Cold

 

Very.

Very.

Cold.

Good Grief. I think there was one year (back in the winter of aught-seven...) no really, back then there were two weeks where it wouldn't get out of the 20'sF. But it was 16°F on Wednesday. Cold.

Now, I know that there are people who are colder. But my brain is so frozen it can't even fathom that kind of cold. 

The snow storm on Tuesday dumped at least a foot of snow on us.  And it was beautiful. It still is. The snow was powdery and fluffy. Last night I walked through a park and it was still fluffy. It was kind of like walking on sand - cold sand.  And it's so cold that very little has melted. Some does in the sun, but it's so cold it freezes again just about immediately.  I have award winning icicles on my porch.   

Heaps of snow in the yard. The wind was blowing so hard while it snowed that I have a new geography back there. Parts of the yard only have an inch or two, while others have a foot and a half. 

No one was out on Wednesday except us poor people who had to clean our sidewalks, so the snow stayed white and untouched.

By Thursday though, little critters had wandered through the yard. But not Jacques. No way. He had the good sense NOT to go outside.  I figured after the storm on Tuesday he'd want out on Wednesday. When I went down stairs to start the shoveling project, he did come along, but he was not interested in going out. I opened the front doors for him.  He peeked his head around the studio door, took the measure of things and gave me a look which clearly said, you have got to be kidding me - I'm not going out there! He turned around and walked off to find some warmth.   But he did eventually decide on Thursday he wanted to go out. Here he is quickly slinking under the shed.  When I opened the door twenty minutes later he was more than ready to come back in. 

Jacques is my heat seeker. If there is any part of the house that is warmer than another part, that's where you'll find him. So when the radiant heat is on in the bathroom, that's where he is curled up, heat on full blast downstairs, he's in front of the vent. And when those places aren't enough, he wedges himself between the planter and the sunny window. 

Last night was kind of the last straw for me with the cold. As I sat in my studio I realized I was really cold even though the heater was running full blast. Why was this? Because I had not put the plastic up over the windows this year. I immediately set out to rectifying that situation. The first floor was 62°F and the second was 75°F. What does that tell you? Tells me I need to put the plastic up to keep the drafts out.  This morning things had evened out, 68° on 2 and 64° on 1. Much better. I also hung the drapes over the front windows in hopes of some more insulation. 

 And Swee'pea? Swee'pea is not my heat seaker, but he likes to be bundled up. In bags, in baskets, under blankets, even thin sheets, he just likes to be nestled I think.  Here he crawled under the unmade bed clothes. 

 And in a basket in the studio.

 My poor little Sweetie has worries. I'm not really sure what the issue is but last spring he started licking his tummy. Now he has licked all the fur off of his belly and has some sores. I have a prescription for happy pills for him, but I'm not sure they are working. The vet says it could just be habit now. So what do I do? I just try to distract him when I see he's liking away. Please send happy thoughts to Swee'pea, and if you have any idea how to help a cat break a habit, please let me know!