this coldness.............

[Micanopy]

    after having the hip replacement i have discovered that winter and coldness is for the birds. the colder it gets the worse the arthritis gets. got a warm fire going and venison stew on the stove and its fixing to get colder tonight, into the teens, at least tonights not damp, ice storms due here tomorrow. i'm liking the idea more and more of selling the ranch and heading home to the everglades.

    during my absense my son bought me home for a couple of alligator hunts down home and the more time i spent down there the more i realized that you can wander from place to place but there is only one place you can call home. i am missing it more and more as the days grow colder and my bones hurt more and more. its 83 there today with a chance of showers this evening. as i sit here and write this its 39 with a windchill of who knows how low. my son just had surgery on his lower back to fix some herniated disks and is healing up but he told me that if he has to go thru anything like the pain the cold causes he doesnt want to move out here to suffer the cold in the winter and the brutal summers, droughts, etc., that come with being a texan. i got a lot of thinking and reckoning to do i suppose. older kids are there, my other grandson is there, i'm thimking it';s time to go home.

    please excuse the no capitals, my key board seems to be ill. just ranting i guess, with everything thats gone wrong over the last couple of years it's making more sense these days. be safe and well.

[William]

I understand where you are coming from, maybe more than others although I'm sure there are a few folks that know exactly what it feels like.  I too can feel the cold down in my bones, feet especially.  I gave my back to law enforcement many years ago and I suspect you did as much as well.  I'm fortunate to have most of my family within a 20 mile radius but that wasn't always the case.  Home is where the heart is and I've "lived" somewhere for many years but always knew it wasn't "home". 
In the meantime, throw another log on the fire and grab your favorite wool blanket, this cold can't last forever.  Plus I hear that there's this global warming thing so sooner or later it'll be time to put on your shorts and a t-shirt again.

If it comes down to moving back to Florida I hope you'll call on me to help with pulling up the stakes. Not that I want to see you go, but I do want you to be happy and comfortable.

[mtnmike]

If it makes you all feel warmer,it's - 16 here in my mountain now,and they are saying the wind suppose to get up.. but wouldn't trade it for all of Florida,,I can handle all except when the springhouse freezes up,then I git a mite worried

[Baldy]

I grew up in the plains of Iowa so have been cold a lot.  I always thought I would retire down to the area around El Paso since I lived there a couple years (Ft. Bliss) long ago.  Allergies didn't bother me and I learned fast to handle the heat (it was a dry heat ok?).  But when the time came, I saw that my kids are all here, my grandkids are all here, and all my friends are here.  So I pretty much have to hibernate from November until April.  It is winter here in the middle of Michigan and I get too cold to go ice fishing, skiing, sledding, and all those winter sports from when I was young and could take it.  But, it is home and I won't be leaving it.  Home is where the family is and if I were you I'd be going back home too.  Life is too short to hurt when you don't have to.

[punjab]

Well it is winter after all and cold weather is to be expected.As to home,ain't no way I am going back to where I came from which is Owen Sound Ont.I really like SW Wa. in spite of the fact that we had 8" of rain in about 12 hrs.Mon. night and Tues. morning.As to arthritis I am very fortunate I have both kinds, ah well there is always tylenol and cortesone shots.If it gets too bad burning some black powder is always a good pain killer.

[Red Badger]

But they don't have Buff in Florida!   

Seriously - you are right that home is one place and others are just where you hang your hat for a while.  I was born an raised in Wisconsin and it will always be home - even though I don't have much family there anymore, and have lost contact with those who are still there...

Whatever you decide to do will be the right thing - and you always have a place to hang your hat here on this site.

just let us know how we can help, and how long you will be in transit so we don't worry too much

(yeah I know nag, nag, nag)    

[William]

Gotta say that this morning I was wishing I was back in Phoenix as all my joints are hurting in this cold weather. Not just the ones that have been worked or been injured but wrist, knees and especially my feet. I can't wait for the day I can soak my bare feet in warm water again!

Feel better soon!

[Micanopy]

15 degrees right now...... Had to go out and throw hay for the livestock.... I hear that it's supposed to get cold tonight..... Wonderful. Ice snow and freezing rain on the way this evening. Just peachy.

[DandJofAZ]

At least you live where it's expected to get cold...I'm now in Needles CA. Hot spot of the nation way to often..The palm trees out in front of my new abode looked kind of neat in their coat of snow earlier this week.  Ice and snow in Needles sucks.  Living quarters got down to 57 inside these adobe walls.  Even thought of turning on heater to see if it worked.. Tonight I work back to Winslow and will stay over in Flag where it is supposed to be cold and white.

P.S. Yes I moved my home terminal from Heaven (Flagstaff AZ) to Hell (Needles CA). 20 years of seniority and forced to move to keep job.  Ain't life full of suprises from time to time?? At least I get home every 3 days or so for a few hours and my dog still knows me

Doug.

[Hawken50]

   Nice here in Virginia Was all of 5 degrees here this mornin Got all the way up to 17. May have to break out the shorts.......not.

[Micanopy]

indeed life is full of suprises, some aint much fun at all. during my time away i have had to sell off every hide i had, some of my most prized possessions. my truck died nov of 13 so had to get a newer one, that sucked, then the wife flipped her xterra in an ice storm january of 14, had to buy a newer one, that sucked, alot of things sucked over the last couple of years but we get thru things, at least some things. the world is made round so that we may not see all that much further down the road. hoping 2015 is much better. we'll see.