More Cold in the South

This cold spell brings back such memories of my winters spent in WesternNew York State. At first the cold is invigorating but it really wears you down. One of my most vivid “cold” recollections is of walking through the Harrison Radiator parking lot. I had to park in the lot for buildings 8 & 9. This took place in the early morning when I was working day shift. The sky was clear with a wind blowing making the “chill factor” much lower that the minus whatever degrees the thermometer registered. The only sound to be heard on that lonely pre-dawn walk was the frozen rope banging against the tall flagpole…clang, clang, clang. It was an eerie, lonely, desolate sound which made me hurry to the warmth of the factory. It is funny the things that stick in your mind….

It has been quite a while since I took a “real” trip. I made the mistake over the weekend of checking out airfare specials. I got a killer rate on Southwest to San Francisco. Using different searches I also landed a super cheap hotel rate. Early next month I’ll be off for a 5 night stay. I joking with everyone that I’ll fly wearing my Utilikilt so there will not be any questions about hiding things in my underwear!

My supply of cat food was getting low. That was my signal to go food shopping. My gas tank was on fumes so filled up on the way to Hell-mart. First I checked out the thrift store. I wanted to get another pair of sweat pants to supplement the three pair I use all the time. They had nothing! There were lots of empty racks that normally would have been full of clothes. That could be a sign that people are either shopping there more, or they are not donating as much.

The traffic seemed unusually heavy going to Wally world. The parking lot was packed. The inside of the store was mobbed, lots of empty shelves. This was Tuesday afternoon at 2:30. What was going on?

Then it dawned on me…. There was SNOW forecast for Thursday. Any mention of snow in the south elicits panic. Trust me there is no way I want to be driving on snow here. I now have enough eggs, milk, and most important of all, Fancy Feast to survive for the next two weeks!

The lines were pretty long. I settled in a decent looking line and read the National Enquirer. I love to read that trash in line and then put it back on the shelf when the time comes to load up the belt. It is so much fun to get the dirt on the celebrities. They had the most horrible picture of Brad Pitt and a worse one of Christie Alley.

The lady ahead of me let me know there was a spot in the adjacent lane where I could be next. It never fails if I switch lanes I’ll get screwed. I stayed put and told the guy behind me that other line might be faster. As it turned out this dizzy woman held up that line. I was checked out and gave my apologies to that guy who switched lanes and still waiting in line.

It was another bitter cold morning today. I’ve been trying to keep the feeder full for the poor birds. The birdbath was pretty much totally frozen over. Using a brick I was able to break up the ice to expose some water so the birds can get a drink. Hopefully the sun will melt down some of the ice so there will be more water available during the day at least.

It is so hard to get a close up of these birds. I took this shot from the bathroom window that is just above my outside shower. Soon as I snapped this Stumpy jumped up to get back into the house which caused the birds to scatter! The drama of my life!

Hopefully this cold will break after the weekend. I doubt we will be rowing at all in this…..