Brrr, it’s cold outside.

We are setting records in North Pole, AK! For six days, it has been -35 or colder, with lows dipping to -44. It is cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.

When I talk with my friends on the phone they say things like, “I’d be on a plane getting out of there.” Or “I can’t even imagine what that feels like.” Or “That’s insane!” Secretly, I am proud of us. We currently live in a place that is crazy cold, and we are making it. It means lots of movies and reading and hot chocolate, and it certainly isn’t something I would want to do every winter, but overall, we can handle it. We are adapting. I am ready for it to warm up so we can get outside again, but I like that we have lived it. First hand knowledge of cold. Real cold.

I also continue to learn things. For example, did you know that when it gets really cold like this your tires freeze in a square? The bottom part stays flat from sitting on the ground, so when you start to drive you bump along for 10-15 minutes until they warm up. It is a little like driving Fred Flintstone’s car. It is a good thing someone warned me, or I would have thought that I had four flat tires.

More lessons: On Monday, after our car wouldn’t start (it was plugged-in for almost two hours but apparently it needs longer than that after this many days of cold), we decided to walk to Blockbuster to get a movie. Blockbuster is about a 5-8 minute walk from our apartment. The walk would be our winter/cold adventure for the day. We layered up: Two pairs of pants, long sleeve shirts, fleece, vest, and coat. Hats and gloves. Boots. Less than 2 minutes into our walk the hair around my face started to freeze and by the time we arrived my husband’s beard was frozen stiff as well as his eyelashes. (see pictures!) We looked like we had been out hiking for hours, not 5 minutes.

I have to say, I have an ever growing respect for the cold.

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