The following is a post from my website Chrissy…In Her Sixties, which I am currently working on shutting down. The website you are now looking at, That Hobbit Lady, has been with me since November 2004 (nearly 20 years) and contains over 500 posts. In Her Sixties only goes back to 2017, with less than 40 posts. So, you see…in the interest of consolidating, I could either send 500+ posts from That Hobbit Lady to In Her Sixties, or 30+ posts from In Her Sixties to That Hobbit Lady. In addition to the math of that first option not making much sense, it also happens that the term “In Her Sixties” will only to apply to me for a few more years. But I will be a Hobbit Lady forever. So: no-brainer.
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December 8, 2017
I love cold weather.
Sometimes in the middle of the heat of Summer, I feel like I’m not really alive, or at least not really awake, because I’m in a holding pattern, waiting for the cooler weather to kick in. Summer is something I mostly endure, with the hope that it will soon be over, and we will enter again into the full glory of Autumn and Winter.
I guess you could say I’m a “reverse-bear,” hibernating during the Summer, and fully awake once the temperatures drop below 70. I say I love cold weather, but to that I add a caveat: I’m a Southern girl, having lived my entire adult life in Florida, except for these last eleven years, when I’ve lived in Alabama. So, when I talk about “cold,” I don’t employ the same definition as…oh…say…someone from Maine. To my way of thinking, an optimum temperature would be anything between 35 and 65 degrees. I can tolerate temperatures 10-15 degrees colder or hotter, but would prefer not to. My personal Camelot would enjoy temps between 35-65 degrees at least 80% of the time.
And what about snow? I love snow! Well…a little bit of snow. My understanding is that the national average is about 25 inches per year. Way too much for me! That much snow in any given year would surely quickly lose its appeal. As I’ve been trying to identify the perfect retirement location, I look for a place that generally enjoys between 1-6 inches of snow per year.
Okay. I know what you’re saying: what a Weather Wimp! And I freely admit it. I’m a Weather Wimp—big time! One of my main reasons for wanting to move out of Tuscaloosa is to get out of Tornado County (or at least get out of the capital city of Tornado County: Deep South.) But of course, I don’t want to move into the path of any oncoming hurricanes either, or live under the constant dread of earthquakes or volcanoes. And my Dry Eye rules out pretty much all of the Southwest.
So I say I’m a Weather Wimp, but can you blame me? Nobody wants any of those conditions. It’s just that I put weather very high up on my list when trying to identify my Camelot criteria.
In Camelot, there would be a good deal of time during which it would be appropriate to wear flannel shirts and boots with heavy, comfy socks. In Camelot it’s okay if clouds sometimes cover the sun, if the wind blows (but not too hard), and it’s even okay if it rains. In fact, I quite enjoy all that weather. In moderation. I actually love a thunderstorm, as long as the weather radio isn’t frantically beeping and warning of approaching tornadoes!
So, right now, in the middle of Autumn, only days away from the first day of Winter, with an unseasonably early dusting of snow today, it’s all good, it’s all glorious, as far as I’m concerned! Inside my boots I’m wearing two pairs of comfy socks, and a flannel shirt over my long-sleeved shirt is just enough to make me feel the weather is absolutely perfect.
I’m alive, and awake, and living in Camelot.
