What's up Wednesday

There is literally nothing going on around here right now. It's been freezing and now it's slightly less freezing. Actually it was over 40 degrees yesterday! That was lovely. Today not so much, but it's in the 30's so I'm gonna take that and not complain after the single digits all weekend. They're saying we could see 50 degrees Friday and Saturday, but it's coming along with rain. Lots of rain. And then it's all going to freeze. I imagine that will be a lot of fun. But anyway, let's see if I can find something to chat about today....
When we left off I was enjoying a bonus day of vacation in sunny but chilly Florida. When I got up to go ride Thursday morning it was 35 degrees with a feels like of 29. But still way better than CT which felt like 7.

That ain't right

Fortunately Florida calmed itself down and warmed up to the 50's later in the day. It was still a good day for indoor activities, so I went to the mall in search of some appropriate shoes to wear home. All I had with me were boat shoes, and I figured my truck was buried in about 10" of snow.  I was successful and got a cute pair of boots that I'm sure will make an appearance on Thursday's Threads at some point.
Friday morning I was off to the airport to fly home to the tundra. I was not at all looking forward to the trip home.

That looks cold.

 My truck is a diesel and it had been parked in a lot out in the open at the airport for 8 days in temps in the single digits (sometimes even negatives). I was about 98% sure it wouldn't start. Plus I also figured it would be covered in snow. Also zero fun. Fortunately, when I got to the truck it started right up (good boy Jorge!) AND all the crazy wind had blown the snow off of it. The only small issue was the two and a half feet of snow in front of it from the plows. I threw my bags over the wall of snow, climbed over it myself, and got them loaded up in the back seat. Then I sat in the truck for a minute to warm up and assess the wall of snow situation. I realized I have an F350 Super Duty and decided to just drive through it. It was a good call. Jorge had no issues getting through it. I may or may not have sat and laughed a little crazily afterwards.
My drive home was uneventful though long due to being stuck in rush hour traffic. I couldn't wait to see the boys and then get my dogs! Everything was perfect when I got home, except for the mailbox. But I shoved it back upright so it's ok for now.

Funny story about picking up the short kids... My mom watches them for me when I go away, and she had told me she was working until closing that night. She was going to leave a key for me in the garage. I stopped for a quick bite to eat before going to her house. (I have a key to my mom's house, but it's in a safe place that is currently unknown to me...) While eating, she texted asking if I'd made it back. So I said "yep! Just grabbing dinner quick and then heading over to see if you left a key." She doesn't write back which I figured was because she was busy at work. So I head over there, but no key. So I text back, "No key! I'll come back when you're home, message me when you get there." No answer right away, so I drive back to my house. (We live about 20 minutes apart.) JUST as I'm pulling into my driveway, she writes back that she didn't go in to work because the plow had blocked her driveway and none of the residential plow guys were around to plow her out. So she had been there the whole time! Back I drove to get the pugs... Nothing like driving around in circles for an hour. But truthfully, it was probably good to get the truck running for awhile anyway.
I spent Saturday morning running a few errands, and then grooming the boys for awhile. Heating the barn was such a good call. That 45 degrees felt perfectly comfortable while I was in there brushing away. They enjoyed every second, and OMG are they shedding! I know horses shed based on daylight hours, but for crying out loud boys, keep your hair!

The remainder of my Saturday was spent being a lazy sloth indoors with the short kids. They thought it was a good day to do nothing too.

Sunday was busier. My Gator hadn't started since Thursday, so there was a wall of poo buckets waiting to be dumped. (I had to buy more Saturday to accommodate.) I was DETERMINED to get that thing running because Sunday was so much warmer. Or so I thought. But then I looked at the thermometer and it was only 9 degrees. After trying a million times to get the thing to drive, I admitted defeat. So off I went to shovel out the dumpster. Then loaded Jorge up with all the buckets and dumped them. Spoiler alert: Gertie the Gator finally got running again yesterday when it was in the 40's. She also runs on diesel and she was all gelled up. Poor girl.
After pony time and poo dumping, I realized I really had to unpack. I'd been home for three days! Such a sloth. So I did that, and then put together a puzzle my mom gave me for Channukah.

Puzzles are so weird. I like doing them, but then you just take them apart again. I don't ever redo a puzzle. Weird right? This one's cute though, and it was fairly challenging.
I had planned to finally buy groceries on Monday, but it was snowing again. The snow started as freezing rain and the roads were terrible, so I opted instead to eat some canned soup for dinner and buy food on Tuesday. And that's really all that's happening around here. If it stops raining early enough on Saturday, maybe I'll tack Rio up and walk him in the slush if it's not slippery. But probably not because that sounds dangerous. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

How are you surviving the crazy temps? Have you had a January thaw yet? Anything fun and exciting to report?