What was I thinking?

Would somebody tell me why I thought going to Canada for the winter was a good idea?

I'm not there yet. I'm still here in Austin. We had our first freeze of the season the other day and I was all bundled up complaining about highs in the 40s. I think I'm going to be in trouble in the Ottawa January.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't always been a cold-weather wimp. Though I grew up in Texas, it was in the Panhandle were they do actually get snow. Not to mention that the blustering, jet stream fueled winds have nothing to stop them coming down off the Rockies and racing over the Plains. One of my favorite Panhandle weather stories to tell is the time I had to walk across campus when the wind chill was something like -40 degrees. Yes, that's Fahrenheit. The high that day was predicted to be 0 degrees and the wind was gusting 55 or 60 miles per hour. In the short walk to class I though for sure my nose and ears might fall off, even though I was completely wrapped and covered.

My other favorite Panhandle weather story is about the time one April when the weather has started to reach the low 80s. I made plans with friends to go to the lake that weekend and get some sun. That Friday, it snowed 12 inches. SNOWED, and a foot of it. The snow was gone in about 3 days. You see, it doesn't stay cold in the Panhandle. It can get bitterly cold and windy, but a warm up is around the corner.

Plus, I've lived in Austin for almost a decade. It doesn't really get cold here. Several years ago there were 3 consecutive days where temperatures didn't get above freezing and we were iced in. The entire city shut down, so we played dominoes and ate chicken & dumpling soup with our neighbors. I like to refer to that as "The Long Cold Winter." We had ice on the cactus. Don't even ask about the hysteria that a few snow flurries created last week.

That doesn't mean I'm a complete wimp. It gets hot here, and I mean hot like most people don't care to imagine. Not Phoenix hot, but it is more humid here, so give me a break. This summer alone we had 67 days that were 100 degrees or warmer. A few years ago our last 100 degree day for the season was in October and our first 100 degree day the next year occurred in April. That's 6 months between 100 degree days, for those who are counting. So I'm not a wimp.

I just don't know about cold that stays cold all winter long. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.