Baby It's Cold!

It is early January, winter in TN, and at the start of the week we were experiencing the aftermath of winter storm Grayson.  Then, by the time of this posting, winter storm Hunter was moving through.  So, of course it was cold outside, which also made is seem cold inside.  I did not feel like going out for a walk, or making a trip to the barn, or even getting in my car to go to the gym.  And I just wanted to keep eating Christmas treats, which we still had a lot of after the holidays.  This was not going to make it easy to lose the weight I gained and get back into shape before our February cruise.


It was 7 degrees when I got up before sunrise Saturday morning.  Monita was still really wanting to snuggle, all morning, while I tried to finish up and post last week's blog.

While gazing out the bathroom window, I noticed Hobo trying to get warm in the sun.








Maggie and I checking out the frozen pond while out for a walk.  Snow covered part of the ice.

 

There were no golfers on the course all day.










While I was busy with un-packing, laundry, and the start of Christmas decoration 'take down,' the cats took over my desk and chair.





I got a bit downtrodden with the enormity of the task at hand, and ended up wasting time doing who knows what.  The house got a lot messier too, which was discouraging.

To lift my (our) spirit(s), we went with Patty to Red's for a bite to eat.  She had just arrived the day before, with two of her cats, to become a permanent resident of Fairfield Glade.  When we picked her up at her house, we went in to help her with a few jobs, but were only somewhat successful with one of them.

Dinner was good, the karaoke okay, and the football fantastic.  The whole bar watched the Tennessee Titans rally from a 21-3 deficit, and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 in an AFC Wild Card playoff game.



Patty had given me this cute mug that actually has a pocket for your fingers to fit into.  You cup your hands around the mug to warm them up, which is just what I did with hot tea when we got home.

Sunday morning the temperature was in the mid 20's, better than the day before, but still cold.  Ice continued to form across the pond, nearly reaching the inlet of the creek.  If you enlarge this photo you can see it.









I was trying to save my last two blogs in Word documents as usual, but my new computer (with Windows 10) was not cooperating.  It's enough to make me want to rip out my hair, but it is already too thin, and I need it to keep warm.  So I stepped away from the computer and finished up laundry and stowing away suitcases.  Then I continued the task of packing up Christmas stuff.



While all the dog bedding and blankets were in the laundry, I moved the beds up off the floor so Maggie wouldn't lie on them.  This bed is up on the card table, where the two cats thought it was a perfect spot to nap.









After removing all the entryway Christmas decorations, I got busy moving my safari theme stuff back into this space.  It included moving some plants around and dead heading all of them.





I really love this large pot with reeds from Jan, and now with the floor runner she gave us, it really ties everything in and warms our front entryway.


Joe went to poker at 2:00 and I spent two hours at the gym just before dinner.  For the evening I watched Fixer Upper instead of doing more work on Christmas clean-up here.  



Monday morning it was slick out at 6 am when I walked Maggie in the freezing rain.  So not only was it cold, it was wet and somewhat treacherous.  

By 9:00 when I drove to the gym to meet Patty for the Ballroom Aerobics class, our driveway and the roads were just wet, not icy.


It rained all day. 



Once home from the gym I put my loungers back on and never left the house the rest of the day.  Seen right, my fur babies napped while I was here at my computer.


Stevie supervised while I took all the ornaments and then lights off the tree.


Joe took the tree apart and boxed it up while I took totes up to the balcony and vacuumed.

Monita supervised boxing while Maggie watched for deer and golfers, of which there were none.





I ended the evening in front of the fire watching two episodes of Fixer Upper while Joe watched Monday night football in his Mancave.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling rotten, with a bad headache from cold/sinus build-up.  I took meds and hoped they would nip this in the bud.  I sat here at my desk extra long, with Monita napping near by.


We now
have the puzzle table back in front of the large picture window, where Stevie likes to nap and bird watch.  

I texted Jan to cancel out on our noon meeting to ride together.  I just didn't feel up to it.  Then I took a long nap on the couch with Monita.

I made myself get productive, and finished Christmas clean-up.  Everything was taken down except my snowman wreath and two snowmen.  I decided to leave them up to make things cheery in January.

I hauled everything up to the balcony and finished stowing stuff in totes and then moving them into the
attic closet off the bunkroom.  I had bumped my forehead on a shelf, requiring time out for ice and a little blood clean up. 

It was time to go workout and then meet Patty for the Stretch class, so I was off to the gym.  Right away I tripped over a weight machine and scrapped my leg.  This head cold is messing with my equilibrium and balance.  But I made it through a good workout and then hour of stretching.








After dinner I finished stowing everything away in the attic closet (seen above)...

...except like with the snowmen, I put this winter woodland grouping in the balcony window. 





The head congestion was no better Wednesday morning, so I continued to medicate.  I wasn't going to let this get me down, too much.









I did Ballroom Aerobics with Patty again and then 30 minutes on the elliptical.






After a quick lunch I went to the barn.  Amiga was a muddy mess, like Zorro, seen here at the gate.  Once I got her cleaned up we went for an easy, little ride.







The trails and bean field were very muddy so Amiga sunk in or slid quite a bit.  Twenty minutes of riding her at a walk and ten minutes letting her eat winter wheat while riding in the field, and we went back to the barn.

I took Maggie for a much needed hour of exercise.  I had driven to Patty's neighborhood and parked in her drive.  After our walk, we went in to visit with Patty.  Her gray cat Bo was very interested in the dog, and not at all afraid.

It was a foggy Thursday morning.  I had an early lunch and then went into town shopping.  It drizzled off and on the whole time.  Seven stores, nearly $200.00 spent, and four hours later, I got home.  By the time I got everything unloaded and put away, it was too late to go for Stretch class.  I was out of energy and motivation anyway.  Another two hours were spent with cooking, eating, and cleaning up dinner and then I was done for the day.

I bought this second deer that is lying down for 75% off and Maggie loves the 50 cent ball I got at a thrift store. 

I decided to ride early Friday because more cold and nasty weather was on its way.  When I got to the barn before 7:30, it was already misting, but was 58 degrees.  It didn't take long to get Amiga ready because she was still in her stall and was dry.  I rode bareback so I wouldn't get my tack wet.  But shortly after I left the barn, it started raining harder.  Seen right, some of the 'boys' watching Amiga and I.


Amiga and I got wet...       ...and wetter.

 

I rode back and into the barn, and rode around the aisle-ways while Ambrie and Kaylah cleaned stalls.  After nearly 20 minutes the rain and wind stopped and I ventured back outside with Amiga (video). 

The trails were wet and slippery so we kept it at a nice slow walk.  Amiga got to graze for quite awhile out in the bean field.  Even though my pants were soaked, I didn't feel cold because it was so warm out.  

Next on my agenda was to go to the gym to work out.  I spent 45 minutes each on weights and elliptical.  I lingered a bit long in the hot shower so was a tad late getting to the Village Mall where I met Shirley and Patty at the Pizza/Pasta place.  We talked for nearly two hours and enjoyed our yummy lunches.






We stopped in at one shop on the way out and I had to get this photo of their black board because it fit this blog title.  

I did an hour of house work when I got home and then put on my PJs, got a cup of hot tea and watched the rain turn to sleet and then snow as the temperature continued to plummet (28 at 7pm, down 30 degrees, predicted to hit 18 overnight).  Baby it's cold!

I think the birds and squirrels have been glad to have me back and doing my daily chore of hanging out full feeders each morning.  Animals survive this cold by fattening up because larger bodies and fat store more heat.  Guess that's what I had been doing all along over vacation as I gained six pounds in twelve days.  I was preparing to migrate back north and into the cold.  At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.  Unfortunately, dropping those pounds is not happening as easily.