Twelve Below In The Shade But Clear, Blue Skies

7:36

7:39

7:42

Up at 6:45, a clear sky,  always a harbinger of arctic temperatures.  An inch or two of snow over night, most schools closed in Chautauqua Country, a good day to hunker down, stay in side, warm and cosy, with a fire, cup of tea, and a good book or two.  This is the first morning I have not seen anyone fishing on the lake; maybe they do have some common sense.  It's now 7:36, a red glow has appeared over Tom's Point, the first sign of a rising sun. I walked outside to get the paper and it didn't feel that cold, of course, I was out for about thirty seconds.

Yesterday was not as cold as today, still it was not much fun being out early for yoga at 9:30 and class was smaller than usual, a result no doubt of the chill.  We worked hard on our hips and back and I can feel it this morning in my connective tissues (the focus of Yin Yoga).  By the way, I didn't know I had connective tissues until I took this class.  I exhibited some discipline after class, skipped a coffee at Ryders Cup and drove to Mayville, to pick up a prescription and do some shopping at Tops.  The roads were fine though early, on my way to yoga, it was slow going.

That was it for the day, as far as excursions to the boonies of Chautauqua County.  I was thinking yesterday about the fact we have not been on the Fred Cusimano Westside Trail once this winter whereas in winter's past, we usually hiked it at least once every week or two.  The weather has just been too cold.  And today, they warn that even a few minutes outside with this wind chill,  of up to 30 below, could cause frost bite.

Pink Tulips (Affection), Still Healthy

We had a great lunch, a stir fry of rice, spinach, and veggies, spiced with soy, sriracha, and a drop of sesame oil, just right.  We ate lunch and watched the rest of the previous night's Grammy's.  We loved the duet of Carol King (Beautiful) and Sara Bareilles (her new song is Brave), a new diva, and the Macklemore rap/song, celebrating the marriage of thirty couples.  It was amazing though it did not bring me to tears like many people.  It was a hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies type of afternoon, as I was pulled further into The Light Years, a family saga set in Great Britain in 1937.  Around 4:15, I put on my winter clothes and despite the 10º temperature,  braved the cold and hiked the Woodlawn/Victoria woods, working up a sweat as I walked in the ten inch snow.  It was cold but bearable, worse when I was heading west, easier the rest of the way.  I walked out on the ice at Victoria, sunk into a couple inches of slush, angering me because it meant it was not good for cross  country skiing either.  I assume the layer of snow protects the ice from the cold, creating a layer of slush over the ice, at least that's my theory.

Hiking Woodlawn

We had an amazing dinner, pork schnitzel, so tender and delicious that I wondered why anyone needs veal.  Evie also made a casserole of scalloped potatoes, some Brussels sprouts, and salad, to make it another great meal, enough for another night, too, making it even better.  We watched the next episode of True Detective and like the previous episode, we thought it was too wordy, too much theorizing or philosophizing, without enough of the plot moving forward.  Some of our friends rhapsodized over this 'smart script' but we are more interested in a good story.  Anyways, we finished the night with the always shocking and amusing Real Time with Bill Maher.  He reminds me of George Carlin with his edgy, at times blasphemous religious satire.  I was happy to go upstairs early, to read, and I began another novel, James Lee Burke's newest, Light of the World, this time set in Montana, not New Orleans, but with the same two hardened  characters, Dave Robicheaux and his buddy, Clete Purcel.  It's good to be back with these two after a hiatus of perhaps ten years.