I've never liked winter.  Not ever.  You'd think growing up in New England I would have adjusted, but I never did.  I remember being a kid and wanting to go outside to play.  My poor mother would get me all bundled up in leggings, hat, scarf, mittens and boots.  I'd be out there ten minutes and want to come in again.  I've never found anything delightful about snow and ice.  So when we moved to southern Ohio when I was seven years old, I was very happy to have more temperate winters.  But I remember moving back to the Boston area in 1960.....just in time for the huge Valentine's Day Blizzard.  At fourteen, I detested winter even more.  I mean, come on, how cool was that to have to wear all that cold weather gear?

And as I got older, I hated winter even more because I found that it now affected my sinus.  So moving to Florida twenty-three years ago pretty much eliminated both my shivering and my sinus problems.  Until this winter. 

You know that surprise birthday party we were supposed to go to on Saturday?  Well, it was for our friend, Joe, owner of Kona Joe's...........and I couldn't go.  As the day wore on and the pressure in my face, eyes and neck got worse, I knew I was going nowhere and I was pretty disappointed.

But we went to Kona Joe's yesterday for lunch and and to bring Joe the gift I'd ordered for him.  I found a site on the Internet where you can personalize tee shirts and this is what I came up with to put on Joe's.

And I had this printed on the back.

Kona Joe's caters to us locals as much as the tourists, so it's the ideal place to drop by and find out what's going on here on the island.   From my first day visiting there, I knew it was my answer to "Cheers".......where everybody knows your name. 

Some of you might recall that Ray and I have unofficially adopted four cats in the neighborhood.  They're sure not used to this cold either.  So a couple months ago I put out two doggie crates, complete with pillow and blanket.  At least this keeps them warm and dry at night to sleep.  And yes, they do sleep in there......They've paired up and it's so sweet to see two of them huddled together in their crate.  And during the day, I leave my garage door open so a few of them take advantage and come inside to warm up a bit.  When we got back from downtown yesterday, we found Black & White Kitty taking a respite from the cold in the garage.

We have a new establishment (one of a few, actually) that opened downtown on Dock Street.  I briefly popped in yesterday to see it and meet the new owners, Connie and Jay.  A very friendly couple and I was totally captivated by their dog, Otis!  What a handsome lad he is!  Ray and I plan to drop by there on Friday for a drink, so I'll be sharing photos and details with you soon.

Never one to dwell on the negative.......concerning the weather, the good news is that we're going to have a slow warming trend headed our way.  According to the local forecast, we just might see 70 degrees by Sunday!  And I, for one, will certainly be welcoming that.  I almost feel guilty complaining when I see what the rest of the country has been enduring.  But hey, come on, this IS Florida after all......you know, that state where people come to try and escape the winter cold, not be subjected to it.  Have to admit though, it certainly does beat all that snow the north has recently received. 

So make sure you stay warm and I'll see you here next time................