Thoughts On Being A Winter Wuss

When I went to sleep last night, I was supposed to awaken to snow and freezing rain today. Turning on my weather app this morning, however, it seems that we've dodged a bullet and the day will be cloudy, but without any precipitation. Relieved? Hell no! MORE than relieved. I have two Wednesdays left until Christmas and I have DH to shop for. I did not relish wandering the roads in poor driving conditions. I admit it - I'm becoming a Winter Wuss! 

Yes, I am a Winter Wuss. But places like this
snow-filled alley are truly beautiful, and if you
dress appropriately for the weather, winter
can be one of the most breathtakingly-beautiful
seasons of the year. 

I also admit that even though I am a Winter Wuss, I'm not at the level of looking seriously at moving to any other state to "escape" our cold temps. There's a lot I don't like about being here in the Frozen Northlands, but if I'm at the point where driving in poor weather conditions is more voluntary (except for the fact that I'll still be going to the gym at a ridiculously early hour of the morning), I'll be fine with it. Cold and snowy days will be excellent opportunities to work in the kiln - it's always warm when I'm firing at more than 1000 degrees F. 

Just a portion of Colorado's Front Range. As you approach from the
Eastern Plains, a wall of snow-capped mountains rises ahead
of you. I'm sure the pioneers of the 1800's looked at those peaks
and their hearts sank. How would they get over this wall
of mountains? 

There are certainly other things about my fair state that grate on my nerves - mosquitoes in the summer, coupled with high humidity and high temps in the summer, to name one major ick. But Spring and Fall are exceptionally beautiful, and the people, generally, live up to their "Minnesota Nice" moniker. Once I retire I can travel - get into the car and drive west to revisit my mountains of Colorado and my deserts of New Mexico. I don't need to live there to enjoy them - it's only a long day of driving to return to haunts of my younger days. 

A day south of the towering mountains are the multi-colored
outcrops and lower mountains of New Mexico. Here you
get to see the painted layers of geology coupled with
a mix of people that exists nowhere else. I miss my
mountains, but I miss New Mexico just as much. 

DH is a homebody. He lives here, less than ten miles from where he grew up and went to school. The fact that we happened to meet in a different state was truly serendipitous. I'm the person with the wander lust, not he. I want to travel and see things, meet new people, and have new experiences. He wants to build an arbor in our back yard, clean and rearrange our house, and stay here until the day we die with very rare trips (under duress) to other places. We couldn't be more opposite! 

DH and I couldn't be more opposite. I'm always a bit
mystified that we ended up together and are still
together after almost 40 years. 

So, today as I shop for the final gifts for him and his stocking, I guess I'd better keep in mind that we couldn't be more different if we were night and day. Maybe I should look for things I don't like, if I don't like a gift, it might be the perfect one for him! With that thought, I'm signing off to begin a very busy day. Enjoy your Wednesday and "thank you Alabama" (my single political shout-out for the day).