February 20th

This was the day I said Enough. 

Enough with the cold, the snow, the dreary cloudy days of sunless melancholy.

Maybe it was because I was suffering through a head cold  I don't know. This winter hasn't even been that bad, not much snow, only a few weeks of really cold temps. It's just that I've had a harder time of staying warm this winter. Maybe the last few. And of course as I write this on  March 3rd, I have sunlight streaming through our multiple front windows and the high yesterday was 56, which had to be pushing a record. And I feel much better than two weeks ago.

What I don't want to admit though is that maybe the reason I'm feeling this way is because I'm getting older.
And tired.
Of long cold days with little sun.
Of shoveling the snow. I have a snow thrower, but it doesn't seem necessary to fire it up when you only have a few inches on the ground.
Of driving in the snow with some drivers who don't know how to slow the fuck down and then spin out or roll over on the interstate, sometimes taking innocent drivers with them.
Of putting on extra clothing to try and warm up in the house without cranking the heat up to the "un-payable" level...

I used to enjoy watching the first snowfall of winter, even looked forward to it.
Now I find myself beginning to understand the mindset of the "snowbirds", people who flock south to their winter homes only to return up north for the milder summers we enjoy here.

Terry and I have talked of moving back to California to be closer to my disabled sister and her parents as they get older, but until my stepson is finished with high school in 3 years Spokane will remain our home. And it would cost so much to live in Cali these days.

I still dream of living in Prescott Arizona where I used to own property. The climate there is good, winters get a few light snowfalls and temps in the 40's mostly. Summers don't usually go above 90 and have lots of thunderstorms, which I love. And the area has many art and photography galleries. But Terry isn't keen on it, so I suppose we'll compromise on another place should we decide to relocate.

Terry jokes we need to win the lottery so we can do what we want when the time comes, which makes us laugh. I could think of quite a few places we could move to and/or visit with that kind of money.

Of course that has nothing to do with the fact we bought 5 tickets yesterday...