Two Months

Winter recently arrived in our neck of the woods after a long-lasting and lingering fall. We went from a skiff of snow on the ground which melted, just before we were hit with (what felt like) a winter's worth of snow within a week. 

To add insult to injury, our temperatures took a nose dive into the near -30 degree (Celsius) range and 'feeling like' -38 degrees last weekend.

Last Saturday after work, I took advantage of the fact the car was already warmed up and I ran every conceivable errand and stocked up on enough groceries to get us through the cold snap. I shovelled the last of the snow and took out the garbage and recycling. 

I did every single thing that had to be done outside Saturday night so I would not have to even open the door on Sunday.

And I didn't.

The temperatures have slowly crept upwards all week. It is still no chinook outside but the extreme cold and snow conditions have backed off for the time being.

As I was out running my pre-weekend-errands last night, our brief encounter with winter was fresh in my mind.

I stocked up in every conceivable way I could imagine.

Our cats have enough of their special dietary brands of cat food to last two months. Also enough medication for Senior Cat to get us through until mid-February. I even picked up a two month supply of glucosamine treats for Senior to (hopefully) ease his crickety old joints through the cold days ahead.

Anything that was threatening to break down has a back-up replacement in stock, within our home. I have a spare toilet seat (yes! our toilet seat is not going to last much longer) and a Magic Bullet (can you imagine my dismay when I almost could not make my morning smoothie a few days ago?!).

Then there is the revolving supply of regular maintenance supplies: furnace filters; hair color (my hair has gone on a growth spurt and I simply cannot afford to run out and 'touch up my roots' every two months); socks (I just bought nine pairs of socks two months ago and I am blasting through a sock-a-day now that they have reached their maximum mileage capability); printer ink (hopefully enough to get through the Christmas gift and letter season); lotion and cat litter.

I stocked up on every item I could think of. Some people are spending their hard, earned cash on Christmas this time of year. Me? I'm just trying to get through until February (it seems like almost everything I have named has a two-month duration).

I am almost looking forward to (who am I kidding? I am looking forward to this) the part where I get to hunker down and simply exist within this well-stocked oasis I call home. The idea of gazing out the windows and watching the weather happen outside while we are warm and snuggled up inside makes my heart feel like a warm, inviting fireplace.

I am almost (no, I am!) looking forward to the weekends where my off-site employment is cancelled due to weather. Great things happened during the deep freeze of 2014. I am anticipating 'more of the same' this upcoming winter.

All I have to do is get through the next two months. I'm almost all stocked up and ready. Because ... (here it comes ... wait for it! ... wait for it!!!) ...

Two months from tomorrow, I will be headed off to Vegas for the weekend with my sister to see Dancing With the Stars - Live!

Two months seems like the magical number to me right now. I'm stocking up my inventory so all I have to do is settle in and enjoy the wait for my mid-winter ultra-extravagant and utterly frivolous holiday excursion.

It is a little bit crazy to plan something so impulsive (that sounds wrong - how can you plan something impulsive??), but this little holiday is mostly funded by gift money I have received and (ironically enough) selling a ball gown because I have 'hung up' my own ballroom dance shoes.

I am not sure what the next twelve months have in store but I'm actually eagerly anticipating the next two. Who knows where life will take me after that?!