The drama of snow in the deep south has hit, yet again. You let one meterologist say the word flake or dusting or heaven forbid he throw in the phrase winter weather mix....and folks in the south go wild with the thoughts of a blizzard to match the likes of something to be seen in South Dakota. As if.
I really cannot imagine what my Northern friends (hello friends) and Northern family (hello family) think. And I do mean Northern...I have one cousin who's rather far up there...CANADA...told you it was far up there. My Canadian cousin, well, really she's a South Carolinian that married a Canadian and hence was transplanted there, for now. Of course that's been over a decade ago, so what do I know? Except that I wish she'd move back down south, or at least live a little closer than a COUNTRY away. :)
I'm sure they make such fun of us, and really, why not? We are such wimps. An inch of snow, temps below 30, and we rush out to prepare for weeks without power and anticipate days on end foraging for food. Hmmm...that might be a plus towards my weight loss resolution, maybe I shouldn't stock up for the "winter weather mix" afterall. At any rate, we, as southerners, are just not equipped for the severe cold, even though our severe cold of 10 degrees is far warmer than Alaska's severe cold of 40 below, which lasts for months instead of a few days. None the less, these events only occur so randomly that we are taken by surprise each and every time. For instance, take the following example I have from last evening.
We knew the cold was coming. They've been forecasting the extreme temps for over a week now. And our beloved pets outside need to keep warm in this climate too....they are southern animals you know, and thus are acclimated to the area. So, we planned on getting them a space heater to keep them warm in our garage. However, we waited until the night before the "winter weather mix" arrival, and well, that my friends was just too late. For the last two weeks, there have been hundreds of heaters in various stores I would enter, the Costco, the Wal-Mart, the Target, etc. .... however, that was two weeks ago....last night there was not one to be found in those same stores.
My dear husband searched hi and low, through 3 or 4 stops on his way home, until finally, he found the last one known to man, on a shelf in the deep south. And he stole it right out from under some grey-haired elderly woman wearing knee stockings.
Okay, that last part I merely added for flair. It did take several trips around town on his way home, but he managed to find a heater. I am happy to report, the dog and cat, both slept in a toasty corner last night, curled up all snug in their warm beds. During this quest to find a heater, while I may not have a surplus of food products (yet), I do have a gigantic box of trash bags and a 6 month supply of paper towels that were also purchased by the hubs last night.
I hope we get at least a little to lay on the ground. What fun is it really if none accummulates? And what a waste of some really cute pink snow boots.
Keep your fingers crossed, just as I've been typing this post, the flakes are getting bigger and falling faster....maybe there's hope yet. Otherwise, I guess I really need to take the time to go clean up that toilet paper out of our trees.
