What Iowan's Do On Cold Winter Days

     Ever since Christmas day it has been cold.     We have seen temps down to minus 20 area and lower.   We have lived through temps like this years before, but as I get older  I seem to welcome the cold weather less and less.
     It has been so cold lately that even the squirrels don't seem to frequent our squirrel feeder very often.   

      As I am doing my most favorite thing (wrong - not my most favorite thing)  running the sander, I find myself bundled up and wondering why do I live in Iowa.    I am trying to focus on the direction I should be running  the sander, but find myself thinking about friends who have left or are leaving for the far south for the winter season.    I ponder the idea of selling all my wood tools and take the wife and head out to some southern island ourselves.     (Maybe get out of the hobby of wood working and try surfing or something. Hmm)    

     So for entertainment one has to be a little creative.     Have you ever  blown bubbles outside when the temperature is minus 22 degrees?   It's pretty neat.    The  bubbles barely travel a foot or so and they instantly freeze.    They turn into a little plastic like balls that float a ways and then break up into ice crystals.   It's neat. 

   Another neat trick is to take a cup of boiling water and throw it into the the freezing air.    The steam immediately freezes into crystals. 
   Of course all this is going on while at the same time there are announcements  on the radio warning everyone of being exposed to the dangerous wind chills which could easily lead to frost bite within 15 minutes.    Oh well - the new things one can learn at my age experimenting on different stuff on a cold winter day  is always a bonus. 

    And then there are those of us who enjoy the heat of the house and have nothing to do but complain of the morning sunshine in their eyes, quietly demanding that someone should walk over there and pull those patio door shades shut.   (There is this temptation for me to toss the wife's cat outside in the air for 16 minutes and see what would be the result from that little experiment.  I mentioned it to Pam, but she seemed not to accept the idea.  So I guess we won't try that one - today anyway...)   

   In the mean time I have moved to the basement shop area of the house where I usually never run the sander because of the chances that the dust circulates to our living area - and no matter how careful one is  - it does.   So I sand my boards trying to hold the board, the shop vac hose, and the sander all at the same time which for some could be a little tricky. 😊 (I was wondering if I duct taped that vac hose to my apron and did a dance keeping rhythm with the direction of the sander if that would work.  Maybe that could be an idea that I could send in to one of the wood magazines who are always looking for tricks of the trade to publish.)    

Enjoy the warmth all my Florida and Arizona friends.     While life may be good on the sand  I can only imagine how boring "bubble blowing"  must be for all of you.