13 December 2010

It's Official. Winter is Here.

And doesn't that just suck? I have to admit that I really, really HATE winter. I hate the cold. I hate that it gets dark so early. I hate that going outside has to be such a production. I hate it when people say things like, "There is no bad weather, just inadequate clothing."

I'm LOOKING at you, my darling husband. One day that little statement is going to get you a snowball down the back of your jacket. Or worse....

See, I have always maintained that I was stolen as a baby from rich people in the Bahamas. I was born never to wear shoes. I was never meant to be able to picture what "long underwear" even looks like. I'm one of those people who is meant, truly meant to have a light golden tan all year. My freckles were meant to be visible every day of my life. The words "fishbelly white" were words that I was never to hear in conjunction with MY legs....

I know. We're supposed to live in terror of an errant sunbeam touching our pristine skin. The sky is supposed to fall if....for one second....the thought even crosses our MINDS that this is just a smidge hysterical. Because it is. Sunscreen is the #1 reason that we have to take Vitamin D supplements now. Our bodies can manufacture more than enough of that substance...if we let them.

Ok. I'm starting to rant. Never a good thing. I give you pictures of summer. Behold the Chicago Botanic Gardens.









All photographs copyright 2010, all rights reserved.

14 comments:

  1. I'm picturing these photos on the fronts of notecards, that would bring a ray of sunshine on the dreariest day. Thanks for sharing them.

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  2. Thanks Messy, they are lovely!
    Nice to be reminded of summer. Here we have another 40days and 40nights of rain, I think I just saw a boat filled with animals floating by.....

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  3. Thanks guys! I hate freezing weather, so I'll take all the summer I can get!

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  4. It's that whole "agricultural revolution" that did us in. Back when we hunted and gathered, we were smart enough to follow the sun. Then people got this brilliant idea to plant stuff and then they had to stay put!

    I'm with you - I HATE winter. I'm sitting here INSIDE my house with my long underwear on under my jeans, three shirts on and two pairs of socks. This just ain't no kind of right!

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  5. ACK! And the word I had to type in order to post that last comment was "snowing"!!!

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  6. Me: I'm Mister Green Christmas
    I'm Mister Sun
    I'm Mister Heat Blister
    I'm Mister Hundred and One
    ...
    I never want to see a day
    That's under sixty degrees
    I'd rather have it eighty, Ninety, one hundred degrees!

    Husband: I'm Mister White Christmas
    I'm Mister Snow
    I'm Mister Icicle
    I'm Mister Ten Below
    ...
    I never want to see a day
    That's over forty degrees
    I'd rather have it thirty,
    Twenty, ten, five and let it freeeeEEEEEEeeze!

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  7. And now you know why I have a realtor on the big island of Hawaii searching for my retirement home. When I retire, when I think of snow, it will mean reception on TV is not good.

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  8. Robin - fertheluvamike TURN UP THE HEAT! The Boy and I used to have this argument over room temperature. Then we lived for five years in a condo tower that had spit and Kleenex for insulation and only electric baseboard heat. I had to put insulation over ALL the windows just to make it livable in there in the winter. He hated it, but then he worked away from home all week.

    Now he never bitches about heating costs. Not after seeing how happy his wife is when she's not bundled to the eyeballs. If this is an issue with you, tell your significant other that your clothes don't come off AT ALL unless the thermostat goes up.

    'Neato - I'm with you. I think I set up a flight to Kauaii on points in January...

    jburd - Our retirement of choice is Oregon, and I'll be deploying a real estate agent this spring. The weather there is only "cool", not "up to your butt in snow and salt", so I think I can live with that. Plus...the wine.

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  9. The retirement dream here is a yacht to follow that comfortable 20-25 degree thermocline around the world...

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  10. Peter...boats sound like a whole lot of work to me. I don't want to retire just so I can work my ass off every day. Call it laziness if you want, but it seems counterintuitive to me. I'd be much happier with a private plane to do the following.

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  11. You speak of the wine in Oregon, did you know there is a very nice winery on the big island, and a craft brewery as well. Also, due to proximity, Austrailian wines are plentiful and affordable.
    With year round locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, fish caught that morning, and plentiful island-raised beef, pork, and poultry, I'm not seeing many reasons to return to the mainland.

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  12. Ah, but land anywhere in Hawaii is ridiculously expensive, and I can really only see myself living on Kauai. Maintaining a house in that climate is also very expensive, not to mention issues like building materials, water, and so on. Plus - and I've been there several times - I can't garden the way I want to there.

    Property in the Willamette (say it like dammit) Valley is a whole lot cheaper, there are no rules about what I'm allowed to build (something that is a major consideration for us) and no water issues.

    You get the laid back West Coast vibe, everything you ever wanted foodwise and some of the best gardening on the Continent. Plus....well they don't call Portland "Beervana" for nothing!

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  13. I wanted to do a west coast beer pilgrimage before I have a kid, somehow not looking that way anymore. Ah well, I can homebrew clones of just about anything now for far less cost.

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  14. A friend of The Boy has been making his own beer for years now - and it's awfully good. He's thinking his retirement is going to include a brewpub. If anyone can make that work, it's him!

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