Might as well be in Arizona

(c) 2010 Lydia Hinshaw

This is Fahrenheit, not Celsius

ORMOND BEACH, FL --A couple of mornings each week,
we walk across town to breakfast, always passing the beer distributor with the digital time and temperature sign.
Wednesday morning I took this picture of it. Tuesday, we had driven by on the way to the YMCA, and it read 19.
In addition, the air is nosebleed-dry. Fortunately, I have plenty of lip-balm and lotion left over from our summer at the Grand Canyon.
At home, I spend a lot of time on the sofa in my Florida winter survival gear, namely a fleece blanket and the down booties I bought in Bloomington, MN, on our way to Alaska in 2007. The booties are too small for my big feet, which isn't a problem except when I try to walk in them.
I picked up the booties in an REI store, mainly because they were on a ridiculous sale, reduced from around $30 to $5 or so. They are that rare example of something bought only because of the low price, with only the vague idea that I might have a use for them at some point. I did wear them occasionally in Denali that spring, but not nearly as much as I have the past two years in Florida.
We're also making use of our fireplace and a space heater, trying to avoid the electricity-guzzling central heat. Prince Charming wears his fleece hat indoors. The cats are more friendly than usual.
At least this will be over in a day or two and with any luck we won't have any more freezes when winter actually arrives.