Watching the Deep Freeze

The biggest news is, of course, the deep freeze that the entire eastern half of the country is experiencing. There are record low temperatures from what is being referred to as the "Polar Vortex". There are near, or below, freezing temperatures almost as far south as Miami, FL. There are unheard of lows in almost every area east of the Mississippi that have created very dangerous conditions for everybody living in those areas. We keep a sharp eye on the Weather Channel reporting, particularly how it impacts Patty and her family in the Chicago area. We also know that Brian and his family are visiting in the Bloomington, IL area, and are also experiencing the effects of this freezing weather. There is no precedent - that we are aware of - that describes the depth of this deep freeze. Is this another sign of our changing climate, or just a freak of nature that occurs every hundred (or thousand) years?

We are fortunate to have only "wind" problems where we are located. The temperatures are still in the low 70's and we are very thankful we are in the Southwest right now. The windy conditions we experienced again yesterday are really small stuff and insignificant compared to the rest of the country.

Our "track" for walking that we laid out a couple days ago appears to be working fine. We did the walk again yesterday, and it appears to have the same effect as the treadmill had last year on our exercising program.

Preparation for our taxes began yesterday while I calculated all the travel expenses for the year of 2013. The effect on our gasoline purchases was dramatic as we are driving only the truck for all activities. In fact, the cost of gasoline using only the truck probably justifies purchasing another, more economical vehicle to use when we are settled in one place like we are this year, and will be in the foreseeable future. That is still being evaluated.

We are hoping for a break in the weather for all of those that are suffering through the deep freeze. Our thoughts are with them...