I spent the four days since my last post on Thursday visiting my mother and two brothers in the small central Ohio town where I grew up. I have now lived in Florida far longer than I did in Ohio and one thing I was reminded of on  this trip was that Mid-December is not a good time for someone used to sub-tropical weather to be in the Midwest! 

You have probably read about (or if you live there, experienced) the massive snowstorms that have swept across the region the past few days. I was lucky to get out 

The central Ohio house where I grew up. My parents bought 
it over 60 years ago in exchange for $500 and a used car!

Sunday just ahead of the worst weather. When we were boarding the plane, the snow was already blowing in so hard it was going sideways. We had to sit on the tarmac for half an hour while they de-iced the wings, but once we were airborne it was smooth sailing back to the Sunshine State (which incidentally isn't so sunny right now either - we are expecting sub-freezing temperatures tonight in the Tampa Bay area.)

Getting to see some snow and experience cold weather again does make it feel more like the Christmas season though, as did getting to spend time with family in the house I grew up in. The place is over 100 years old now. My parents moved in over 60 years ago when they traded a used car and $500 for the house (if today's home values keep falling the way  they are maybe we will see those prices again)! They tell me it wasn't much more than a cabin back then though. My dad added the second story, the garage and all of the left side of the house past the front door - doing all of the work himself.  He could build anything. They say a lot of genetic traits skip a generation which may explain why I am more likely to hit my thumb than a nail if get anywhere near a hammer. Thank goodness I can operate a keyboard without hurting myself (of course the night is still young)!

(Posted Dec. 13, 2010)