn’t much of a hat lady and neither am I and my sisters. Funny thing is I collect hats and have one of those wide brim ones women used to wear. I put it on every Easter.
Whitney was her own worst enemy. I feel so sorry for her.
February 12, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Hi Kat,
Winter is here too. It’s low 20’s but feels like 4 or so The Weather Channel blurb said. Rocky and I took a quick walk up the lane because he was going stir crazy. I couldn’t wait to get back inside and practically dragged him along. Poor guy hardly had a chance to sniff anything.
The glass enclosed porch was super warm from the sun and I sat out there for a couple of hours and knitted. It was nice.
Enjoy the day.
February 12, 2012 at 6:54 pm
Hi Caryn,
I went to breakfast, and that was it. I didn’t take Gracie as I thought it was too cold for her to wait in the car, even with her coat on. Boxers have a thin coat of hair so Gracie doesn’t hang outside too long.
We all, Fern, Gracie and I, did have a nap together.
February 13, 2012 at 8:07 am
Burning is the perfect way to describe the cold this past weekend. I made chili and started a knitting project last evening, Winter has finally arrived! Hope everyone stays warm and cozy as often as they can. xoxoxxoxoxox
February 13, 2012 at 10:37 am
splendid,
Making chili and knitting-perfect activities for a cold afternoon.
I went out for breakfast, came home, read the papers, took an afternoon nap and watched TV later. That was my day-leisurely and totally non-productive!
February 13, 2012 at 8:21 am
It was so cold today, I saw a chicken walking with a capon–ta da!
Actually, the sun was warm enough, and we had no wind on Sunday. The girls were here for a sleepover Sat. night, and Sunday we spend part of the day enjoying late winter weather. We still have a few inches of hard snow on the ground. The girls wanted to try out the pool (only the top), so I had to get out on the ice and jump up and down (I do what they tell me to do), to see if it was safe. Then we spent time gliding on the ice and hoping we could stop at the edge before going over the side.
Next weekend we are having a reunion in Durham with college mates from UNH, something, we have been doing in the summer only, since 1978. A few years ago we started meeting in the mid-winter also, and it’s a different group every time. There is always the hard core group, but the fringes change
Stay warm…..
February 13, 2012 at 10:43 am
Bill,
Did you hear my groan?
Of course you do what they tell you. Isn’t that what grandfathers are for? I loved gliding on ice when I was a kid. It was as close to flying as I ever got back then. I fell a few times, but that was expected. Shoes just don’t have steering mechanisms!
I haven’t seen anyone I went to college with as I haven’t done a reunion. I’d love us to plan a Ghana 1969 one, but I wouldn’t begin to figure out how to find us all. Michelle Jacks is coming in May to visit, and Ralph Cherry has been here. Gary Bernon lives on the cape, but he won’t talk to me. For some reason, I have a mental block about him and every time I see him, I ask where he served. Bill Opal, a staff member, lives in Eastham. I have seen him a few times at get-to-gethers. Tim Hensen is in Coloardo, and I know Ralph sees Larry Lackey every couple of years. Gary is in touch with Benny Pullum. That’s it though.
February 13, 2012 at 4:40 pm
It’s hard to reunite PC when everybody is so far apart. When you think of it, the only thing that brought us together in the first place was Peace Corps. After training we scattered to our respective posts, and had only a mid-service reunion in Winneba (?). There was no end-of-service meeting, since most of us left at different times. Most of our close UNH friends are here in New England, and most in NH.
February 13, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Bill,
Some of the RCPV’s from down here have reunions every 5 or do years. There are people I would love to see again though there are others about whom I have no interest. You’re right about the distance.
It was Dix Cove on the coast where we had our mid-year conference. I took the overnight train from Kumasi to Takoradi and was rudely awakened when it derailed. It was, though, an adventure.
February 13, 2012 at 5:21 pm
It was Dix Cove–you’re right. At my age and mental condition, it’s easy to forget. I remember we took the train from Tafo to Accra, then lorries to Dix Cove. For some reason we ended up traveling with Keith (last name I don’t remember), who was stationed in a town near us. He’s not in the mug book–I don’t remember if he was in our group or a holdover from the previous group. While we were waiting for our next lorry, one of the old mammies wanted to hold Kevin, so we said sure. When he reached over to breast-feed, she accommodated him by lifting up her blouse and letting him nurse. Everyone, including us, got a good laugh–you can’t get blood out of a turnip.
We arrived at Dix Cove town at dusk, and managed to get a room in a rest house for the night–no electricity, but we had oil lamps. The next day we arrived at the “resort”.
February 13, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Bill,
I took a lorry from Takoradi and arrived at the resort that afternoon. It was a real change for me from Bolga to be at the ocean. The water was wonderful.
I remember going to the the village and hiring men to dive down for rock lobsters which they’d boil, and we’d eat. I think we paid them about 10 or 20 pesewas for each dive and for cooking the lobster.
As for your age and condition remark, we are the same age!