Cabin Fever

Okay, it's official: I can't take winter anymore. Remember, I live in the Northeast, which gets snowstorms from the Rockies, Gulf storms from the South, blizzards from the Midwest, Alberta clippers from Canada . . .. Aughh! We're on the receiving end of storms from everywhere!

I keep having to cancel plans because of the constant snowfalls, and the only bright side to that is that I haven't made that many plans these days anyway. My writers' group keeps having to reschedule events not because of the snow but because of changes of hours of operation at the library where we meet . . . but we could get around those changes more easily if it weren't snowing every three days. (At least four days have some kind of winter precipitation in the week ahead, with another big storm expected on Thursday.)

Even worse, I have to get by on winter gear that's wearing and tearing by the day. It wasn't supposed to be like that. My mother bought a pair of Thinsulate gloves for me for Christmas, and she was going to buy new boots online for me as well. But the boots she wanted to get me wouldn't be available until April, and I lost my Thinsulate gloves. Because the geniuses who run retail chains decided that no one buys winter clothing in February because they already have what they need - it never occurs to them that people lose gloves and need to replace them - and because they're too busy putting out Easter candy (Easter falls on April 24!), I can't buy a new pair. So, in addition to relying on wearing boots that I've had since the older George Bush was President, I have to rely on a pair of cheap store-brand gloves that started to wear out the same day bought them.

I bought them last year.

A friend of mine told me she saw an ABC news report saying that the worst of this winter would be over by the middle of February, and that the rest of it would have better weather. I don't think so. And I don;t think we'll have an early spring just because Punxsutawney Phil said so on Groundhog Day. A more benign winter? This winter ain't gonna lighten up; it's gonna tighten up!

And I'll still have those same worn gloves.

Ugh . . . I have to finish clearing the snow off our flat garage roof before the next nor'easter.