Enter Mid Februrary. That end of winter blah where it is 75 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next. It’s 45 in Houston today and dark, wet and still raining. For you snow birds, this is the thin-blooded folks version of 20 degree-wet-and-blowing-without-sun. I think, 5 and a half years into this little southerly adventure, it is time to admit I have joined the ranks of the thin-blooded. I don’t think I’ll be able to visit “you all” between October 15 and March 31. Ever. Especially not Jonathan in St. Paul… where it is currently a Sunny Negative Ten. Um, no thank you. Also, what ever prompted someone to come to this new plush land and move to Minnesota? What was that all about? How is it that everyone didn’t just line up in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and California? Doesn’t it make you worry about our ancestors? That in 5 generations of Friedens none of them thought… Well, this is all well and good… black soil and all… we’ve tamed the Mississippi… it’s been a good run, but Gosh Dern It… It’s Freezing. Let’s go on south. ??? Nobody? It concerns me. I’m not going to lie. Oh, right, the update. Well, in that it is “freezing” and raining… I’m thinking this is a good day to hunker down and clean out that closet. Yep, that’s me, always living on the cutting edge. Although, honestly, if you haven’t seen the closet, you shouldn’t judge. It’s a dangerous place.