sometimes it's hard not to be obnoxious!!

DISCLAIMER: This photo was actually taken in Utah at Aspen Grove. However the colors are the same in Northwest Arkansas, the trees may be different.

I love fall. I was walking Mr. Bear, the wonder dog, today thinking how much I love fall but I was also thinking that it is November 3 and I am walking outside, in the morning, in a short sleeved t-shirt because it is warm and balmy. And after having spent 23 falls in Minnesota I was absolutely loving that! I still remember "The Great Halloween Snowstorm!" We got a total of 3, yes that's right, 3, feet, yes that's absolutely right, FEET, of snow.

A long time ago a friend moved away from Minnesota. She was rather smug about the fact that not only was she moving but she was going to a more temperate climate. Actually she was moving several hundred miles west and south enough to make a little bit of a difference in the average temperatures, beginning and ending of the winter, and other things that she seemed to think were very important to share with us. In fact, after she had moved and was settled in she sent out an OBNOXIOUS letter which actually charted and compared her new weather to our old weather. It showed each of us how good her new life was going to be weather-wise and indicated in a not very subtle way, "Poor you who have to live in the frozen north!" Did I say it was OBNOXIOUS!!?? It was so OBNOXIOUS that every time it snowed in her new location, especially when it was unusually early or late or heavy, many of us called each other and laughed about her bad luck. I dare say there were times that we even wished inclement weather on her and her new city. On the other hand, whenever it was frigid or snowy or unpleasant we tried not to think of her in her more blessed state. I can say that more than once we quietly said to each other, "Why do we live here?" Her letter came more than a decade and a half ago but we still talk about it.

But now, I am in the more temperate climate, even better than the one she moved to! And it is a real struggle to control myself when we are having warm sunny days and I know it is freezing beyond belief in Minnesota. I have to absolutely fight the urge to pick up the phone and innocently ask, "So how is your weather today?" I didn't control myself though when it snowed 2 maybe 3 inches, yes I did say INCHES, here and the entire place closed down, not just for a day or two but for an entire week!! My son said he got more snow days here in one winter than he did in all of his time in Minnesota!

So, tomorrow, I'll get up and put on my walking outfit including the short sleeved t-shirt and head out the door with Mr. Bear, the wonder dog, and I might even get just a bit sweaty from the warm, balmy air. Oh and don't worry, cold weather is coming our way. Why just the other day it was in the low 40's with the wind chill and we were all freezing. I know, that's OBNOXIOUS!!