oh my ice scraper
your time for rest arrived but
scrape again, baby

a bulb in darkness
the crocus waits - emerges to
warm sun. Then - smackdown!

blowing sideways past
my window: snow snow snow snow
in April? so cruel

Got one?

photo by rjax06 on flickr

Since the weather has finally been getting bad, I’ve finally started weatherizing the house. Weatherizing is a gerund meaning “do all kinds of nasty looking things to the house to keep the drafts out.”

I imagine I could spend $50 or so for each storm window. And risk my neck by putting them on the second floor. Or I could put a nice clear plastic covering on with the manufacturer-specified double-sided tape, remembering to clean the sills with an alcohol solution. Then I could use a hair dryer to get rid of all the wrinkles.

Instead, I put on a thick, gray, heavy plastic with package tape. Believe me, it gives the house a just squatted in look. Consider it the domestic version of trucker hats and PBR.

If you, like me, are staying at home today, here some warm things you can think about.

Caps
Woodstoves
Hot tea
Hot Toddies
Hot Chocolate
Wool Mittens and Scarves
Body Contact (It is Valentine’s Day)
Long Underwear - I’ve heard WinterSilks is good (You have to love a silk merchant that uses NerdCaps), but L. L. Bean will serve as well)
Moving around briskly - As Aldo Leopold said, Wood makes you warm twice. The first time when you chop it, and the second time when you burn it.

I swear, a kid just walked down my street with a snowboard under his arm.

to run outside when it is this cold. It is just amazing how many people (at least 5 in just one neighborhood) I saw out running this evening while I was on my way home. It was too cold for me inside of my car, so I can’t imagine that it is warmer running around in just spandex and a long sleeve t-shirt. I am glad to see so many Pittsburghers embracing fitness, but is it actually safe to be running in this weather? Every news channel has been running stories about staying safe in the cold weather. (And it is interesting that cold weather seems to be the first topic that has diverted local news coverage from the Steelers since the Super Bowl in 2006).

We are on day two of school cancellations because of cold weather. My work is canceled as well. The unexpected holidays are lovely, and it is too cold to run errands, so no guilt is involved in staying cozy inside with library books, small craft projects, and Scrabble. Kids are already asking if there will be a delay tomorrow, but it is too early to tell. The good news is that temperatures should rise slowly over the course of the week so that by Saturday we’ll have a high temperature of 24 degrees Fahrenheit (via noaa.gov) - practically tropical.

I can remember being a kid and watching the school district cancellation notices scroll across the local television news. You’d watch for your school, trying not to get distracted or you’d have to sit through the list all over again. The web has changed the rhythm of snow holiday rituals. No more watching the anchor read the list aloud, while you root for your own particular section of the alphabet. You go online, pick a site, and keep hitting the “reload” button. You can even arrange to have the closings and delays sent to you via email…

Until a couple of years ago, snow days were a binary call in the city. Pittsburgh Public Schools had either school or no school - no half measures. However, the district has now switched to a policy of announcing a two-hour delay, which may or may not escalate into a full holiday, depending on conditions. And other schools in the district (independent, charter, and parochial) follow the city’s lead, as they share transportation. Sleeping in on a delay day is not nearly as much fun as a full holiday - for one thing, you have the suspense continue as you hope for the rest of the day off, and that makes it harder to luxuriate in the found time.

Still, two unexpected hours is a gift, and we enjoyed that last Friday.