Bundle Up, Buttercup!

Well winter finally showed up. Communities all around me have had snow, but as is usually the case, here on the harbor we just got lots of ice and freezing temps. Usually we get nothing when everyone else gets snow or snow when everyone else gets nothing. They call it The Harbor Effect. I call it a pain in the bum.


But I do sleep better in the cold. Something about being surrounded by chill and ice while I am snuggled in beneath a quilt makes me happy, cozy, and content. I sleep very soundly and am reluctant to leave my cuddly den. The lads-- Ahmed, Max, and Jeeves-- are compulsive snugglers in the cold weather. I more of less vanish completely. See that lump made of fur, arms, and pillows over there? That would be me. It's great. The vibration of the snoring acts like a Shiatsu massage.

I also hate bundling up when I leave the house, but I have to. Ahmed will actually grab me by the back of my jacket, haul me back, and wrap a scarf around my neck. So I've tried to make a habit of wearing scarves, and it's a good idea. Keeps me toasty and healthy. I don't feel the cold the way most people do, but it can still hurt me. So I probably have more scarves than ten normal people. At this point I may count as a collector. I also have some nice coats with hoods. I hate hats unless they are baseball caps. Woolen hats drive me nuts.

Gloves on the bitter cold days, too. I don't like them and try to avoid them. I've always had a weird thing about my hands being covered or hidden. No likey. If I am forced to make a choice I'll go gloves rather than mittens... at least I can see my finger-shapes in gloves and they don't slide all over the place. I think mittens look cute but they make me feel completely handicapped. And I have long, skinny fingers (unlike the rest of me). Most gloves create a sort of webbing effect on me, refusing to tuck up tight between my fingers. Annoying. Warm, but annoying.

But winter is here, so I will be bundling. How about you? Mittens or gloves? Hats or hoods? Scarves or snoods?

I Hab A Gowd

I ab sowwy to wepowd dad I hab a gowd. A bad gowd. I'm mizabal. An I dnow I hab no bidniz compwainigh bud sdill, I'm mizabal. Weawy. *cough*

K, so I can type without the congestion, but that's pretty much what I sound like right now. And the strange thing is, I really don't feel all that sick. I feel gross, cranky, tired, and weak. No fever. Stuffy nose, and as everyone who loves me predicted, it went into my chest a little bit. Yeah, that's bad. But Ahmed pounced upon me with many preventatives early on, and it's NOT that bad.

Only it feels like it is even though I know it isn't. You know what I mean. You feel a bit like your head is inside a fishbowl. You think the cough is under control until you laugh, sigh, or somebody asks you to speak normally, and then it's hackcoughsorrydammithackhackcoughspew... whadjusayagain? Granted, as I am told about every five minutes, my lungs are always an issue and everyone tries very hard not to breath on me when they aren't feeling well. And I appreciate that.

I even appreciate the moderate, persistent wigging out as I wait for the cold to go away. I do. People love me and want me to be ok. And I will be even--

*gasp*

hackcoughspewcoughhackspewchokegarglecoughcoughcough

tually.

Snow!

It snowed last night. Not the wimpy, little dusting we've already had, but the real deal that we've been waiting for. I don't care how old you are or how jaded you've become. Around here this is special an the kid emerges from the basement of every soul. It SNOWED. It covered everything and we awoke to a sense of softness, sounds made dimmer by the thick layer on the house. Morning light was more pearly and had no sharp angles to it. There as a smell... a slight, softened edge to the air like springwater, but with no trace of green. If you live in New England or a place with a similar climate you know what I mean. You don't need to look outside to know it snowed. You rush to the window because you know already.

And there it is... a thick blanket (the dustings don't count) made for careening down hills, sliding over big back yards, and building monstrosities of white. Snowmen, snow houses, igloos, you name it. The holiday decorations are suddenly magical. Every nativity scene achingly beautiful. The boats in the harbor decked out in ridiculous lights, wreaths, santa hats... nobody embraces the winter like our local lobstermen. I think you have to be slightly insane to do the job anyway.

We deck our lighthouses with holly and bay. We greet N'oreasters with grins and hot cider (usually spiced with something suspiciously stronger than cinnnamon). We build snow-lobsters and snow-forts and have snowball fights with mailmen we've known for years. We're not right in the head, I guess.

Must be all the snow. :)