Perfect for a hot summer day.

I wrote this way back in December and never got around to posting it. After the heat wave we had last week and considering it was nice and toasty warm yesterday it seems only fitting to run it now if only to break the heat:

I hate snow.

I know there are a lot of people who just love it when the world gets draped in white. There is something clean I imagine about a landscape garnished with snow. Nights are brighter when there is a coating of snow on the ground. Even acknowledging these benefits though, I still find I hate the cold weather and the form of precipitation takes at the turn of the year.

I didn’t go out of the house today.

Now, that’s not all that unusual because I can easily hole up in the house for a prolonged period of time. I’m one of those people that is perfectly content and who can find innumerable ways to amuse myself alone.

The only thing is the cold weather makes it all the more likely for me to hole up if only not to expose myself to the cold. I just don’t like cold. Hot is okay but, cold can be unbearable at times.

It snowed this week on Thursday and I dutifully went out and spent the several hours shoveling the driveway to make everything nice and clear - when it’s warmer and it rains, shoveling is never a concern. The end result of my efforts was a tidy pile of snow about 7 feet high and 10 feet wide at the base. A snow tepee if you will.

Today when it snowed and then sleeted and then rained, while my neighbors were out attacking the build up I stayed ensconced in my fortress of solitude and made a big cauldron of beef stew. I’ve been meaning to cook up a bunch of food for a while now. January food, food that will be consumed in the New Year. The storm just gave me an excuse to focus my efforts in the kitchen. I still have to make up a whole batch of Chicken Sorrentino (something that may happen in the wee hours of the morning today).

I spend hours prepping and making up big batches of food and then freezing it in individual portions for later consumption. The stew came out good.

There’s still a whole bunch of holiday stuff to take care of too. Shopping, cards, things like that but I find myself not entirely motivated to get it done.

And that was December... coming up on the anniversary of the departure of the EYOC and leading into a January that was unsettling health wise for me and the beginning of a long downward spiral for kitty. I still hate the cold and even though it is warm I can remain holed up in the Fortress of Solitude but, the one thing I would be less inclined to do in cold weather is to take long scooter rides and there is no denying the joy that those rides bring!

* note to self - time to get started on the Christmas cards!