I would like to offer my apology to (apparently) everyone in the Northern Hemisphere who isn’t in Southern California. I’m so sincerely sorry. Between Polar Vortexes and Winter Storm Leon, things are looking pretty chilly for most of the people in my life. I love snow. As someone who grew up in the South, I will always have a happy-dance in my heart for snow. I love sweaters, chili, mittens, scarves, cocoa, ear muffs, and the whole nine yards. Eight winters in Chicago taught me, however, that snow can quickly go from charming to disgusting and soul crushing quite quick. My time in Chicago did, however, make the South’s reaction to the snow eternally hilarious. I hate that Atlanta is having some real problems, but in general, the amount of sheer panic surrounding snow in the South is adorable. ADORABLE.
As I’ve mentioned before, every morning I play what I call, “The Weather Game” in which I use my iPhone Weather App and scroll through all my favorite cities and marvel at their weather in relation to mine. I started playing this game while living in Chicago, and I would dream about being warmer places during the winter. So, it is kind of nice to actually BE somewhere warm this year. I love knowing how warm it is in Lavonia…or what the Georgia Coast is looking like. What kind of weather is my sister and her family (or Coralie!) having today? I love imagining the day they are going to have in that temperature with that weather. This imagining is engrained in me. Growing up watching the Today Show in rural Georgia, before smartphones, weather channels, and internet, whenever they would cut to the National Weather Forecast I would love to imagine how hot it was in Pheonix, or how much snow was in Michigan. I’ve always loved the camaraderie of weather- either in jubilation or commiseration. Everybody is going through it, so it is always an applicable conversation topic.
Maybe it will wear off eventually, but I am pretty much still BLOWN AWAY everyday by how beautiful it is here. I’m not going to gush, but I did just want to share some warm pictures for our readers who may be bundled up right now.
I’ll just leave these right here…
The top photo is the Japanese Magnolia tree that is blooming in my neighborhood. The second photo is from one of my running routes.
I wish I were a master gardener… that way I would be able to call these beautiful flowers which are blooming everywhere something other than “horn flower”. The pink ones were smaller, but the white ones were huge, bell-sized trumpets. Stunning.
I love how many Birds of Paradise flowers are blooming around my neighborhood. The colors are so vibrant and I love how they peek out from the leaves. And, of course how they look like birds- you know I can’t help anthropomorphizing something.
So, bundle up, babies. Keep your ears, nose, fingers, and toes bundled. May your feet stay dry and your family warm and safe. But, if you get tired of it all, know I’ve got a guest-bed with your name on it…
Love from the Left Coast,
Leigh
Well, to paraphrase that crazy German tourist who managed to fall in love with Chicago during Polar Vortex 1 (http://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/1wdljm/a_guy_from_germany_giving_his_heartfelt_thanks_to/), you never feel so alive as when Gaia is trying to kill you. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Chicago, and with the temperature at a balmy 12 degrees this morning, I was able to walk to work instead of taking the bus for the first time this week. It felt great!