Wind Chill of -15

Jim is in Tucson, holding down the rig at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.  I’m in freakin' cold northeastern Ohio, visiting my Mom. Last night it was minus 15 with the windchill but warmed all the way up to 5 degrees by the time I got up this morning. 

The big local news last week was flooding caused by a slight thaw. Then the temps went frigid again, so floods will be in the news again with the next warm up. Right now the forecast is still pretty much cold, cold cold. So cold, in fact, that the surface of 88 percent of the Great Lakes is frozen; I read that normally about half of the lakes' waters freeze when winter is bad. 

Back in Tucson's 75-degree weather, Jim is going to the gym, walking Cooper, watching TV and, I assume, visiting various favorite beer stores.  Meanwhile, Mom and I have not done as much as we might have if the weather were a little more conducive.  But I have:

--Visited with my brother, Bob, and SIL Suzie who live in Brecksville.  Suzie picked me up at the airport and luckily I arrived on one of the previously-mentioned thaw days. I had visions of traffic stalled for miles because of deep snow on the roads. Luckily the day I flew in was one of the warmest, clearest days the Cleveland/Akron area has seen for quite a while.

--Spent time time with my son, Paul, who lives in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood.  Paul stayed with me and his Grandma for three days of eating, shopping, and trying to stay warm.  On that last note, Mom has free natural gas because of a long-ago agreement with the local utility and we’ve been putting it to good use. Jim thinks Mom should really take advantage by putting a heated swimming pool in the back yard, but I don’t think that will happen.

--Cancelled plans for lunch with relatives because of the weather. If there had been a problem with the car, Mom (who is 93) was just not up for a walk to the nearest house in white-out conditions. But we rescheduled and had that lunch today.

-- Pulled my Mom's garbage can the 500 feet to the end of her driveway and then ran out three additional times and set it back up as the wind kept knocking it over.  Luckily Mom puts all her trash inside garbage bags, so I didn’t have to also run down the road and pick up bread wrappers.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Matt, the son of our good SLC friends John and Deb.  Matt is doing remarkably well after some pretty serious surgery earlier this week.  Get well soon, Matt. We continue to send good thoughts!

Me and Mom.

My son Paul holding Moxie (one of Bob and Suzie's many poodles), Mom and me.

Oberlin, Ohio's Black River Cafe where we had lunch today.  Didn't look like much from the outside (Mom thought it was closed) but it was charming and busy inside.  (Jim, I'm taking you here next time we're in Ohio.)  Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college which includes the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.  Oberlin was the first co-educational college in the nation, and the first college to admit both whites and African Americans. 

Bev with cousin Rocky and his wife, Diane.  They treated me and Mom to lunch at the Black River Cafe in Oberlin, Ohio.  Thank you Rocky and Diane.