Happy things

My happy things for yesterday were easy to know.

1. Never going more than 2 blocks from my house all day, and rarely even leaving my bed. That hasn't happened in years. Parking my car at work all weekend meant not having to play moving cars roulette with the city lot and our parking space.

2. The Solstice. I need more light. MORE LIGHT! Now it's coming.

In related news:

Portland Oregon, a shoo in for "most likely moving place" for us, has lost a lot of its lustre in the past week. I know that it's unusual weather, but the whole Pacific Northwest looks disconcertingly like New England this week. Of course, since it doesn't happen all the time, the city is unprepared, and the portland lj community is full of desperate pleas of various kinds (mostly "what liquor stores are open?!") and discussion of tire chains. Tire chains? Didn't those go out with the invention of snow tires, except for crossing the Donner Pass in January? Those poor bastards are in snow covered raincoats, eating xmas cookies intended for friends they can't reach, wondering what pizza place has a sherman tank that can get through their unsalted roads to feed them.

How are things in Austin, my Austiney friends?

Things you need for the winter that you don't think you need

1. Sunglasses. The few hours the sun is out it's angled directly at your eyes. Even cloudy days are blinding if everything is covered with snow.

2. Better boots. Your current boots aren't good enough. Get better, taller, warmer, more waterproof boots. Ideally they'll be crotch-high, with soles like tractor treads, and lined with seal fur.

3. Steel coal shovel. If it's been really cold, and especially if it's been a little warm and then really cold, the snow is the texture of cinder blocks. Today I shattered one of those pansy plastic shovels.

4. Ugly hat. No good looking hat will have adequate ear protection. If you don't look like a total dork, you are not warm enough.