Winter is Coming

I've been a bit spoiled in the last few years, I'll admit. Western Washington has the Cascade mountains to act as a barrier, and the ocean to bring in warm air. It's a very temperate climate, especially in the winter time. You don't get much snow, unless you live at high elevations, it mostly just rains.

In Boston, however.. ohh boy. It's starting to get very nippy at night, it actually got to freezing over the last couple of days. I'm hoping this winter is a little milder than last winter here, of which I read horror stories. All of our heat is electric, from the oil heat that warms the radiators (I feel positively Victorian), to the little plug-in space heaters and the coveted electric blanket. I do have a gas stove, though the little burner lighter is electric. I really need to invest in candles and more flashlights ASAP. Oh, and winter coats. I've heard those may come in handy.

Part of me is dreading slogging through ice and snow, and chipping my car out (it is not garaged), warming it up and having to leave probably 3 hours early for my normally 1 hour commute just to get to work on time. I'm perfectly comfortable driving in snow, it's all those other drivers I worry about. Part of me is really looking forward to SNOW. Real snow. Snow we can make snowmen with, and have snowball fights, and make snow angels, and yes, bring into the house in bowls and eat it like unflavored sno-cones.

I guess I see this as a right of passage, yet another thing that will become commonplace the longer we live here.