Baby it's cold outside

Well, here in Tampa, FL it reached about 70 today.  It was glorious.  I wanted to go sit in the sun.  It is supposed to rain this weekend, but we really need it also.  From earlier posts, I am a 30 year Navy wife.  Lived for 3 years in Pearl Harbor, HI and because we were on base, we actually made money financially, but local friends found it hard to live there.  Florida is wonderful. We've lived in Florida on and off for a long time.  We went to Sanibel Island the first week of December.  It was warm and we sat on the beach in the sun.  But for you ladies up north, remember us in the summer when the temps reach the 100's and 100% humidity.

StillVerticle ~ WOW!!!  Coming awake during surgery was my worst nightmare and I am happy to say it didn't come true!!

Ativan caused my privates to break out in itching and my lips to swell like Angelina Jolie.  Needless to say I won't ever take it again.

San Diego weather ~ clouds, high pressure, anticipate rain next week, beautiful day (although I didn't leave my office all day to enjoy it).

Colleen

Report from East Lansing, that would be on the campus of Michigan State University (FYI).  I SEE GRASS!!!!!!!!!!!  No sun but it's 34 degrees and there is grass outside - along with dirty, yukky snow.

We had rain in Tampa yesterday and it has been up in the 70's today, but very, very windy. Wouldn't have mattered what was going on yesterday as I am a HUGE New Orleans Saints fan and I watched the game.Geaux Saints!

 I, too want to garden, but I need to let everything be for awhile, cold really did its damage.  Tomorrow my dh and I are off of work.  It will be around 67 degrees and plan to go hit some golf balls.

NativeMainer, that sounds so beautiful when I picture it in my head.  Lived up north some and the snow is what I loved to look at.  Meece, I completely understand about rain.  These parts of Florida have been in and out do drought so much, any rain we get is good.  It rained on Saturday and it was about 1/2-1 inch.  We could use so much more. 

Recently thru an extended cold period, our local strawberry farmers pumped lots of water on the fields to try to save the crops (iced them over).  The heavy pumping caused sinkholes all over, which now requires lots of concrete to close them up.  Not so sure we needed to do that since water is so precious right now.

Morning

Mary - I was glad to see your post - I have been wondering how surrounding fruit with ice saves them from a freeze?

Weather here in Virginia is going up to 53 degrees.  Most of our blizzard snow is gone - just a smidgeon of the piled up snow around town.  Lawns are green again.  The thing I like about winter is that once it snows, no matter what your yard looks like - it looks the same as all your neighbors!

The theory with encasing the fruit in ice is that it protects it and when it thaws, it does not damage it like a hard frost would just freeze it.  I know with our citrus here, most of the time the oranges are only good for juice after the cold we have had.  Strawberries are big business here, but they never taste right.  I have an niece and nephew-in-law who are organic farmers in Ithaca, NY.  They've taught me to buy the smallest berries I can find.  They are sweeter and not just full of water with no taste.

Meece, When I was in NY several summers before the BC diagnosis and at my niece's farm, they were going to plow up the strawberries the next morning as they were about done for the season.  My sis and I went out in the field and ate them straight off the plant like little kids.  We laughed at our red smeared faces and fingers.  Was a child again for awhile.  Great memory.