Wacky Texas Winters

I've been a certified Texan for almost eight years now (Southern by birth, Texan by the grace of God!), and the weather here never ceases to amaze and baffle me. Our seasons don't "change" - they usually just explode onto the scene in chaotic, surprise fashion and then disappear into the next one. Except, of course, for summer, which seems to last forever...but that's a whole other blog.

Just 3 weeks ago (yes, around Christmastime), our average highs were in the 60's. Mornings were chilly, but afternoons were mild and comfortable, and I loved it. There are thousands of reasons why I live in the south, and one of the higher-ranking reasons is the warmer weather. If I had to drive on ice and shovel snow on a regular basis, I would routinely curl up in a little ball under the bed and sob. It's pretty to look at, and fun to visit, but certainly NOT something I would want to live with.

I should mention that we normally don't get "Winter" until about February, and then it lasts for a few weeks and quickly gives way to Spring. So imagine our surprise this week when the temperatures plummeted to below freezing - and stayed there for 3 days solid!

Our high temperatures never rose above 29 degrees from Monday until Wednesday, when I think we finally got to 31 degrees. The cold weather would be completely tolerable if not for the precipitation that accompanied it. We were fortunate to avoid any snow or real accumulation, but the ice and sleet made for some dangerous driving (and a few mornings of being almost incapable of yanking myself out of bed to go to work).

Mini Me enjoyed the ice - schools were closed on Wednesday, so she was able to take a little vacation. She found some really cool icicles around the house:



So today, after about 8 days with heavy cloud cover and constant shivering, the sunshine is flooding through the windows and the projected high is 57 degrees. Ahhhh now THIS is what I love about Texas....