Trek to the Tundra

As we are gearing up to make the trek back in December, I have come to terms with the obvious... that we will be leaving the mild temps of the mid-Atlantic, to join our family in the cold tundra of Minnesota.

Naturally one might think, "wait a minute Mrs. T, you did grow up in MN, you can deal with it!"; well, it's not that simple. It took approximately two holidays away from MN for me to lose my arctic tolerance. The first time back in 2006 was relatively harmless. But by the time the December festivities drew me back in 2007, I had lost something that most native Minnesotans would not expect to lose in such a short time. I had lost something that I would boast about (and still do without people suspecting the truth) how easy it is for me to handle the cold here because of my origins. When people complain that it might get into the 30s, or (oh no!!) the 20s, I just chuckle and say, "that's nothing compared to where I'm from!" But it happened, I lost my tolerance to the cold.

Maybe I will blame it on getting older. I mean, it is no coincidence that Florida and Arizona have strong senior populations. Maybe every few years you gain, you lose a few degrees in temperature tolerance. But, I think that's probably bogus. The truth as I see it, is that those folks that made the move from the North to the South were drawn by the idea, and then it didn't take long for them to lose the tolerance as well.

However, while my thick skin for the cold has declined, I know I can get it back again. It's pretty simple really. A person takes a mere 21 days to form a habit, so why was it so surprising to me to lose my tolerance to cold, which is a habit in some form? If you are used to something, if you are around it frequently, its no problem, When you are separated from it, you realize, wow, it takes a certain kind of person to not notice this doesn't it?

So where does that leave me? First, it leaves me with an appreciation for my fellow Minnesotan. And second, it makes me think about that fact that while I shiver a little more when I go back, I still don't hate it. It's really the opposite.

What does the cold in my home state mean to me? It means another season is coming. It means winter wonderland parties, ice skating, and sledding. It means the winter stew will taste that much better, the hot cocoa (or spiked eggnog) will warm the soul that much more. It means the holiday season is near. It means trees will be trimmed and fires will be built. It means thick wool sweaters will be worn and hot baths will be savored. It means communities will join together in shoveling, taking snow days, and building snowmen.

So while wet boots and frozen fingers are no fun, there is a lot of warmth in the cold winter season in Minnesota. And from a gal that happens to live in a slightly warmer place at the moment, there's nothing like warmth from my MN family and friends- naturally, there's no place like home. We will see you soon!

They're Creepy and they're Crawly

Happy Halloween!
So even though its been less than 24 hours from all the windy craziness, we still celebrated Halloween- moooo wahhahahaha!

I have been on a new nickname for the girls in the last several months. BUGS. In the love-bug sort of way of course:) I have no idea how I started saying it, but it took. Hey Bug! How are my bugs? Are you two my little love bugs? I love my bugs! One might think that we chose these costumes based on this nickname. We did not. It just happened. And then I had an AH HA moment several days later.

Stella= Bumblebee; Lucy= Ladybug; Mom= ???

We hit a whopping 4 houses during our outing, but, it was all neighbors we know and hang out with so it was fun!

They were all about knocking at the door. They said trick or treat (really more just like "treat"). And they held out their mini pails. Lucy was all about taking the candy. Stella was all about giving her candy to the person that opened the door- love it!

We had a little issue once we got home and actually let them eat some candy (before dinner- my fault) and of course they (really just Lucy) wanted more, more, more:) They forgot about it after a while and just continued buzzing around.

Hurricane Sandy

I only started hearing about the hurricane late last week (apparently I have been a bit of a news-a-phobe lately, especially when it comes to the weather). However, when I started reading, watching, and listening to reports of the imminent destruction that Sandy WOULD cause, I couldn't stop reading, watching and listening.

Last year, for Hurricane Irene, we were out of town for the hustling preparations and waiting, and then the aftermath that included a fair amount of destruction, but also relief (as it wasn't as bad as anticipated). So while the storm was supposed to hit our neck of the woods (Baltimore), we should have felt safe (which we did), hundreds of miles away in the Catskills. Of course the irony was that our home in Charm City was fine with no damage and not even a power outage; and the cabin where we were staying way up North flooded and we had to evacuate.

This year, all the radar maps illustrated this mega (and perfect) storm Sandy to be coming straight for us. Then they showed a side by side comparison of Irene and Sandy; Sandy was twice the size. We received automated calls from our electric company telling us that our power WILL most likely disappear. The water aisle at our grocery store was COMPLETELY empty. The ATMs were out of money. The lines for gas were LONG. Work was cancelled (which is very rare for the hubs' co.) Washington DC, Philly, and New York City all shut down their subway systems. All flights were cancelled. The President addressed citizens with the obvious inflection of: this is a HUGE storm and if you don't take it seriously, you will be sorry.

So Saturday and Sunday were spent prepping. We got the flashlights, kept our cell phones (and some old phones) plugged in- (we don't have a land line), got the flashlights out and extra batteries, found our emergency radio contraption (btw thanks Mom and Dad!), found water, turned the fridge up, packed up the patio, filled the bathtub etc. Then I took a hot bath. We waited. Water started coming through our window frames. We got towels; the towels got soaked. Dave weatherstripped the windows. Power was still on. We waited. The winds that were howling through the window panes gave a very seasonal haunt to our house. Every now and then you would feel a draft as if it was coming straight through the glass. Police, fire, and rescue sirens were consistent. Power was still on. We waited. It was a challenge to bring Penny outside to do her doggy thing with the pools of water and 60+ MPH winds. We heard that the high tide mixed with the full moon was the next big question mark. High tide in Baltimore City was 7:45 AM Tuesday. Lying in bed trying to sleep with the howling was not very successful. At least the "wind" noise was calming to the mini Tribes. The power was still on. We were still waiting.

All of a sudden Tuesday arrived and it was over. It was still raining a bit, but the winds virtually gone, and only small branches lay strewn across our lawn.Our car (which has been leaking during rainstorms) had no evidence of water, the power stayed on, and the puddles receded.There was minimal flooding in Baltimore City. The suburbs weren't so lucky, but they were very fortunate compared to other cities on the eastern seaboard.

We were prepared and nothing happened (to us). Thank God and thank those of you who prayed for Sandy to keep her distance from our family. While we were fortunate, I can now understand the fear that one goes through when trying to protect their family and home; many people out there were not so lucky.

Thank goodness the injured/ death toll is not higher, but is there really any number that is OK?
Some photos of the destruction.