Weather: It's All Relative

I live in the North Georgia Mountains. At least, geographically. When I first moved here I met more people from Florida, than Georgia. One day I was getting a manicure and as the others in the salon and I were chatting I discovered we ALL were 'from Florida'. At first, the manicurist maintained she was from Georgia, but then she mentioned she was born in Plant City, FL and moved here when she was 4.

I have jokingly stated that Blairsville, GA is technically the northern most town in Florida, only Georgia thinks it belongs to them. Occasionally, I meet a 'local'; someone who was born and raised here. More often than not, when the conversation gets going, even someone who is from "Minnesota" will interject "when we lived in Florida" into the conversation. Once in a while I will discover that someone I considered a 'local' actually came from somewhere else, most often Florida. So, while I live in Georgia, sometimes it just doesn't seem that way.

I love this town. It is nestled in a beautiful part of the Appalachian Mountains. Summers get warm, but not as hot as Atlanta. Fall and Spring are lovely. We have four seasons. Snow makes an appearance, but it's not too serious. By that I simply mean we get inches, not feet. However, because we live in the south, a few inches can shut down this town as easily as 10 feet shuts down Buffalo. Maybe not. I'm not sure if anything shuts down Buffalo.

Truth be told, around here if there is snow in the mountains the people living there are stuck until it melts off. Sometimes that's in a few hours. When the weather is cold it can be several days. The 3 trucks with a plow are too busy keeping the main roads in town open to worry about anything more than a mile out of town. Salt? What is that? I'm pretty sure, Pittsburgh has cornered the market on salt. When we lived there I routinely found a bucket load of salt at every intersection. Here, we use gravel, (mixed with salt they say...).

The weather this week has separated us from Florida. The high one day was 29 degrees and that was at midnight. At 3:00 that afternoon we were sitting at 24 degrees. Then the cold front went through. The low was 9 degrees with a windchill of -1. That's right. I live in Georgia and we are expecting -1! Today the snow hit...and the town shut down. The predictions rolled in yesterday and by nightfall, schools were cancelled for today, along with everything else.

Our Winter Blizzard

Sorry Buffalo, but we here in the south, just don't put up with that stuff. We fold without a fight.

-1 is cold, but I give kudos to my daughter in Iowa. They finally decided to cancel church when the windchill was predicted to be -40!  I'm happy in the 20's. It's better than -40. But this is the one time of year I feel we separate ourselves from being a Florida town. If it ever hits -40 there we will know Hell is freezing over.

Wait! I didn't meant Florida is Hell!! I really didn't! I simply meant if it is that cold in Florida then Hell is probably freezing over too.

January Doldrums

It's that time of year. January. Snow. Gray Sky. And then came the freeze! What a freeze. For 2 days while the thermometer stayed below zero, Maggie and I holed up inside.


Then the snow melted. The weather warmed up. And it RAINED. I think the sun has gone south for the winter. It came out one day for about 10 minutes, but I missed it. I was in the basement packing up the Christmas decorations.


I'm supposed to be grateful for all things. Well...... let's see.... hmmm....how can I say this?
I'm not grateful for the below 0 temps, the -35 windchill, and the constant gray sky! Maggie has been asleep for a week. I keep checking her to make sure she is breathing. She gets up, walks in a circle around the kitchen island for 3 hours at night, since she can't get out for her walk.


The icy snow has been a challenge for her, too. Twice I've had to go out and pull her up the hill to the front door. The first time was during the height of the freeze when the wind and the cold were just too much for her. And the second time came when she squatted to pee. She slipped on the snow and sat down and couldn't get any footing to get up. She just sat and waited for me to walk down and help her up. She is a constant reminder that getting old isn't fun.


So how am I handling all this great weather? Well, yesterday, I finally gave in. I woke up in a bad mood, and as the day progressed I didn't get much better. Finally around mid-afternoon I grabbed my coat, and a leash. It was gray. It was wet. It was above 32! One out of 3 was an improvement. Best of all, the sidewalks were clear of snow and salt so Maggie and I went for a walk. We both felt better when we got home. She went back to sleep. I added a Vitamin D infusion.....a nice blend of Florida Sunshine and Russian grains and potatoes. When we lived in the south a Screwdriver was a nice end to the day. Here in the north it becomes a must-have when January and February set in.


Let me end this mid-winter rant on a more serious note.


We survived the Polar Vortex very well. Pipes didn't freeze. Power stayed on. Not everyone was so lucky. I had a fire in the fireplace, and an electric blanket on the bed. I holed up on the really cold days with hot chocolate and a jigsaw puzzle. How VERY blessed I am!


In Florida cold spells could mean nights in the 20's. That's bitter cold when you're used to the 50's or 60's. When I lived in Tampa and we went through cold spells I worried and prayed about the homeless that were living under bridges and huddled around fires in a barrel trying to stay warm. I snuggled into my warm waterbed. (OH, they are so much better than electric blankets. The mattress is warm when you crawl in! Wow!) And I gave thanks, and prayed for those without heat. Since then I've never taken for granted the blessing of a warm bed.




In Pennsylvania, I still think of the homeless but I know there are many "Warming Shelters" for those who are without heat. I am thankful that there are people who are looking out for those in need.


And when the winter doldrums set in, I'm grateful for a warm coat to wear on a brisk day. I felt so much better once I inhaled fresh air. And then I warmed up with that great OJ infusion. And for that I am also Very thankful!

Sieze the Moment

The sun rose this morning over a frosty landscape. The thermometer registered 6 degrees and the birds were hitting the bird feeder early. Inside we were warm wrapped inside our bathrobes and once again I gave thanks for the comfort of a cozy bed. This is Larry's busy time of year. He got home last night after several days away and he will take off again in just a few days, so this morning we decided to skip church and have a leisurely morning together. Seize the moment.

This afternoon the temperatures had risen to a bearable 24 degrees and the sun was out. The projected flurries had not appeared, nor the accompanying cloud cover. It was time to walk the dog. My neighbor thought I was nuts. There was only one other set of dog and people prints in the snow, so maybe she was right.

Growing up in the northeast, I was accustomed to that reality of life. Regardless of what I may have had planned for the day the weather frequently dictated what I actually did. If the day was sunny and rain was predicted for tomorrow, then the vegetable garden would be weeded, and the beans picked. Hot days meant a day at the lake. Indoor projects were saved for rainy days and winter time.

When we moved to Florida it took me a long time to adjust my mentality about sunny days. I had a hard time not taking advantage of a sunny day. Eventually I learned my To-Do list could reflect whatever I felt like doing. Sun was the norm. Rainy days were an anomaly. The weather no longer dictated what I did.

As you know if you've been following this blog, one of my big re-adjustments to living in Pittsburgh was the lack of sunshine, even more than the cold weather. But today was a reminder that I have adjusted. There are many days the weather just isn't conducive to walking. Wind, sleet, deep snow or ice on the sidewalks, lots of salt on the streets; all of these are reasons to stay home.  But mid 20's temperature isn't one. That's what long underwear is for! So I bundled up and watched the ears perk up as Maggie watched and waited for the final signal. I picked up her  leash and she started to wriggle and dance. I could just hear her say...

YES! Sieze the Moment!