Weather Woes!

Good morning from Auburn, Indiana! It’s a blistery -19 outside today, before the wind chill factor! Schools all throughout 6 counties are closed, (I only know of the 6 counties surrounding me), due to kids having to stand outside at bus stops and the threat of their skin freezing and frostbite. But we have been forecasted a heat wave for tomorrow, it is supposed to be 21 degrees. But that’s the nature of living in Indiana.

To be truthful, I love cold weather. I look forward to winter and all of its glory, (snow and ice included). I even dream of 30 degree temps when I am working out in the yard in May and I start to break the tiniest of a sweat. I LOATHE warm weather. However…this is too freaking cold for me!!

I have always said that I would drop everything and move to the U.P. or Minnesota. I still would. The difference between living in Minnesota and having -20 temperatures and living in Indiana with -20 temperatures is that it’s the norm in Minnesota!! Once winter rolls in up there you know what to expect, and you are prepared for it. In Indiana however, you have no idea what the next day will bring. Give it two weeks and we will have torrents of rain coming down and flash flood warnings bleeping across the bottom of the TV screens.

This morning I woke up to see that frost had formed on the bedroom windows, (and there was nothing steamy going on inside to help cause that, trust me!), and clouds of bad breath steaming up the bathroom mirror. First thing I do is bundle myself up to take the dogs outside. We have the heat turned off to the back of the house, so you have to be dressed like Nanook of the North just to let the dogs out. It takes me about 7 minutes to get Peanut ready to go out. He is so low to the ground and he refuses to walk out there when it gets this cold that I have a little fleece blanket-coat-type-thing my grandma made for him that I wrap him in, and he has fleece and neoprene booties. There are probably people out there laughing and making fun of me for the way I bundle up my little wiener dog, but I don’t care! It is sad to see this little dog crying because he’s outside and it’s so cold. Once he gets all his “gear” on and gets out there he plays like its 70 degrees out! The puppy on the other hand is a different story. There is no putting clothes on her! I think she would eat them if I did get them on her, and she beats me up when I try to put them on her! She has never shown any problems with cold weather though.

This morning was a completely different story. When it’s cold I don’t even put Peanut on his tie-out. He runs as far as the walk is shoveled, pees, turns a few circles, poops, and runs back in. I opened the door enough to let him through and grabbed Missy’s tie-out hook. She got one feel of that frigid air coming though the crack in the door and turned right back around and ran back into the main house and crawled right back into her bed! Our friend Jon has been staying with us and he was up and saw the whole fiasco! He got her to the door in the laundry room where they stay at night and I went back up to get her and she was trying to get away from me and pushing so hard against Jon’s legs that she could have knocked him over if her were not holding onto the door! I had to put a leash on her and literally drag her out the door!! As soon as I let her back in she went right back to her bed. Usually she goes wild until I give her a treat, then she wolfs down food and water before retreating back to her bed, but today she went right back to it and laid back down and gave me the dirtiest look imaginable. When the weather is like this I get tempted to put down puppy pads and not even make them go out. But that’s really gross and we have worked so hard at potty training her!

At least we don't live in Bismark, North Dakota. I read on CNN.com this morning that it was -44 without wind chill factor. I would have to get Peanut some heavier boots!