Grab a chair and a couple of root beers...

We're expecting snow today, and a hard freeze tonight.

*grins*

Yep, that happens in Central Texas from time to time. Funny thing, Houston is expecting 3 to 4 inches of snow, and we're expected to only get 1 or 2. I think it's distinctly unfair that Houston is going to get more snow than we will!!

I can appreciate it right now, but I can guarantee tonight, I'm going to regret it very much because y'all, Auntie is going to be freezing her tookus off! It's the annual "Dickens on the Square" and it starts tonight with a light parade, and all that stuff. And the soccer association is once again having a booth, which means that yours truly and the Husbandly One will be huddled inside the crafts tent, bundled up in every single item of clothing we own, shivering and trying to look cheerful as we sell raffle tickets and little soccer chachkies and oojahs while trying to convince folks to sign their kids up for soccer rather than Pop Warner football or Little League baseball.

And after an encounter with our registrar yesterday, I have come to a realization. Whenever wintery weather looms on the horizon, or occurs, it is inevitable that you will hear local radio DJ's start ragging on us poor Texans who "freak-out" when we have snow or ice, or how we don't know how to drive in snow or ice, or how everyone in town stays home from work to "hide" from the white stuff. Blah, blah, blah, right? Well... Miss Eileen (and no, she's not really a "miss" since she's married, but we call her that because it's a Southern thing) had come by to drop off some tables for the Dickens fest, and she was just fretting and fretting about, "OMG, it's going to snow tomorrow and the weather is going to be horrible and we won't be able to drive in it, and they may cancel the Dickens fest..." and on and on and on...

I just smiled patiently and said thoughtfully, "Well... you know... snow would sort of set the tone, don't you think? I mean, you know, Dickens, snow, cold weather... kind of fits the theme, yeah?"

She blinked and said, "Oh, well, yes, if you put it that way!!" Then she went on to tell me how when she had moved to Texas, she had kept her snow chains for her tires, because she knew it snowed here, and well... she might need them! And how she'd never used them since, and finally got rid of them a few weeks ago, because she never used them and wouldn't you just know it, we're going to get SNOW!!

That's when I came to my realization. In fact, after I'd soothed her down and closed the door, I sat down and thought about it for a while, reviewing all the conversations I've had that were in a similar vein and it dawned on me... it isn't the native Texans who are freaking out about the snow. See, we've lived here all our lives, right? We know what to expect when it snows, so yeah, we stay home, partly to just stay off the road because we don't put chains on our tires, etc. but mostly so we can enjoy a rare treat with our kids!! I mean, who wouldn't want to stay home to watch their kids go wild playing in the snow??

We know what to expect, so... it's no problem.

The ones who are freaking out are what we affectionately call "transplanted Yankees" and "snowbirds," meaning those folks from the parts of the country where snow in winter is a fact of life. I think for them, hearing the word "snow" in the forecast sets off a sort of Pavlovian response, and they start thinking, "OMG, I threw out the snow tires/chains last winter!! How am I going drive in this shit??" or "Wait... I don't have a snow shovel any more, how'm I gonna clear the sidewalks, do we have enough salt? This is Texas, it's not supposed to snow here!!!"

And if the weather guys say, "Yes, we're going to have a heavy accumulation of snow tonight..." they really freak.

Y'all... out here, a "heavy" accumulation of snow is like... 3 or 4 inches. Maybe. Just barely enough to make a snow man. Barely. And if it lasts an entire day, it's a miracle. We get snow and thaw usually within about two hours of each other.

*chuckles*

In other news, I know I was a bit cryptic in my last post, but... well, I turned in both of my fest projects, one for bestmates_xmas last week, and one for harry_holidays this week. I did something a little different for harry_holidays this year and that's all I'll say about it. I will freely admit here that I almost called thanfiction for a little semi-hysterical hand-holding, but I got myself out of my "corner" so to speak, and instead contacted the_minx_17 just to be sure I was on the right track. And now that I've nicely muddled the waters and confused you all greatly, I will also say that I simply can't wait until my contribution is posted, just to see what the reaction will be!!!

*is dancing with excitement*

And y'all, I have been looking for this for AGES. So, for your enjoyment, Miss Piggy and the Muppets singing, "Christmas is Coming..."





HEE!!!!