Project Life 365 – Day 16 – Sign of Winter

You know what I hate about this time of year? You look out the window and see beautiful blue skies and the sun shining brightly, and then you step out your door and feel your skin immediately turn to ice and begin to crack. And the only intelligible thought your mind is able to piece together is…

Holy shit it’s COLD!!!

And then you spend the next several hours trying to restore circulation to your extremities and praying that you didn’t get hypothermia walking out to start your car.

At least when there’s snow on the ground, you’re sort of prepared. Even if the sun is shining brightly, if you look out your window and see the ground covered with snow, your brain and body are able to brace themselves for the impact of that first icy blast of air when you step out the door.

The first (and only) snowstorm of the winter dropped at least 8 inches of snow on top of a layer of ice just before Christmas, but at this point, most of it has melted away. The freezing temperatures seem to have settled back in though, and there is perhaps no clearer sign that winter is indeed upon us than this…

Yes, that’s Electra stretched out in a patch of sunlight on the sunporch. And yes, she is wearing a fleece jacket. We caved. We couldn’t help it, and we broke Steven’s #1 Dog-Owning Rule in the process.

But, when your dog is a wuss and refuses to go outside to potty when the temperature dips below freezing, you’re forced to either suck it up and buy her a jacket or try to train her to use the toilet. And considering that we own one of the laziest dogs on the planet, we figured it would be much easier to just buy her the jacket.

Plus, Steven and I were both getting a little sick of Electra hopping up on our bed and trying to burrow under us for warmth while we slept. I mean, we love our dog, and we’re not even opposed to snuggling with her, but when she’s pushing you out of bed because she wants to commandeer the spot you’ve got all warmed up under the covers, something’s got to give.

So, even though the temperature outside is still downright frigid and we’ve still got more winter ahead of us, everyone’s happy. For now.