Fighting the Chill

We have gone from record setting highs on Thursday to very chilly temps--it's 50 degrees outside, and all the windows have condensation.  I will wear my very heavy purple jacket, the one I can only wear a few times a year when the weather turns cold.

And yes, I realize that it's not really cold, according to any state to our north.  I've been watching everyone post their snow pictures on Facebook.  I'd been feeling a bit jealous, but now I'm ready for our warm weather to return.  It makes me rethink my vague ideas of where we might relocate, if rising seas and insurance costs make it impossible to stay here.

Still, even with the chilly temperatures, it was possible to sit on the porch in the late afternoon.  Instead of wine, I drank coffee.  I posted this on Facebook:  "Wild living, midlife style: we're drinking coffee at 4:43 on a Sunday afternoon. Can we drink enough to keep us awake until 9 or 10, but not enough so that we're still awake at midnight?"

I was trying to finish The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher before it was due back at the library.  It's strange to read a book where I agree with the basic premise (our modern culture is toxic), but I disagree with lots of the reasoning that Dreher takes to get there.  For a more complete review, see this post on my theology blog.

Last night I took my library books back and enjoyed the lights beating back the early night.  That's the part of the season I miss the most, once January has settled in.

Perhaps tonight we'll have a fire in the fireplace.  I always wonder about these historical houses with their fireplaces.  Is it because people came from the north and couldn't imagine not needing a fireplace? 

We've talked about converting it to gas as we repair the house.  But that's a ways down the road. For tonight, perhaps we will burn wood in the fireplace--another way to beat back the chill.