Saturday, January 8, 2022

Sun Magic and Mittens for a Very Cold Day

Yesterday at this time it was -13 F (-25 C), today it's 13 F (-10.5 C). What a difference a day makes. I felt one step above an icicle yesterday, and was determined to get some warm gloves and at least one set of mittens, so my first stop of the day was Dick's Sporting Goods. On the way there, I saw pillars of rainbow coloring rising into the sky. It was a sun halo caused by the cold and the refraction of the sun's rays. As soon as I turned into the parking lot of Dicks, I drove to the far end and snapped this photo. So beautiful - and so transitory. I doubt it was up for more than 10 minutes before it disappeared into the winter sky. 




The intensity of the side rainbows don't come 
through quite as well as I wanted in the photo, but 
you can see how mesmerizing the ice halo I saw 
yesterday morning was. DH even texted me, asking 
if I had seen it. He saw it while driving into work. 



I ended up purchasing two sets of gloves and one pair of mittens, then bought my groceries and headed on home. I was in the mood for a thick 5-bean chili with ground beef - the perfect meal for a really cold day. I unloaded my groceries, got the beans onto their first cook, and then went on to clean the small corner of the breakfast nook where I keep my gloves and hat. I tossed two sets of gloves - one (the set that I had been wearing) was shredded and torn - and one pair that had never really worked to keep my hands warm, despite the fact they were "rated" for sub 10 degrees. 




I love a good serving of chili during the winter months. I 
think I'll add some mushrooms and rough-cut tomatoes 
to my next recipe, but I made enough yesterday to last 
me for almost a week. Soooo good and tasty! 



With the chili well underway, I headed to the computer room and set up the laptop for a delightful hour+ watching the latest episode of "Project Runway". The show was down to the final seven designers (now six, after this episode), so by now everyone is very creative and quite talented. Still, I had the losing outfit picked out immediately and agreed with the judges both for the winner and the designer sent home. I then pulled out Sharon's second holiday gift which had arrived last week, wrapped it in some vintage wrapping paper and boxed it up to take to the Post Office after the chili was cooked and put away. 




Sharon had used some vintage wrapping 
paper on my Woodstock collectors issues 
for my Life Magazine collection. A gift 
that I treasure. I used some of my own 
vintage Xmas ET paper from 1982 on 
the package I sent to her yesterday. Happy 
Belated Holiday Gift, Sharon! 



I wore one set of the new gloves on the way to and from the Post Office. I wasn't very happy with them, although I think they'll be fine with temps above zero. When I got home, I put those gloves underneath the heavier set and moved my new mittens under my hat. I think today will be a good mitten day, and I can fall in love with mittens if I don't need the dexterity allowed by gloves. I will say that I was so cold yesterday I had ten cups of hot tea throughout the day and well into the evening. I'm grateful we're slightly warmer today - I really can't tolerate the extreme cold for long. 




The OR mittens I purchased were certainly not 
top-of-the-line, but I think they'll do fine for 
keeping my hands warm, and that's why I 
bought them. I didn't want to spend a fortune 
on gloves and mittens, but knew I needed 
something better than what I already owned. 



So, have a glorious and happy day. I have a bunch of stuff I need to do at the shop today, so I'd probably better start getting things wrapped up here so that I can leave in a couple of hours. I certainly plan on being back here on Monday, so have a great weekend and I'll see you then for a bit of a rushed day (swimming, then my semi-annual dental appointment for a clean & check). Be kind, stay well, and have fun. Oh, and Happy Birthday to Stephen Hawking - deceased, but hardly forgotten. 




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