Coldest week of the year!

I can't disagree with that statement! Thursday our low was -19 and the high was -3. Staying inside was the only option. To keep my feet warm in the house I had on wool socks, wool Dzonba slippers and a pair of regular slippers. A shawl to keep my shoulders warm was necessary as was the afghan covering my lap as I worked on it.

Here's a picture of our thermometer from Thursday morning. See in the lower right corner that the outside temp was -18 at 9:57 in the morning?

I've created a photo montage of the snow of our patio table. Left to right are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. How much snow have we had? I've given up measuring.

Today, the sun is peeking out and the temps are in the 20's. The roads are melting for the first time in a week and we're starting to see a little bare pavement. Hey, two tire tracks down the road get me excited after a week of snow and ice packed roads.

One thing we've been doing this week is looking at seed catalogs. We'd like to get our garden seed order in soon. The Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog arrived on one of the coldest days this week. A friend told us about this company. They carry lots of heirloom and open pollinated varieties (no hybrids). We'll definitely be ordering from them. What other seed catalog do you know that has 3 pages of eggplant seeds to choose from; carrots in white, yellow, and purple; 10 pages of summer and winter squash, and 8 pages of melons from uncommon bitter or snake melons to common water and muskmelons. How about vegetables grown by Thomas Jefferson or beans brought over on the Mayflower? I'm enjoying reading the descriptions of each variety as I choose varieties we might like. I look for flavor, productivity, and disease resistance. Our garden is always colorful though this one may rival any past garden. I do know that the veggies we will grow this year will be much more colorful and flavorful than any you will find in a commercial supermarket.

It's been a relief to look at something other than snow. While read these catalogs, I'm dreaming of warmer weather. Hubby has already plotted out where things will be planted in our veggie garden this year.

Someone posted a comment asking how we deal with this weather? We are used to it being cold and snowy in the winter. Though it's been 9 years ago since it was this cold. We've been spoiled the last few years with less harsh winters. (It was a nice change!) In January 2007 we had no snow and temps in the 50's (F). It felt odd. Even though the calendar (and my body) knew it was winter, the temps and outdoors looked more like fall. Shortly after the Martin Luther King holiday winter kicked in with a vengeance. It was short that year. Normally, our winter weather kicks in at the end of November around Thanksgiving and lasts through February. By March, things are improving. This year we had a 70 degree day in early November before we slid directly into winter and have stayed there ever since. I have to say that we've had more ice this winter than I can remember. One ice storm a season is more than enough. This year, I've lost count of the ice, sleet, and freezing rain we've had. I'll take snow over ice any day!

Heavy coats, wool hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and boots help us get through this. A down comforter on the bed at night helps too. If the roads are too bad I stay home. I can drive in these conditions. It's other drivers who continue to drive as if the pavement is clear and dry that worry me. I don't want to be their target when they can't stop on a dime. Though a foot of snow on the ground won't close our area down. We know how to deal with it. I like the change of seasons we get here though I am more than ready for spring to arrive.