okra: Winter Returns or Winter's Revenge!

It is officially winter now. The past few weeks the temperatures have been unusually warm, in the 70s and sometimes even above. And I was loving it! But now, winter is back in business, and with enthusiasm. It rained and sleeted most of the night as the temperatures plummeted, freezing everything. Our cars were encased in ice this morning. My car is particularly difficult to open once it has been frozen over, and so far I haven't had any luck prying open either door. I'm very much regretting having left my gym bag in my car. My brush, shampoo, makeup and everything else is in there! I had to be creative this morning.

Later today, the weather is supposed to get worse. We are supposed to get more freezing rain, and then several inches of snow. Yuck!

Despite the obvious drawbacks, the chilly weather does make our house seem very cozy. It has good insulation and stays very warm. It is especially festive now that we have a Christmas tree. We picked up a soft Douglas fir tree on Monday at the local hardware store. I'd never bought a fir before. Because they don't grow very well here, they are more expensive(we have mostly pine). Its needles are so soft. It is also the tallest we've had, nearly touching the ceiling. After sawing, trimming branches, and fiddling with old half burnt out lights, it's finally looking ready! We made a trip to Target for some new light strands and I put most of the ornaments on it last night. Usually I don't put up a tree this early, but I'm glad I did it before the weather got so bad. I'm feeling particularly prepared this year; I even have nearly all of my shopping done! Next on the agenda is wrapping presents. The very last of them should arrive in the mail this week. I did all of my Christmas shopping online this year, and it has worked out very nicely. I highly recommend it! I love getting packages, even if they aren't for me, hehe.