Staying warm at 45 below

I planned to update this several weeks ago, but got sidetracked and let it go. So, finally, when 45 below is in the past, here I am.

I have been truly enjoying the warmer weather, with temperatures into the 20s and even 30s. It's wonderful after the bitter cold. My love of Alaska no longer extends to the extreme cold. I practiced some serious hibernation techniques.

I went out only when necessary and had a routine for that:

1.  Warm up the car at least 15 minutes (I don't have a garage).
2. Go from warm house to warm car.
3. Go from warm car to warm office or store.
4.  Reverse numbers 2 and 3.
5.  Dress very warmly in layers.
6.  If the mail carrier hasn't been by when I arrive home, pick up the mail in the morning when I leave for work.
7.  Make rib-sticking comfort food.
8.  Hot coffee in the morning - hot chocolate other times.
9. Revel in my new furnace! I'm so glad they said it had to be replaced last fall and couldn't wait until summer 2012.

There were a few positives to the weather.

1.  Northern lights on the way to work - on a couple of clear mornings.
2.  The fox who doesn't seem to mind the weather. She was out wandering around several mornings near the office.
3.  The moose who can handle the cold. I love watching them stroll slowly across the street, as long as they're well in front of my car.
4.  Genealogy - because I didn't want to go out, I was online honing my research skills and looking for long-dead relatives. I didn't find anyone new, but I was able to locate some information on military service, a will and church documents.

I'll be going back to PA this spring to see my parents, and purchased a new wand-like scanner so I can scan the photos in my mother's albums. I will be practicing with it before I leave here. It has a memory card slot (with a card inserted), so I should be able to bring back a lot of old pictures.

Although I know this is just February, and that more cold temperatures are almost guaranteed, I'm loving the warmer weather as long as it lasts. In just a little over two weeks Spring Training will start and then it's just another month until April and Breakup.

I'd love to be going to Spring Training again, but I figured I'd save the money for the PA trip. So while I wait for spring and seeing my family again, I'll just dream of baseball parks and warm weather.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.