Nor was there a long foray out into the frozen tundra, despite making a few really good warm clothing finds in a seldom-used cupboard downstairs.

I have been meaning to go searching for some of my cold-weather clothing that I used to wear when I caught the bus so I could repurpose them for walking. It seems I tucked everything away along with a few pair of short boots once I started working from home. Well, this morning I found a treasure trove of cold-weather gear I had even forgotten about and so I brought it upstairs to rifle through it.

I found my mukluks in the process. I have been missing my mukluks these past few cold weeks. In fact I wanted to look for them last year, but I kept figuring that brutal cold was going to go away … but it never did. They are so very warm and wooly in a Scandinavian print with Sherpa fleece inside. They go almost to my knees. I may look a little silly sitting typing at the kitchen table while wearing something that seems better suited for a much colder clime than Michigan, but they sure are toasty. Later in the day, I was carrying my full cup of coffee across the kitchen and nearly wiped out on the braided rug … ah, that is why I stopped wearing them – soft and shiny soles plus a clumsy wearer is not a good equation, so they will be once again relegated to the basement.

I found a hunter’s camouflage head covering which looked like Spiderman deer huntin’ gear … I think I schlepped it along with the essentials in my bus bag just in case I needed it for the ultimate snow storm, of which I’ve been in a few over the years while taking the bus. In a pinch, it might’ve worked, but now that I’ve abandoned the contacts and wear glasses all the time, it might be a scary look.

I found a couple of pair of earmuffs and a ton of those foil-wrapped hand warmers, long since expired.

I really think I was rummaging through my stuff as a stall tactic to avoid going outside, but finally I resigned myself that I indeed had to traipse out to run the car, so I spent the next ten minutes getting dressed and out the door.

Mother Nature has sure given us the cold shoulder again today.

As I opened the storm door in the 8:00 o’clock hour, I knew it was 5 degrees with a -5 degree wind chill. The needle on my neighbor Marge’s thermometer was in negative territory. I shivered just looking at it. Brrrrrrr.

We had a dusting of snow last night and the sprinkling of frozen crystals on the trees and bushes looked like icing sugar. As the sun slowly cast its first rays of the day, those six-sided snowflakes twinkled and glinted in the early morning light.

Likewise, the sun’s rays shot through some lethal-looking icicles making beautiful prisms that I hated to tackle with my broom. I whacked them once and a row of those beautiful icicles soon snapped off and their pointed edges shattered into dangerous-looking icy shards upon hitting the porch. I had to scoot over to the side quickly to avoid getting hit on the noggin.

My outside chores done, I hustled back into the house as quickly as I could … maybe tomorrow I’ll venture out of the igloo longer and go past the end of the driveway.

What good is the warmth of Summer, without the cold of Winter to give it sweetnesss?
~ John Steinbeck