Wasted Talent

It's December 13th, and, in Texas, that means the winter is starting, which means that it is cool enough to wear jeans and sweaters and fleece jackets (sometimes). Generally, I only miss the snow for about two weeks in December. The missing snow phase starts now and ends on December 26th. After that, I am over it. I mean, I used to say ridiculous things like, "I can't imagine Christmas without snow!" (Um, yes I can. It's really not that different, actually.) As I watched Chicago get nailed with snow during the Bears game on Sunday night, I would be lying (and I sort of hate that I even did this to the city I love) if I didn't tell you that Andy and I watched the game, the snow beating down, and, in the midst of discussing how badly it would have sucked to shovel out our cars the next day, thought, "Suckas!" (It is, I am sure, the same way I would feel if I moved back North and saw news clips of Houston during the hellish summer heat and hurricane season--almost. I mean, really, I have lived in both, and, while the heat of the Houston summer is nothing to be laughed at, it's manageable. When people from here see clips of Erie's lake effect snow, however, they do not think it is at all "manageable." Snow=disaster for winter virgins trying to drive--not at all the same with heat, in my opinion.)

Anyway, but the point of this post is more about Christmas and winter and Eddie Bauer, Lands' End, and L.L. Bean catalogs. I am really, really good at buying winter gear. Really good. I walked a dog in Chicago for 4 years, after all. And I had a kick-ass down coat (that I still own) that goes down to my toes. I did love buying hats and gloves and boots. And so, when I look at these catalogs, I want just a tiny excuse to pick up something new in that department (which would be totally ridiculous, as I have two boxes filled with said gear upstairs in my spare room closet). But anyway, in Texas, my winter talent is wasted. No need to remember my winter driving rules: Beware of black ice! (10 dollars to any of my Texas or Louisiana friends who knows what that is!), Don't pump the brakes if you have anti-lock! etc, etc., Likewise is my talent wasted for picking out cute coordinating winter accessories. Cute hats and scarves be damned. And no, it doesn't get cold enough to wear that swag here, and I personally think you look ridiculous if you do. I saw a woman walking her dog on Sunday with her hat, scarves and gloves on. It was 56, and I had my sunroof open, singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" at the top of my lungs. Maybe my winter talent isn't wasted after all.

Kirby dressed in his balaclava--a winter must-have.
Andy, ready to take Kirby on a walk. He did this every morning at 5:30 before work. Again, rockin' the balaclava and ski goggles.