Frigid-air

[altivo]

"Colder than a well-digger's ankle" was what my father used to say, but my maternal grandmother was more blunt about it: "Cold as a witch's teat." We've had much colder days here, in fact, and sometimes strings of them that lasted a week or more. But after an abnormally warm and dry winter like this one, a couple of nights of single digit temperatures really can feel extreme.

The horses and sheep don't seem bothered by it, but I sure am. I'm cold, cold, cold, even sitting eight feet from a blazing woodstove. The other end of the house is only to be visited by gritting my teeth and hurrying through it as quickly as possible. (May be as cold as the mid 50s there, I suppose, but in contrast to the area around the stove it feels like the seventh circle of Dante's Inferno. (Yes, in the famous allegory the worst part of Hell was cold misery, not fire and brimstone.)

Quite possibly this feeling is amplified by the fact that I'm alone overnight for the first time in months. It used to be a weekly occurrence for Gary to stay overnight at his mom's place in Chicago, but this is the first time he's done it since at least last spring. Changes in his class schedule made it more practical for him to go in for a day and come back out in the evening.

So... this weekend I'm on barn duty both days, plus had the usual weekly shopping to do, and a guild meeting to attend. Mind, I'm not complaining about that, it's no big deal, but with the cold temperatures it just feels like one. Tomorrow is probably going to be a day for making soup or something. This should be an ideal opportunity to shop for a Valentine's gift, but I have no inclination to leave the warmth and go out anywhere.

I think I'll sleep on the sofa tonight rather than alone in the cold bedroom. Well, not entirely alone, since our dog Red stays right with me wherever I go, but he's not snuggly. He's a welcome presence, but he doesn't get up on the bed with me the way the old two did. At least it will be warmer out here and I can easily add wood to the stove as needed.

Comments

[hrrunka]

I think today's actually been slightly warmer here, but it's been a dank grey day (unlike yesterday, which was a lot colder, but sunny), so it's not felt any warmer...

[altivo]

Yesterday warm enough to melt the snow off the roofs. Today, more snow. Or, as the weather service called it, "snizzle". I'm not sure why the usual term, "freezing rain" wasn't good enough for them.

[hrrunka]

Why use an existing term when you can dream up a new one that'll confuse folks...

Ho hum. Snow's pretty much all melted here now. I can hear rain being blown against the window.

[altivo]

Well, it did actually "snizzle" right around time to drive home from work. It was "snasty" too. ;p

[hrrunka]

Ugh! ;)

[soanos]

Brrr... Been a bit cold here lately too. And hi there. I was thinking of coming back on journaling, been away for 2 years or so.

I hope all is good there and you stay warm :) *brings hot chocolate*

[altivo]

Good to see you back. I have wondered for a while what was happening with you.

[soanos]

Ups and downs, mostly downs. But situation is slowly stabilising. Sorry I disappeared off LJ/DW without saying anything, but I was a bit too preoccupied with my life back then.

[altivo]

It happens. Glad you're here now, though.

[schnee]

"Colder than a well-digger's ankle" was what my father used to say, but my maternal grandmother was more blunt about it: "Cold as a witch's teat."

Heh, I like that. My personal favorite's "as cold as the black ass of the devil" (which in turn fits in nicely with the Divine Comedy again).

[altivo]

Actually it would have been Judas Iscariot's ass, I think. He was in Satan's mouth headfirst being chewed upon with his legs dangling out in the cold. The other two "greatest traitors" were inserted feetfirst with their heads and shoulders out. One was Brutus, who betrayed Julius Caesar. Now who was the other? Oh yes, Cassius of course. Dante blamed Cassius and Brutus for destroying the united Roman Empire by killing Caesar.

[schnee]

Ah, right, Cassius — I was thinking about this earlier and remembered Brutus and Judas, but I couldn't name the third anymore, even though I recalled he was another Roman, and I was too lazy to dig out my copy of the Divine Comedy again and check. *s*

[altivo]

I was about to go grab a copy of Dante off the shelf to check when I remembered Cassius myself. He seemed an odd choice to me. I'd have blamed Marc Antony as much.