We’re supposed to hit at least 75° today. Sure, there may be some rain but that’s expected in springtime. But…. it won’t officially be spring until March 20th. I guess that’s why our forecast is for temps to drop and be downright cold next week. It’s official. The girl that loves winter is OVER it and ready for summer.
No white shoes, pants or skirts until after Easter.
Yup. That’s how old I am. That rule used to actually MEAN something, while today, I don’t know of anyone that wears white shoes anymore. I don’t own any, do you? Heck, more people than me wear shorts and flip flops in December and that has nothing to do with climate change. 🙂
Now you know: Vernal equinox defines two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length; also, either of the two points in the sky where the ecliptic (the Sun’s apparent annual pathway through the sky) and the celestial equator intersect.
We had 70° days earlier in the week. It was warm enough to sit outside in shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt, relax and read a book. Want proof? The ole’ Wyze Cam captured it:
Now, it’s barely 20° and we have some kind of white precipitation falling here in southern Indiana. Here’s the same chair from last night…
The weather is bad but life here is still better than it is in Mexico.
I’m sure you’re following the news and certainly don’t need to hear anything about it here, so I’ll just say I’m pretty happy I’m NOT in Mexico right now, even though the weather there trumps what we have here.
I’ve been to destinations in Mexico several times — both by cruise ship and by flying in. YEARS ago, I flew in when they were still burning off the jungle for the airport. Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Cancún, Mexico City and more… I’ve hit them all.
Traveling to Cancún in the way back machine…
I haven’t flown into Mexico for several years, (only cruised), but back in the day, it was a totally different experience when you have a port of call in Mexico and when you arrive by plane.
On those earlier flights, I was surprised that when getting off the plane they just rolled a step platform up for you to walk down. It was basically a concrete pad in the middle of the jungle. If you were booked in a nice resort, a van was there to pick you up (with a cooler full of Dos Equis beer) to transport you to your hotel.
I remember jeeps with 4 or 5 military men in full camo gear standing in back with AK 47s zipping around in the area as we were heading out. The jeeps were in groups of 3 or 4. Crazy… when you’re on a cruise with a port in Mexico, you only see the tourist areas and none of that militia stuff.
My last trip to Mexico was via a cruise…
When you cruise, you don’t see the “real” grocery stores where meat hangs with flies swarming it, and you don’t eat authentic food where the decorations in the outdoor establishment are dusty plastic roses hanging in bunches on the walls.
I can’t imagine being there currently with what’s going on… and wonder how those on cruise ships are being routed to keep everyone safe.
Now you know: While Cancun proper has limited docking for large cruise ships, it is served by the nearby, bustling ports of Cozumel and Mahahual in Quintana Roo. In 2024, Mexico scheduled over 3,122 total cruise ship arrivals, with Cozumel alone accounting for 1,199 ships. Cozumel is one of the busiest, often welcoming over 3 million passengers annually.
We didn’t blow away yesterday, but it was a close call. Sheesh… it was so windy! I chased the rugs from the deck all over the front yard — more than once. The wind had died down before we struck out headed north early afternoon.
We made a pit stop in Seymour for Starbucks on the way to our destination and was so surprised to see every restaurant’s parking lot packed. Every food joint was cray busy.
Just to wake up your brain on this fine Saturday morning…
Since young is gone for me already, and it doesn’t say if you drink the green potion you’ll become young again, that’s not an option. Since I live in Indiana, the blue potion would be a waste. Black would be fun as would purple. If I could do purple and travel back in time to around 1990 — AND steal the green potion from someone I don’t like — that would be the best plan. If that doesn’t work, I guess I’d drink the red potion and leave what’s left once I’m gone to family.
What about you? Which potion would you drink?
Now you know: Takeout and delivery now account for 75% of all restaurant orders.
Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of this special occasion, I’m not going to complain about one single thing. No political mentions, no complaining about Internet trolls, nothing like that! But birds? I can do happy birds!
I can also talk about raccoons & weather without being negative!
I learned something new this week and it happened by accident. Sitting at my computer, I looked outside and what did I see? A critter that looked exactly like a raccoon, but this dude was brown. While not as prevalent as the color you think of when you conjure a raccoon in your mind, they’re not actually rare. I had no idea they could range in color.
While we still have snow on the ground in patches, the temp yesterday bumped above 50° and it’s going to keep getting better… even with the periods of rain forecasted. We’ve struggled through winter up to mid-February, so the worst is over for the season. Right?
Be especially grateful today even if you don’t have a valentine. 💌
There are so many things to love and appreciate even if you don’t get (or give) flowers or candy.
Now you know: Teachers receive the most Valentine cards overall than any other group in the US. Children come in second with mothers and wives coming close after them. The chocolate company that created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates? You guessed it — Cadbury in the 19th century.
EnviroHeat did the boiler install here and they’re the only company that can purchase parts for it or is certified to work on it that’s located in our area.
The first time the boiler overheated, they came that afternoon. When the same thing happened again, they ghosted me. It was 4 days before I got a response from my voice messages… and it was by text. Two days in a row they promised to show up and didn’t. So Perry and I watched YouTube videos and consulted ChatGPT and now…
There’s fire in the hole!
Dude SAID he checked the water level, but he couldn’t have because the sight thing has been broken since November.
We filled it with water and bled the lines. Estimating water flow time and the size of the hose, a conservative estimate is that we added around 170 gallons. It only holds 393 gallons, so it’s no surprise that was a big problem. With the snowmageddon that is to hit this weekend, it’s sort of a big deal to have heat. It worked fine… then just before midnight, it got too hot again. ARG!
That’s when Perry noticed the new rope EnviroHeat put on the door wasn’t even in place. Of course, fire getting too much air will cause it to get too hot.
Thanks for NOTHING EnviroHeat! 🤬
Hopefully, we’re now set for what’s coming our way…
We’re as ready as we’re going to get here at the barndo.
Perry’s on vacation before starting his new job late next week; we have full gas cans for the generator in case we need it; and I made a grocery run yesterday for us and the Pesky Neighbors. Ben will be staying in a hotel for 2 nights courtesy of his employer, and Katie works at Dollywood and is staying at the resort over the weekend. Tennessee’s governor declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, as did North Carolina.
Of course, all this means I’ll be sharing snow photos over the weekend, and in the meantime, check out last night’s view:
My hope…
My hope is that we get all snow and no ice, and that we all stay warm. I also hope that you have milk, eggs, and bread — along with toilet paper and coffee — and all pets are inside for the duration of the bad weather.
Now you know: In the 1950s, full length commercials were banned from US television, but were brought back in 1984 when the FCC rescinded the ban. By 1994, an estimated 91% of all TV stations were airing infomercials.
