Ice, Snow and Cold

Everyone told us that the weather in Kansas City had been unseasonably warm and we were glad to hear it.  Of course, we were still cold, because anything below 50 degrees seems cold to us.  There's just no escaping the fact that after living in Central America for 5+ years, we just can't handle the cold.

We finally went to see the new Star Wars movie with Steve and Terisa last Sunday night. When we got back to their house, the "winter storm" watch was all over the news.  Unfortunately, they didn't miss the forecast this time.  It started overnight with a mix of rain and sleet.  Luckily, Stephen found a way to park a car in the garage so that I didn't have to scrape off ice before going to my 8:30 a.m. doctor's appointment.  The temperature was still hovering around 32, so the roads weren't totally horrible, but we knew the temp was going to drop through the day and that snow would start up in the afternoon.  I came back home and picked up Stephen and we returned the rental car.  After a stop at the grocery store to buy what we needed for lunch, dinner and a pumpkin pie, we were home for the rest of the day.  

The snow ended about 4:00 p.m., so Jon ventured out about 8:00 to play games with his cousins.  Stephen and I made popcorn and watched Monday night football.  As much as I like to visit family and friends, I'm looking forward to being able to wear my flipflops, capris and t-shirts.  We head back to El Salvador on Monday, January 4, so we have a few more days of cold ahead of us.

Ground Hog Day?

Some times it's nice not to be "tied in" to everything that's going on back in the states. For example, yesterday's news about what Punxsutawney Phil saw means absolutely nothing here. We also watch the weather reports with nonchalance, knowing that the most recent winter storm which is about to drop inches and inches of snow on various parts of the country, won't cause any problems for us. Maybe we sound smug, but it's such a pleasure to count on sunshine and warm weather! We've got nothing to fear until the rainy season arrives in June.

How low will it go?

There's one thing about the winter weather--it sure can mess with the best laid plans.  We tried two different times to visit Jeff and Paula's new church in Topeka, but in December it was the ice that came in on Saturday night and today it was last night's snow.  Tonight they are calling for a "real" low of -11 with wind chills around -25 or -30.    

Here's a friendly comparison of the weather here and the weather at "home."

Where would you rather be?