The Weather

   I have always heard that if you can't think of a coversation starter, talk about the weather. Since I am once again in one of my periodic, "I don't know what to write about" spells, I thought I'd see if it also works for columns.
  You would think that living  in Minnesota I would write about the weather more as it tends to change a lot. I think the last time I wrote about the weather was a few years back when I explained to a friend who was in Florida at the time that I was not jealous of him.
  I'd better issue a disclaimer here. I happen to like the cold weather in Minnesota. It is much easier to warm up when you are cold, than to cool off if you are hot. I think being raised a German Lutheran has something to do with it to as well. Going about in bad weather is a way to demonstrate stubbornness and a willingness to take on adversity. "Snow birds" or people who travel south for the winter are looked on with suspicion.
  It's supposed to get really cold here this weekend. I have heard that the highs were going to be in the single digits and the lows were going to be below zero. I was relieved to hear that. Another reason why I like cold winter weather in Minnesota is that you really do have to stay inside. When the sun is out and it is nice outside, you feel like you should be out there enjoying it as those days don't come too often.
   This means that I can stay indoors without guilt and get a few things done. I can clean out my fridge, pick up around the house or finally clean the fountains that the cats drink out of. I can finish the laundry,read the Sunday School lessons for tomorrow or sort the plastic containers in one of my cabinets. I can give Scamp a through grooming, which he hasn't had in a long time. (His ears perked up when I wrote this.) I could also make a big pot of tea and read a good book or work on my needlepoint. I can write letters to friends. I can take a nap.
   Maybe it's just me, but things just seem more relaxed in weather like this. There's no need to rush about. It's the time of year for mulling apple cider and making food in a slow cooker. You can go about the house doing the things you put off when the weather was better while the smell of chili, bean soup or a roast permeates the air. It's the time of year for the smell of wood burning and crackling in a fireplace.
   The cold Minnesota weather has also given me a rather unusual hobby. I like to scare people from the south by talking about the weather. At this time of year I get phone calls at work from pharmacists in Florida and Arizona who need to transfer prescriptions for customers of mine who are there for the winter. Most of them ask me what the weather is like. "Oh, it's nice out today. The sun is out and it's warmed up to zero." I can here the sharp intake of breath at the other end as the listener struggles with the concept of life existing at that temperature.
  I had a conversation with a pharmacist once who asked me how much snow we had on the ground. At the time we had about a foot and I told her that. She said,"That's a lot of snow."
  "Not really", I replied.
  "Well I'm in Texas and that seems like a lot of snow", she said
  "I used to live in North Dakota. Trust me. It's not", I said with a smile of satisfaction on my lips. I knew that would end the conversation. For some reason, throwing in North Dakota seems to scare southern people even more than Minnesota. Maybe it is because it has the word 'north' in it's name.
   C told me once that an aunt of his asked him why he moved to "that Yankee deep-freeze". I love that phrase. Yes, I am proud to live in the Yankee deep-freeze.
  I just checked the thermometer outside. It's 32 degrees above, which is still pretty warm. This is errand running weather. We can get all our errands done this morning while it is warm and be home in the afternoon when the temps are supposed to drop.
   Sounds like a good plan to me.