FREEZING my ass off in Mississippi

Lest ye forget my whereabouts, I am located in the SOUTH.  As in the southeastern region of the USA...as in Mississippi.  Been here, going on into 5 winters now.

Oh!  ya think it doesn't get cold in MS?!?

Well now, lemme tell ya a thing or two.  I know cold.  I grew up in the Pocono Mnts of Pennsylvania, for pete's sake.  Ya know those little caps Laura and Mary wore in Little House?  k, well so did I, in my big house, with no heat in my bedroom.  I would weight myself down with so many blankets and tuck me entire body, head and all, under the covers, just leaving my nose to poke out so I could breathe.  Usually, the position I went to sleep in was the same I woke up in, cuz, well with that many blankets, quilts, comforters it's kinda hard to move.

It was so cold that I would set my alarm clock across the room just so I HAD to get out of bed (throwing my clothes under the recently vacated warm blankets so that the bite would be slight eradicated...ever try to put jeans on in a room that has windows that ice has formed on the inside of?  denim is frigid, even with thermals under them).  When I moved to Valdosta, GA, I returned home to PA for Christmas one year.  On the drive up, my skin gradually lost any moisture content and by the time I cruised past Harrisburg and meandered up along the Susquehana, my hands were cracked and bleeding.  So, I know cold.

So when I tell ya that I am FREEZING my ass off in Mississippi, I mean it.  I have a big-butt so there's plenty to freeze...but that's beside the point.  The point is, I didn't expect to have demanding winter weather in Mississippi.

The cold here is damp.  It penetrates to the bone.  It settles in the joints.  It shows up along about October or November and stays til April.  This is a cold that once it's in me, I can't shake.  I'm not warmed and thawed through for months and months.

Every muscle in my body spasms and cramps with shivers.  My joints creak and ache.  My nose threatens to run off my face and hide in warmer spaces.  Even my hair becomes frigid with the oncoming winter weather.

Visions of Bob Cratchet with his multilayered look, scarves, hat, and gloves to boot whilst indoors are not so very foreign to the actual look I am currently sporting (except I haven't yet rooted for my gloves).  Perhaps I should have titled this entry "got gas?" cuz I sure am limited on the propane right now.  This means I get to be really really cold, or I get to bundle up and stay in bed, or I get to run up my electric bill with the space heater I have, or I get to spend a significant amount of time away from home in warmer environments.

I'm terribly frightened that this winter is gonna be a tough one, tougher than most.  Cuz it's already this cold.  My pipes froze last night, I kid you not.  And what with the price of propane...ack!  ack!  ack!

The one really cool thing about all this, I have my three dogs and they are little hot-pads.  One nestles into my belly, one nestles into the small of my back, and shaddow, well she sprawls across my feet and ankles.  I'm sure we make for a funny pic, but it works for us.

Hope you are staying warm!