It’s oddly warm outside. Well, it’s 54ºF, which feels oddly warm compared to the lower temperatures we have been having lately are the ones we are expecting soon. There’s a thick pea soup fog out there too. Always makes the back yard look so eerie. I like it.

I imagine the almost warm breeze barely blowing is every last bit of warmth from the more northern states being pushed down at us … right before the coldest air we’ve felt here in a long time blasts us into a frenzy, and Texans –at least the ones in my neighborhood– do seem to be working themselves into a frenzy about this cold front.

I would swear most of the mass of humanity crammed into my corner grocery store this afternoon were panic buying. I’ve been through hurricanes. I know when people are panic buying food and other essential provisions. The thing is … there’s no real reason to panic. It’s going to get cold. Very cold. But the weather isn’t supposed to be especially ugly. No rain or freezing rain or ice or snow. Sunny cold weather. I know I will regret not buying more things at the grocery store –I bought the ten most essential things, got through a quick check, and was in and out of the utter madness of the place in under 20 minutes, because I will likely have to leave the house when it is really, really cold, and this will suck. But I am fully capable and unhindered in my ability to leave my house and go buy or do anything I want just as if it was a totally normal non-freezing-cold day.

Austin will not be shut down. Life will be normal. The only true hardship will be some people will have burst pipes, there will be a couple of house fires caused by various heating methods, some schools or office buildings may close due to heating system breakdowns, it’s possible a few homeless and/or elderly people will die of hypothermia, and almost all of us will be freezing our butts off when outside, because very few of us own clothing designed to protect us from such frigid temperatures. Perhaps sales of appropriate cold weather clothing have risen as much as the sale of bottled water, soda, and canned foods. Seriously, people were stocking up on nonperishable foodstuffs as if there was a hurricane on the way and Austin had beachfront property.

The only sense of dread I feel about this upcoming cold spell concerns the fact this is our first really hard and long freeze in the house. Let’s just say I’m hoping we don’t get any horrible surprises or experience any house-related dramatic events in the next few days. Aside from that one concern, I’m actually glad it’s happening. Today I heard that when the weather warms up and it’s time to get to that spring and summer gardening, this cold spell will have diminished the supply of hungry bugs greatly. I can get through a few days of really cold weather knowing my future garden has a slightly better chance of being awesome, because it isn’t being eaten alive daily by the multitude of hungry, hungry bugs. I can always do with fewer bugs.

I’ve got to get to bed. It’s late, and I’m starting to babble. Where does the time (and energy) go?