Baby, it's COLD outside

Here at the 43rd parallel it's COLD. While living in the northern United States we're used to snow and cold, but so far this season we've been spoiled by not really having winter yet. Until now. It has been very mild for what we consider winter. In December the temperature averaged about 20 degrees above normal. In the month of January the average high is 31. It has been struggling to get up to 20. Yesterday our high was 11 degrees.




As many regions of the country experienced ice storms the last week, we did also. Thank goodness not as severe as some areas. I feel for those people. We had a huge one some years back and our neighborhood was out of electricity for 11 days. Eleven days without heat. We have a gas furnace but it needs electricity for the electronic ignition. The water heater is gas fired so we would rotate turns taking hot showers and all would come into the bathroom and bask in the warmth of the steam. Hotels were out of power as well. Plus they were housing the crews that came from around the country to help restore service. Eventually power was restoredto our town library and we would hang out there in front of the gas fireplace. You could tell the people that didn't have their power back yet. We all walked around with a glazed look in our eyes wearing layers of clothes and wouldn't take our coats off. We slept all in one bed, (the boys were 4 and 1 year old) wearing sweat pants and shirts, 2 pair of socks, hats, mittens and with 4 blankets Once you warmed your spot up, you didn't move for the night. The coldest the house got inside was 40 degrees. I have a new appreciation and respect for people in third world countries that live in those conditions for entire winters.

These photos were taken Monday and are still coated in ice today with a layer of snow on them now. It looks like a crazy Martha Stewart came around and frosted the trees and shrubs. It is actually very pretty.