Wow! This Texas Winter saw three major weather experiences. School was called off twice for hazardous conditions! In the event this happens again, we all need a good lesson on how to survive this type of wintery onslaught.
Normally, our temps are in the 50s-70s in the winter. However, in a year like this one you will see the thermometer plummet to 30 or even 25! Add to that, precipitation and you have a deadly mix!
1. Dress Appropriately
Quit wearing tank tops and complaining about how cold it is. Seriously, you need to buy a couple sweaters and a ski coat. Or a parka. Wear socks every once in a while. I know that 10 months out of the year this is appropriate clothing. However, when we face blustery conditions, it is imperative to clothe yourself properly.
See the pics below. This might or might not have been me with Erica. A great solution for night-time clothing around the house. Hey! Don’t judge. We were warm and we slid around the kitchen.
2. Stay at Home and do Really Stupid Things
We have all watched movies of people who live in the north and actually have seen snow. Real snow. So imitate them! Find all the tools you can like spatulas, laundry baskets, butter knives, etc. Start scraping, digging, and clawing at all the accumulations around the yard. Don’t forget to find the deposits on the car too! In the pic below, look at the snow on the slide in the back yard. It was a goldmine! We immediately scooped it up and put it in the freezer. It was too special to waste. We wanted to keep it in the freezer so that we could take it out in July and reminisce about the hard winter of ’14.
- View from Our Bedroom Window
In the winter of 2011, we had an actual accumulation of 2 inches. So, I strapped on the skis and went down the irrigation ditch (black diamond). It was about a 17′ vertical drop. The neighbors were pumped! We were all off school and work so there wasn’t anything else to do, but act crazy. Check out the Video!
3. Enjoy Family
Honestly, it is a wonderful time to forget about work, responsibility, problems in the world and get lost in quality family time. Build a fire. Play some games. Put a puzzle together. Watch a movie marathon. WARNING: don’t forget to watch the forecast and go to HEB (Texas grocery store) and clean out their munchies BEFORE the storm hits! You won’t be able to travel the roads afterwards. Remember there is black ice out there!! There are patches on bridges that haven’t been sanded.
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