Baby, it’s cold outside

December 2, 2008 | Iowa,Weather,Winter

 

Sorry I haven’t blogged for a while, but I’ve been busy freezing. No, not freezing, as in preserving apples and putting them in the freezer. Just freezing. As in … brrrr.

When this coldness started — before the snow in October — and I was bundled up in my brand-spankin’ new winter coat, someone wearing sandals walked up to me, leaned in and said, “This isn’t cold yet.” Gee, thanks. (He knew I just moved here from Florida. Maybe the Arctic Circle winter gear in September was the tip-off.)

The amazing this is … 8 degrees makes 20 degrees feel bearable, 20 makes 32 feel almost comfortable, and 32 makes 40 feel downright balmy. That explains the folks I see wearing shorts. Well, no, not really. Nothing explains that. But, in a way, I can see now how 50 degrees feels like it’s time to break out the T-shirts and shorts, where 50 degrees in Tampa had me scrambling for my coat.

I shouldn’t be surprised by the cold. I mean, I grew up in the Midwest. I should know better, right? But something in the brain shuts down and forgets. It’s like when I first moved to Florida, I went swimming in the ocean in December. Heck, after a record-breaking frigid Midwestern winter, it felt tropical to me. People who lived there thought I was crazy. By the next December, I was wearing my winter coat just like the rest of them.

Early on, I was impressed by how warm the house here stayed. Hmm, must be the new windows, and maybe the insulation is good, I thought. It’s a brick house. That probably helps.

Well, that was all before the temperature dropped below 20 outside. Then it was just darn cold everywhere, even in the house. So I started wearing my Winter Silks long johns, the ones I hadn’t worn (hadn’t had to wear) since living in Norway. I wear them all the time now. In fact, I’m wearing them right now. Is that TMI?

And I totally cheated and opened my Christmas gift from Norway early. (Shhh! Don’t tell the kids.) It’s a new winter dyne for my bed … sort of like a duvet, but better. Oh, what a wonderful difference it makes to stay nice and toasty at night. I knock Norwegians for a lot of things, but this one they got right. Well, they didn’t actually invent the dyne … they’re all over Europe. Norwegians like to brag about inventing the paper clip, yadda yadda. But if they want credit for the dyne, I’ll give it to them.

Books: Iowa Curiosities

November 25, 2008 | Books,Iowa

I just finished reading Iowa Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff by Dan Coffey and Eric Jones with Berit Thorkelson.

The book is packed with lots of interesting information, but one of the things that jumped out at me was a mule named Becky. Now, when Tracy Thompson mentioned that her grandfather had a mule named Becky, I thought, “Hey! What kind of name is that for a mule?!?” Turns out, Becky seems to be a popular name for mules. Sigh.

Hey, I’m as stubborn as the next Becky, but does this one have to show me up by serving in a war? (She’s buried in a mule cemetery at Nelson Pioneer Farm in Oskaloosa, Iowa.)

Oh well. The book is fun and interesting, and it makes me want to explore … maybe when it warms up a little.