Thursday, December 22, 2022

Weathering the Blast

I have found it very amusing that in the past couple of decades, the weather has gotten very histrionic. Or rather, the weather hasn't changed so much as the weather reporting. This most recent "arctic blast" is a case in point. I mean, I know it's colder than usual, but the name is sort of ridiculous.

Anyway.

It's cold. And I know it's cold all over the place. Here, it was 3 degrees when I got up this morning, with a wind warning. Which meant our temperatures were forecast to feel like twenty below zero today. And that meant that the last day of school was canceled before our Christmas break began.

YAY!!! 

Of course, that resulted in an absolutely insanely busy day at work/school yesterday. But after we got through finals for Cubby; A. driving the school bus for the whole school to go caroling in the village; hastily arranged last-minute parties for the classes; helping the school cook close down the kitchen for two weeks; AND decorating the church Christmas tree after work . . .

Then I could come home and get ready for the cold weather. 


That included hanging a blanket over the drafty east-facing window in the living room that the wind was hitting full force. 


Moving the dog crates (and the dogs) into A.'s office temporarily. There are only a few nights a year they need to be in, and these two are some of them.

And today, my cold weather activities included baking molasses cookies for about two hours. I made a double batch of this recipe I posted last year, which means I actually made a batch similar in size to one that Grandma Bishop would have typically made.


Poppy insisted that some of them should be heart-shaped, "because Christmas is all about love."

Grandma Bishop's granddaughter--that would be the MiL--gave me a cookie jar for Christmas this year*. I asked for it, so I knew what had come from her. And I decided she wouldn't mind if I opened my gift early so I could fill it with her grandmother's cookies.


And that is just what I did.

In the recipe I posted, I noted that the original giant recipe was the sort of thing farmwives made to fill their cookie jars. That turned out to be accurate, as the whole recipe filled that jar, with a few left over for the kids to eat while they watched The Princess Bride.

Obviously, they're living their best arctic blast life.

So tell me: Are you being blasted? And if so, how are you weathering it?

* Thanks, MiL! I love it. And so do your grandchildren.

13 comments:

  1. Here we are staying inside because of the below-zero weather and finding the amount of snow piled up remarkable! Thankfully, the winds are not as strong as predicted. The dog is very bored, however. Finally, we are happy not to be traveling! Mary in MN

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  2. Bitterly cold, wicked winds, and miserable outside in my neck of the prairie. Everyone snuggling down tonight. We may venture out tomorrow but for now, hibernation! We hit the library today for some new books and videos, and we got take out for lunch to celebrate the end of the semester. Many business were closing early today - no one really needs to be out with the blowing snow. Stay warm!

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  3. Here in Ohio it was 40 degrees but drizzly--I would have gone for a walk if not for the rain and needing/wanting to bake cookies. Tonight the rain and snow is coming, and then the temperatures are dropping. Huddling inside with Christmas food and books and Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carol, per tradition.

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  4. Fortunately, Japan has not decided to get cold. .. yet. My aversion to cold makes me suited to our current weather. I'll pay for you while you are in such a cold spell.

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  5. *looks at my weather nerd husband's ginormous indoor temperature monitor mounted on the living room wall*

    Here it's a downright balmy 18 degrees outside with freezing rain making everything nice and super slippery.

    Ick.

    Inside though it's a comfortable 70 degrees with the pellet stove cranking out blissful heat..very appreciative of being nice and toasty in my PJs enjoying some merlot.

    And of course Poppy is 100 percent correct...she knows what's what.

    Stay warm and safe everyone!

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  6. It's still raining here (two inches so far) in Maryland but within the next few hours it's supposed to switch to the wind and snow. My sinuses feel like they're going to explode, but onwards into the kitchen for more baking.

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  7. We lived in the NC mtns for several years and single digits weren't uncommon. We now live near Charlotte and the lows will hover around 10 for the next few days. Meanwhile, ds lives in Tampa and when the high was 62 earlier this week, people broke out sweaters, turtlenecks and winter coats. Perspective, I guess. Merry Christmas!!

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  8. We are being blasted today (Fri.) here in the northeast.
    Poppy's comment...so adorable!
    Those molasses cookies look so yummy.
    Linda

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  9. It's 11° degrees in the Columbia River Gorge, the ground is frozen and there's maybe an inch of snow at my house The truly terrifying forecast predicts an ice storm tonight and tomorrow that could mean an inch of ice on everything. Both eastbound and westbound lanes of I 84 from east of Portland to Hood River have been closed since last night, and I doubt the freeway will reopen anytime soon.

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  10. We've got 20 degree weather here, but at least the wind finally stopped. There was some ice on some windows, but we escaped any water lines busting (some relatives weren't so lucky, they now have no running water and may be that way until after Christmas). We spent the day inside, watched A Muppet Christmas Carol and made soup and personal sized pizzas with the kids.

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  11. Here in KY we rarely dip into negative temps for highs or lows, but yesterday was one of those rare occasions. With the wind it was -32 in the early morning. I always read your comments over on the Frugal Girl blog & decided to check out your blog.

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  12. LDA: It's always particularly awful when it's not something you're typically dealing with. We're finally thawing out today, and the dogs are SO HAPPY to be outside. I hope it warms up for you soon!

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