Tuesday, January 20, 2009

the dead of winter

This past Friday, I received an e-mail from my friend, Linda.

Linda lives in Chicago, Illinois.

This was a photograph that Linda took on her way to work, Friday morning.

This is a photograph of our children riding their big wheels at the beach Sunday morning.

This is a photograph of our children making sand angels at the beach Sunday afternoon.

This is a picture of our children eating ice cream immediately after they made sand angels, when the temperature started to climb in to the high 80's.

This is a picture of the thermometer in my car early Saturday morning. This was the coldest I have seen the temperature drop, thus far in January. (And this is what I look like with no makeup, five hours of sleep and who-knows-how-many-days-since-a-shower.)

Since my blood has thinned to the point that I had the heat blasting and I still felt chilled to the bone, this is why I highly doubt we could live any place other than Southern California.

Unless, I dressed like this.

10 comments:

  1. Please note that the bank temp said NEGATIVE 18 degrees. It actually hurt to breathe that morning.
    Today it was +12 on my way to work.
    Positively balmy!
    Linda (Chicago)

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  2. Hee! Keep up the warm weather pictures so those of us who "enjoyed" the -20 temps last week (that is without the wind chill) can remember what sunshine looks like, and ground that is not covered with the awful white stuff! Your pictures give me hope that someday it will get up to freezing temperatures.

    Of course, then we Chicagoland people will have disgustingly hot, sticky summers. But, heck - it's all part of the magic! :)

    (It is officially not allowed to snow here anymore; I am out of places to put the snow from my driveway. No more snow until the two feet on the ground now have melted down somewhat. That's my final word.)

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  3. Jen, you are like me...I just can't STAND cold weather. I was raised in Honolulu, so moving to the mainland has been an adjustment for me. I initially lived in Kansas. Brrrr! Now I live in Dallas, TX. A mite better, but the winters can still be too cold for my liking. I'm happiest at 85 with a light breeze. But since I'm in Texas, I get more like 105 with a gale force wind in the summer. Ah well. I think I'd rather have that than even 45. Yes, I'm a weeney.

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  4. Linda: Oh yes, I noticed that the sign read NEGATIVE 18 degrees. And I actually thought a more appropriate name for "STAND BANK", might be "I CAN'T STAND IT!!"

    I'm so glad to hear it's warming up for you. Time to break out the sunscreen!

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  5. I too am a Chicago resident - and I think the only one who says bring it on - the cold and snow - I absolutely love it (and I love your blog too!). I am actually jealous of my niece in Wisconsin because she has so much more snow than we do here! If it werent for my love of gardening I would spend the entire summer indoors with the air conditioning blasting!

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  6. LOL...It's actually Standard Bank, but the "ard" is not visible.
    Seriously, it just FEELS so much warmer today. It's up to +18 degrees.
    WOO HOO!
    On a side note, I can't tolerate this weather very much, either. But as my friend Ann Jay says, "Chicago 'ain't for sissies".
    I just tolerate this cold because summer in Chicago is like no other.
    Linda (Chicago)

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  7. Minus 18 FARENHEIT?! Brrr! That's cold. I thought it was cold here at -12 Celcius. Brrrr!

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  8. and here it is 40C - around about 105F or so.

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  9. I love warm weather, and love Tx for it...as I similarly loved So CA when we lived there.

    I hate to think of myself living on the frozen tundra of MD next winter.

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  10. As someone who just moved from San Diego to Chicago who is currently experiencing our first winter here, it pains me to read this post. I wish I were with my kids on the beach instead of stuck inside for the 3rd week in a row...I figure I'll really appreciate the spring instead of taking it for granted like I have in the past.

    I love reading your blog. Not only does it remind me of sunny San Diego, but it makes me laugh every day. Thanks!

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