Winter Life in France

Winter life is different because fewer people are out and about. 

This has been a cold winter compared to last when it only got down to freezing 3 or 4 times. This year the temperature hovered around 0 Celsius for about two weeks when we awakened. But sometimes the temperature would soar to the 60s (midteens Celsius) under very blue skies. 

Frost still on the ground but the sun has reached the mountains.

I prefer a nice moderate temperature, like this morning it was 8 Celsius, about 46 Fahrenheit. Perfect for brisk walks or runs. 

We've  had a few foggy mornings too. 

We’ve been getting together with friends and taking care of necessary items, like this year’s visa, or titre de séjour. Ours is safely in hand for another year. After five years in France, we can apply for a 10-year card; I'll need to pass a French test and we'll have to show them five years of taxes, so fingers crossed that we succeed next year. They have an age limit, and over 65, visitors don't have to pass the language test. 

We've had a few outings. 

I explored Perpignan with a friend and we found a cozy alley filled with people drinking outdoors and listening to music. 

Aperol Spritz and Vermouth and soda

Then we went to a nearby restaurant for a scrumptious meal. 

Hope they don't run out of wine!

I had croquette beouf confit while my friend had La Ricaine -- fries, eggs, and bacon with gravy. A perfect Sunday brunch food. 

We sat at the bar in front of the chefs

We also took an outing to the beach, of course. Isn't there something about February that makes everyone want to go to the beach?

The sun was warm and the beach was inviting, but we weren't crazy enough to go in, although we saw some people going in wearing wet suits, and another guy inching into the water while wearing only a tiny speedo. 

Last week, my friend's mother died and we traveled to her funeral. It was my first French funeral. It was catholic, so that felt familiar, even though in French. 

The church was amazing. (I only took this picture after the congregation had filed out.) 

I wasn't sure about going to the burial, picturing a long procession of cars driving to some far away cemetery. But that's not how it happens here. Instead, everyone walked behind the hearse as it made its way through town, police stopping traffic, and we wound our way through the streets to the cemetery just outside of town.

It felt very intimate to walk behind the coffin and escort it to its final resting place. Prayers at the cemetery and then people filed past to say their final goodbye. Very touching.

The sun shone during the burial, but in the opposite direction, the sky turned dark and ominous. 

Grateful the rain held off during the service

Tonight we have friends coming for a simple dinner of tartiflette and salad.

Tomorrow we go to another friend's house for dinner. 

That's winter life in southwest France. Enjoying the sun during the day, enjoying the company of friends and eating hearty foods in the evening. 

Spring Forth

Look what I found at Trader Joe's today. 

My own, personal sign of spring. 

I so needed something sunny to sit on my counter as a counter action to the relentless snow and cold. 

Spring has to be close, right?

The Long Winter

If I were an elementary school teacher, I would definitely have a time period each afternoon where the kids put their heads down on their desks and listened to me read to them from Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter. Did your teachers ever do that? I have such a warm feeling inside when I remember a teacher taking the time to read aloud to us each day.
The book, The Long Winter, is so apropos for this year. It tells the story of Laura and her family on the Dakota frontier during a series of blizzards as food and fuel ran short.
Here in Ohio, we've had more snow fall that stayed on the ground, beginning in November than ever before.
We've had the coldest weather I can remember, with temperatures dipping down to -17 degrees, and that a straight thermometer reading, not counting the wind chill.
On Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, we had a big snow. Even with our increased snowfall, we usually stop after three inches or so. The other night, the snowfall must have been six to eight inches with a nice crust of ice on top.

I went out to shovel the snow, since my classes were cancelled and Earl still had to go to work. The snow was deep enough along the front steps that it looked like a giant ski jump rather than a set of stairs.

Underneath the ice, the snow was heavy and wet. So perfect for a snowball fight or building a snow fort or snowman. But I had no one to play with in the snow. The temperature was pretty perfect too, about 28 degrees. I had on layers, but didn't wear a winter coat. By the time I finished, my thick sweater and knit cap were wet from the snow that continued to drift down.

I cleared our sidewalk and the neighbors on either side.

Then I went over to another neighbors house; she's in her late 70s and I knew she'd be out to try to shovel. The heavy wet snow was not anything she should tackle.

As I shoveled my way up to her door, I saw another woman trying to clear out her driveway where the snow plows had pushed the snow from the road. The snow pile was up to my waist. We worked on that for awhile until she was able to get her car through. 

I had one more neighbor to help before I  could abandon my shovel.

Earl walked past on his way to wait for the bus. Since the county had declared a Level Two snow emergency, the bus would be free.

He waited for nearly an hour before he came home for the car and gave a ride to several of his companions waiting for the bus.

Our little city does pretty well at clearing the roads, and good thing because today the temperature plummeted down into single digits and it's supposed to be even colder. 

Groundhog Day

Sunday was Groundhog Day here in the United States. I guess it is no coincidence that it falls half way between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. I didn't even realize that until some of my British blogging friends in France pointed out that it was Candlemas, the halfway mark. Then I realized why Feb. 2 was Groundhog Day.
Of course, Groundhog Day was made famous by the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.
The folklore about Groundhog Day is that the groundhog climbs from the hole where he hibernates to check out the weather. If he sees his shadow, he gets scared and goes back into his burrow for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, then he doesn't retreat and that is a sign of an early spring.

This is a very fat groundhog.

What bugs me, is that the people in Pennsylvania have named their groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, as the official weather predictor. He saw his shadow because, apparently, Pennsylvania had a sunny day on Feb. 2. So Pennsylvania is going to get six more weeks of winter.
But I say that Pennsylvania is a different area of the country and Punxsutawney Phil does not speak for the rest of us!
Yes, Pennsylvania is just east of us, but, here in Ohio, we had rain all day. No groundhogs saw their shadows in Columbus. I am counting on an early spring.
I am begging for an early spring.
As I type this, I'm watching the weather forecast for ice accumulation starting tomorrow followed by several inches of snow by Wednesday morning.
Come on groundhog!

Extreme Cold Weather

The cold weather has prevented me from running outside for nearly a week.
The school kids got a day off on Tuesday because of the extreme cold. The temperature was -17 Fahrenheit on Tuesday morning, that's -27 Celcius, and the wind chill was -30 Fahrenheit.
Wednesday morning, the air had warmed up to -9 degrees. That's -23 Celcius. Every school district in the county was closed except one other town and us.
Our town doesn't have school buses. Instead, everyone is close enough to walk or they get dropped off by their parents. The superintendent said he doesn't close school for cold weather unless the wind chill is at -18 degrees. Did he want to walk to school at -17 degrees?

These are snow rollers -- apparently a rare snow phenomenon. 

I thought it was still too cold for kids to walk to school. I decided to prove my point by walking to the coffee shop, which is actually closer than the school.
I set off in my warm boots, hat, gloves, scarf and winter coat.
 After nearly a mile, my cheeks were so cold, and my thighs in my corduroy pants were burning hot, in a way that thing probably feel right before frostbite. (Earl joked that maybe my corduroys rubbing together caused a spark, and I forgave him for the fat joke.)
I walked into the Starbucks just in time to keep from freezing.
I could see one of the barristas making comments about people being crazy to walk through the cold weather for coffee. I explained that I was trying to prove a point that the superintendent was wrong to have school that morning.
My son is lucky because he can drive to school. But there are plenty of kids in the city who can't get a ride; their parents leave for work before the kids go to school.
Standing at the Starbucks thawing, I called Earl and asked him to pick me up. He was just out of the shower and came to get me. Then we drove up toward the school to see if anyone needed a ride.
We found Tucker's friend Sam walking toward the school. He hopped in the backseat and we delivered him at school.

When the snow is just wet enough and in an
open place, the wind catches it and causes
it to roll up like a rug. Isn't this cool?

As we headed back home, we saw another boy walking. We stopped for him and ferried him up to the school too.
I also felt really bad for the crossing guards who stood outside to make sure the kids crossed the street safely.
This morning, the temperature had climbed all the way up to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celcius), so I pulled on two pairs of running tights and an extra fleece.
I ran for about 34 minutes in the cold before returning home. It felt great to get back out there, but when I walked in the house, the sweat from my run, the cold outside and the warmth of the house all came together to hit me with a wave of nausea.
Still, I'm happy that I could run once again.
The weather forecast calls for some snow tonight. I'm still planning to get out there and run before the predicted storms next week.

Winter Warmth

Two years ago, we had a very mild winter. The tulips were blooming in February. We had hardly any freezing weather.
The sleeves on my wool winter coat were worn thin, but I figured if the following winter was equally mild then I wouldn't need a new coat. I loved that winter coat, a chocolate brown Calvin Klein with a shawl collar. I would pull the tie closed around my waist and the wool reached down mid-thigh. A friend knitted a bright pink scarf that I could wrap around my neck. It was the perfect bright accessory to the dark coat.
I determined to avoid buying a new coat last year. With global warming, and if we had a winter like the one the year before, I figured I could simply layer sweaters.
But last year was much colder. I ended up wearing my coat with the sleeves worn thin, much too often.
This fall, I hoped for a warm winter again, but winter tore into Ohio in November and hasn't let up. On Tuesday, I finally got a new winter coat.
Just in time because today the temperatures dropped to zero, following yesterday's six inches of snow. If I ever needed a winter coat, this is the time.

Snow Surprise

I wake up this morning at 5:30 and I can see from the light in the sky that it probably snowed. The light glows brighter. I look at my weather app on my phone while still in bed. "Snow showers" and 19 degrees. Perfect running weather? No, but...
The weather forecasters were not warning of blizzards, as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure that my weather app didn't mention snow at all this week. I figured there might be a dusting of snow and if I run in the street, I should be fine.
I get up, dress in layers with long underwear under my running tights (pretty, as you can imagine). Then I walk to the door and look at the previously shoveled walk.
There's at least three inches of snow.
How did this happen? Shouldn't someone have warned me?
I sneak back into my dark bedroom. Creaky wooden floors always give me away though. I use my phone as a flashlight and find my hiking boots. I add an extra wool sweater to my ensemble, since I won't get as warm walking as I would running.
Hat, scarf, gloves.
I walk through the virgin snow. It is powdery and when my foot moves forward through it, a wave of snow sprays ahead of it.

This pic from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_snow,
which actually says this is hoarfrost rather than powdery snow.

I walk to the bank to withdraw cash, stop at the coffee shop where the man who always wears shorts is actually wearing pants today. I make one last stop at Panera for croissants. They have only one. What? Cinnamon roll for Tuck then and a chocolate croissant for Earl.
Then I walk home with my hunted and gathered goodies. I spend another half hour shoveling the walk and sweeping the snow off Tucker's car before he leaves for school.
I didn't get cold, but the music on my phone kind of froze after about an hour and  half outside.
Hmmm. Maybe it's time to take out those cross country skis and head down to the park.
The only problem is, that once I'm inside and warm, I forget that I didn't get cold and I don't want to go outside again. I'll probably stay by the fire, just because I can.

Saturday Snapshot -- Sunrise

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
The color in the sky this month has been lovely. Here's a sunrise over the Columbus skyline taken from my front porch.

Saturday Snapshot -- Lone, Bare Tree

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

My husband went hiking again and he sent me this great shot. Can't remember if he said it's an oak or an elm.

Our Darkest Hour

Well, it's our darkest hour, not in the sense of doom and gloom, just in the sense of how much light we have.
Today is officially the winter solstice -- the day we have the fewest hours of daylight in the northern hemisphere. Good thing all those Christmas lights are turned on.
Some people dread the coming months of winter as the holiday season ends and the long, shrill month of January begins. Then February, the shortest month of all, seems to last forever as gray days drag on.
Both those things are true about January and February, but what is also true is that each morning, the sun peeks above the horizon a little earlier, and each evening it lingers in the western sky a few minutes longer -- starting now!
This is the shortest day of the year.
Okay, it's a small hope to hold onto, but if it helps me survive the winter while rejoicing in each extra moment of daylight then so be it.
Enjoy your winter solstice and the coming extra minutes of daylight.