The weather outside is frightful...

Well, I guess the end of fall is officially here, and winter is slowly creeping in. Today it didn't feel so much like creeping, more of a bursting in. Although the temperature isn't all that bad (low 40's), it is one of the bone-cold days...the wind and air seem to break through any barrier and find their way directly to your bones...the only real remedy is a hot shower followed by a hot fire and some warm cider. Too bad I don't have a fireplace.

I go back and forth on how I'm feeling about winter this year. Last year winter and I, well, not best friends. I was pretty miserable and disliking every cold day, boycotting the mountain, hating shoveling my car out. I moved here from Florida...give me a little break. And to top it off, I spent the first 22 of my 25 years in warm, sunny climates so despite being in my 3rd year of Vermont winters, there is something in me that will forever seek warmth and sun. This year, although I dread those days where it's so cold you can barely walk, the wind biting at the few centimeters of bare skin, I am looking forward to other things...I've decided I have to if I'm going to survive it. Things like long Saturday brunches with friends and too much coffee. Red wine in the basement at 1/2. Snowboarding and Shed Mountain Ale. Weekend trips to fight off the stagnation of small town winters. Lots of cooking with friends. Snowy days filled with good books and classic movies. Another one of those massive storms like Valentines Day last year would be pretty great too...there's nothing like the empty sound after a major snowstorm.