Well Below Zero

I was up and out of bed by 5:20am. More than anything, I was eager to see how cold it was. I checked the weather online before doing anything else. It was 1 degree, and that was before the wind chill. To human skin, it was even colder. I glanced outside. No additional snow had fallen over night. We weren’t expecting any either. I finished a full complement of exercises then headed out with Ykraps. Just before heading out, I fetched my snow boots from the basement. I hadn’t worn then even once yet this winter. It was plenty cold. Yet despite all that, Ykraps didn’t seem to mind the snow or the bitter cold much at all. He took care of his business better than expected. The sky was almost crystal clear, but there were lots of tiny ice crystals lingering about. That made for some interesting affects. Back at the house, I poured coffee and played on the internet. I delivered Mindy’s coffee around 6:05am. I let her know that there were no noteworthy school closings listed online. I headed back downstairs for more fun and then meditation. As I prepped for my run I was very methodical in choosing my attire. I doubled up on running tights, used my neck gaiter, and wore my thicker fleece gloves. Without question, it was cold, but I was dressed ideally for it. I could feel a little chill against my triceps but not much. I wore just one thick winter wicking shirt and my winter running jacket against my upper body. Honestly, I was quite comfortable. While running, I noticed two or three beams of colored light (amber and green mostly) seemingly streaming upward in the Northern sky. The intensity varied from time to time. At times they would almost fade entirely away only to return even more boldly. I was in awe. I even sprouted goose bumps. The few times that I encountered other humans, I considered pointing out the light just so another human could see what I was seeing. But what would I saw. Hey, look at the cool lights. What are they? I decided against it fearing making an ass of myself. Although, a lot of people think I am an ass already. J I could see the mysterious beams of light for about 25 minutes or the first three miles. As dawn broke, the lights faded into the horizon. I wasn’t in the door a minute before I shared my story with Mindy. She reckoned that it might have been the aurora borealis. I don’t know. Before sitting done to my ready eggs, I Googled the event and checked Yahoo local to see if there was any scuttle about it. Not a peep. Surely someone else saw what I saw. Often, I can Google a meteor storm and receive confirmation from others that they saw it too. I wish I would’ve had my camera with me. Mindy & the little ones weren’t around long. They left the house even before 7:30am. Mindy picked Landon clean from bed and whisked him off. Sometimes it works better that way. I already had salad and fruit at work since I didn’t eat my lunch on Wednesday. Feeling as if I would want something more, I grabbed the leftover spaghetti and placed it in my backpack, just in case. Off to the shower. I didn’t pay any attention to the time. I was surprised to find Jacob waiting at the door with coat on ready to go as I was coming down the stairs. Crap. It was already 7:57am. I grabbed my coat, gloves and car keys and headed out behind him. Last minute I changed from my casual shoes into my snow boots. I started the Trooper before heading to the bus stop. Aother bus pulled up first. Both kids started to board before realizing that it was the Hilliard Schools Ready High School bus. The driver told me that all the buses were running behind. After he swooped up the neighbors high school-aged daughter and pulled away, Jacob’s real bus pulled up. She was on time. There was a to-die-for sunrise unfolding just as I was walking across the bridge for home. Not to be defeated two days in a row, I went immediately for my new camera. I had just returned and started snapping photos when a call pulled up and an older woman got out with her digital camera. We chuckled about it. She said she had just finished walking her dog and saw the lovely sunrise over the pond and hurried home to fetch her camera. As we parted ways, I continued taking pictures from my side and back yard. Blazing sunrise! Immediately after taking photos, I started the minivan and swept away the pile of snow almost burying it. It started right up. I planned to call Courtney later in the day to tell her she can plan on using it for her driver’s test as long as her grandpa rides with her in it. It ran well, too. I let it run for a good fifteen minutes or until all the ice was melted. By then, my Trooper was nice and toasty too. I left for work at 8:30am. Work went well. Still not too busy. It’s nice to have a little ‘down time’ for once. I planned to take a formal lunch break and drive to the Hilliard Dick’s to look once more at ski pants. This time I knew exactly what I wanted, but was just hoping they had my size. It takes a while to drive south on Avery, which ultimately turns into Hilliard-Rome rd. once you cross Main st. Dick’s was almost barren. I was pleased to find one pair of black Columbia ski pants in my size – medium. I tried on two different models. Without question, the Columbia pants were way more comfortable and appeared much more durable. I decided that they were worth the extra $20. Before checking out, I browsed ski gloves until I found a pair that met my discriminating taste and budget. The total was $112 with tax. My $100 gift cards pretty much covered everything but sales tax. Cool! Before heading back to the office, I pulled into Advanced Auto Parts to buy replacement brake light bulbs for Courtney’s minivan. The gentleman at the counter was kind enough to search for the correct part numbers and then fetch me the correct bulbs. Back to work. I was back at the office shortly after 2pm. The afternoon was uneventful. I ate my packed lunch and eventually left work for home around 5:30pm. Mindy said we’d be having leftovers for dinner (tacos and spaghetti) and also reminded me that Jacob & Bella were out with their daddy. Little did Mindy know I had the spaghetti at work with me. She said she was warming that for Landon. Oops! I fully disclosed. Lucky for her, there was plenty more in the container than even I bargained for. I was taking two thirds of it back home. It was already below zero by the time that I arrived home. I walked Ykraps in the cold while Mindy warmed the spaghetti for Landon. She made nachos topped with taco meat for the two of us. I ate two plates full of nachos. They were tasty! Rocky asked me to snuggle with him on the sofa after dinner. We also put in a DVD – Elf, which is one of my favorites. I got sleepy, just as I often do, while watching it. I must’ve dosed off for 15-20 minutes. I woke after Jimaken dropped the kids back home. Bella wanted to snuggle some too. She joined us on the sofa. Mindy didn’t let the kids lounge around too much longer. She had the kids in their jammies before 8pm. I went up for the tuck in. They went to sleep with little trouble. After the kids were taken care of, I spent time updating my blog. By 9pm it was -5 degrees. Not only was it expected to be cold, brisk winds were forecasted, too. Yikes! By memory, it hasn’t been colder than -7 since the early 90’s. It was -7 in January of 2004. I remember that particular run well. It was a Saturday. I was up at 6am running before a class at Ohio Dominican. Prior to that, it hadn’t been colder since my days a Time Warner. On request, Mindy poured me a Jack & Coke. It was just right. We sat and talked for about an hour before heading off to bed. It was -6 when we went to bed. The house, meanwhile, was riddled with chilly pockets of air even though the furnace was set at 70. Good Night Moon!