cold, snow, cold, and more snow

Regis and I have been watching different adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Sunday afternoon, we watched the Albert Finney version and tonight, the 1951 version with Alastair Sim. It's a little bleak for my taste but it's very dramatic and Regis says that just makes the redemption at the end better. I bet I'll cry.

We went downtown tonight so Regis could get slicked up at Nate's Barbershop. I went into a few of the stores that were still open, then waited and watched cars go through red lights on Minnesota Avenue. Scary. These were not folks who realized the light was changing as they were half-way through the intersection; these were folks who charged right on through when the light was very red. Pity the pedestrians.

We had about five inches of fluffy snow today. It's beautiful but messy, inconvenient, and quite cold. The damn car I drive is all messed up: the check engine light is on, the oil light blinks like crazy, and the back hatch won't close unless the burglar alarm is blaring. We know there isn't anything wrong with any of those things, unlike the time I thought my oil light was broken and the old guy in Iowa gave me hell, but all the lights are irritating.

Dressing like a Tibetan yak herder is getting old. Yesterday I wore long underwear and it was hard to keep straight which pants were where. I almost walked out of the bathroom stall at GAC with one pair around my knees. That would have traumatized the college kids.

Not too many years ago, I delivered Christmas cookies to the neighbors in sandals. This week, I've needed several pairs of socks and boots.

There's something about the cold and dark that makes a guy tired.