The coldest part is behind us

On Western Washington campus yesterday

I know it doesn't look all that cold in the picture, since the sun was shining and the wind was minimal. But while on a walk with Steve, I saw that lovely rose and went over to check it out, only to find that it was frozen solid! It felt like a brick instead of a rose. We got down to 5°F (-15°C) on Thursday night, and the wind blew very hard all night. We didn't lose power again, thankfully. (We lost it for four hours early on Tuesday morning, but the cold air had not yet reached us.)

By Friday, I was not willing to walk to the bus just to get some coffee in 5°F weather, and you know how unusual that is for me. Then John called me to see if I was going out, and I told him that I would go only if he would come by and pick me up. Which is just what he did, and we enjoyed coffee and a treat at the coffee shop, before he brought me back home, where I spent the entire day indoors, no desire to walk in that weather. The wind was less, but still there were occasional strong gusts.

However, yesterday (Saturday), we made it through the night without losing power, and the wind had pretty much stopped. But it was still very cold, not enough to stop me two days in a row, however. I dressed as warmly as I could and went out to my car, hoping it would start. My first problem is that I couldn't get the key to unlock the driver's side door. Finally I was able to get inside the car by entering through the passenger side door, crawling over to the other side (not all that easy with a manual transmission to navigate) and opening the driver's side door that way. Whew! I turned the key and the car started right up. I allowed it to sit for awhile and warm up a little before heading to the coffee shop. The roads were dry and the sun was just coming up when I arrived without incident. Steve was already there, so I pulled out my iPad and got the Wordle (in three!) and drank my own welcome coffee. 

I was in no hurry to venture out in such cold temperatures, but we agreed that we'd walk to Western University campus and back, which turned out to be around six miles. By the time we got to the waterfront, it had warmed all the way up to 11°F, and we saw three young people on a dock, getting ready to take a jump into the water! We stayed long enough to watch one young lady strip to her bra and leggings and ease herself into the water. She kept her winter cap on, and swam around for a bit. She was still in the water when we left.

Grace on ice

For those of you who don't know the story about Grace, she just showed up one day on that pile of metal shavings in Bellingham Bay many years ago. She then mysteriously disappeared from the rock, and the artist must have gone through the proper channels and then she appeared again. I've seen birds nesting on the rock and yesterday she was standing on icicles of salt water. I was able to capture this with the sun shining right on the statue. 

It's still cold, but this morning the temperature is in the low teens, not single digits, so we seem to be through the coldest and most difficult part of our cold snap. The rest of the country is not so lucky, though. In the Midwest today it will be horribly cold and windy. What do you do when you have no heat and you cannot go anywhere to escape it? I am so glad we are warm and safe here, but I worry about the others who are not so fortunate. If that might be you, or someone you love, please try to find a safe place and hang in there. It will get better, but it might be some time before that happens. It would be a good idea to stay out of the water, unless you are a young adventurer.

In this period of cold and ice, we need to take some advice from the birds: stick together and huddle somewhere out of the wind. Life is full of challenges, but we usually don't have to deal with such life-threatening situations. Until this passes, we must stick together and help one another get through it. 

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.—Epictetus

And here I sit, in the dark January morning, with my dear partner sleeping next to me, the light of my laptop screen lighting the shadows, and enjoying feeling warm and cozy as I write. I don't have much to say this morning, it seems, as I cast about for some words of wisdom before starting my day. Every Sunday morning at this time I am usually wrapping up my post, but today I haven't been able to mine any great thoughts from my recalcitrant brain. Well, there's always next week, right? I don't have anything to prove, but I do want to give you, my dear reader, something to take away from this moment. Therefore, I will let Confucius say it:

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.—Confucius

So, dear friends, until we meet again next week, I hope you are able to stay warm and safe, and huddle together with your loved ones. I wish you all good things and lots of virtual (or actual) hugs and kisses. Be well.