It's Cold, I'm Busy, It All Sounds Just About Normal - LOL

Today is a VERY cold day, and of course, as a day off, I have a bunch of things that need to get done. I have my cooking class on Friday's day off, so I need to make sure I have everything I need for that when I go to the grocery later today. I think I have a zoom call at 10:30 am. Eric Edmeades (the founder of WildFit) is presenting a book that he co-wrote with his father Baz Edmeades on food, and I'd like to see it, so I'll try to arrange my schedule accordingly. But I have a lot that has to be done today and we're going to have wicked wind chills for the next 48 hours. I'll try to keep my outside stuff to a minimum, but I'll have to be out in the cold at least part of the day. 

It's easy to see where Eric got his good looks from. His 
father, Baz, is quite good looking too. Baz wrote a book 
called "Megafauna: First Victims of the Human-Caused 
Extinction" that was published late last year. I have a 
copy in my e-books, and will be reading it in a few 
months (I try to read down my TBR list in order of 
purchase whenever possible). I'm looking forward to 
reading it, though. 

Today will be a day when it's so cold it will squeak. Those of you who have never experienced cold like this won't understand, but those who have will totally hear that "squeak" in their heads as I mention it. It's a day that when you move your food and it moves sideways a bit before becoming stationary, it squeaks. We're stuck in this latest cold snap for the nest 24-48 hours, but fortunately we're not expected to get any snow, so I won't be stuck freezing while making sure the driveway and walkways are cleared. 

This could easily be a photo of my side yard's roofline. 
It's not my house, there are a few differences, but the 
joining of the different angles of roof are almost 
identical. DH scrapes the snow off the front and side 
yard roofline constantly throughout the winter. It's 
the only way we can avoid ice dams, which would 
cause roof damage as they melted. It's a lot of 
work, but it keeps our house safe. 

DH took advantage of our rather nice temperatures yesterday and raked higher on the roofline around the house. We do have an ice ridge on the roof along the upstairs hallway, and that's not melting or coming down, but he did manage to get 1-2 feet beyond that point to clear away the snow. We do have to keep an eye on things or we'll leak into the house from ice dams, something that seems to be endemic with this house if we don't keep a careful, close eye on things. 

This is NOT my house, but it is a really good photo of 
an ice dam on a different house. Ice dams are massively 
destructive. The photo shows one that's really bad. This 
house probably has leaking ceilings and possible will 
have actual roof and gutter damage by the end of the 
season. Ice dams are nothing to ignore. 

I tried to get my Friday swim reserved yesterday and once again was unable to. I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, I remembered my reservation almost an hour late, and now the reservation system won't allow me to make my reservation at 5:05 am any more, I'm supposed to wait until 6:05 am instead. When I wait that long, I usually can't get in at all, so I grabbed my 5:00 time on Thursday instead and I'll be on a regular M-W-Th schedule instead from here on. I've set permanent alarms on my phone and made sure I can access the reservation system from home or my phone. I need three days in the pool, but they don't have to be alternated - after all, before Covid I was in the pool six days a week. 

The swim reservation system is set to allow you to make 
a reservation 72 hours beforehand, but no longer than 
that, even if the reservations system is open and there are 
slots available. It's rather frustrating. I had one time when 
I wasn't able to make my reservation at my usual early 
time, and now I'm being penalized for that later time. 
I'm sure eventually they'll get rid of the reservation system 
all together, but right now I'm stuck. 

So, it's a busy day and I have to get going. Have an excellent day, stay warm and comfortable wherever you are. I'm going to be very grateful for my parka and my new gloves today, and I'll return tomorrow. Be kind, be self-aware, and have peace in your life today. Namaste.