my tears can't drip

I was covered, head to toe, convinced it was the only way to survive the arctic blast. Even so, after 10 minutes or so of shoveling, my frozen fingers were complaining. Then, neighbor dude went by.

He had on an unzipped jacket and jeans, no hat, no scarf. Boots? Maybe. Gloves? Maybe?

He pushed his shovel down several yards of sidewalk in both directions from his house, clearing a path for his house, our house, and several others. I stopped my shoveling and watched him, nearly naked, go past. 

How were his ears not falling off, frozen bits of meat? How did his face still work? I thanked him for his fine but perplexing work and went about continuing to freeze my fingers.

Yes, like many parts of the country, we are in a deep freeze. Magnum and I went out and cleared our driveway and walkway early this morning when it was about -7 degrees F. He had to take Chaco to an appointment, and I stayed home with three dogs and the cat.  The college announced on Tuesday afternoon that we would be closed today through Saturday, so my winter break started a day early.

The sun did eventually peek out, so it turned into a pretty day, but never got higher than 2 degrees above zero as far as I could tell. I ventured out for a little look-see as the cabin fever was setting in. I figured I'd walk to the nearby convenience store for cigarettes. Just kidding.

The bright sun made it seem warmer than it was, and thankfully, the wind was nearly nonexistent. I swung by the neighborhood park to shoot a
hoop under that clear blue sky.

Afterwards I thawed out satisfyingly at home with hot tea and a ridiculous book - ridiculous not in a good way.

I guess Magnum thought my reading approach amusing from across the table.

I will not ever join an online dating site, but if I did, this would be my profile pic.

Truth in advertising.

Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: cold.