Thanks to Coffee and Crochet

I live in Florida, right? The land of sunshine and palm trees? The place that northerners come to stay warm in the winter? The Sunshine State? Well, we got our sunshine today, but it sure took it's time warming us up! That's why I was super-thankful for crochet and coffee this morning.

Just to be clear: I do live in that part of Florida that has cows, not coastline. But, at least I have one palm tree! I grew up even farther south than this, and only saw frost maybe three or four times before my eighteenth birthday. This is cold-to-me. So, anyway... This morning I had to wake up before 4 a.m. to send the hubby off for an early workday. On early mornings the dog and cats don't care that it's not time to eat yet... I better get in gear and get them fed, which means taking the dog out... In the dark, and this:

Walking around with my flashlight, the whole yard was sparkling. Even though I hate the cold, it was quite beautiful. Is that what makes people actually want to live in that frozen white stuff you call snow? Maybe I should try to go see it sometime. But only if I can take lots of hot coffee and warm crochet accessories with me!

At least while walking around in the dark, I can wear my crochet goodies with no fear of ridicule. I hate wearing scarves because every time I do, somebody feels the need to inform me that "it's not snowing, you know"... Yeah but I'm cold, so shut up. I wrapped up in my favorite scarf this morning, and it worked wonderfully to keep the chill off while I walked the dog, and again later when I went out to snap some pictures of the yard.

crochet, scarf, broomstick lace, free crochet pattern

It's amazing how much happier you can be when you're warm. Usually, I would be walking around sniffling and grumbling about my numb fingers. Just by adding a crocheted hat and scarf to my Florida-snowsuit*, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the frosted yard instead of being completely miserable.

*A Florida "snowsuit" is my million layers that everyone makes fun of, because I don't own any clothes that are really suitable for this weather. My heaviest jacket leaves me cold at 60°. An outfit for seriously cold days before crochet was:

Undershirt
Long-sleeve shirt
Short-sleeve shirt
Hoodie
Jacket
Leggings/stockings
Jeans
Toe socks
Regular socks
Old toe socks with-the-toes-cut-off, pulled up as leg-warmers

I've been told I look like a homeless person. And I don't think that's funny, but I guess you can laugh if you want to. I'm cold, and I'm doing whatever I can to stay warm. Since learning crochet, I add a scarf and a hat, leaving one of the shirts and maybe the hoodie behind. Sometimes I still wear the hoodie, like this morning when it was freezing. And I really could crochet myself some leg warmers, but I kinda like recycling my worn-out toe socks.

Are you starting to wonder why I'm rambling about what I wear when it's cold? Alright, I'll get to the point: This morning as I was enjoying my favorite scarf, it got me thinking... As soon as the animals are fed and the dog's done outside, I get to go in and be warm. And have COFFEE! I used to work in a steel building with a concrete floor and no heat. I couldn't stand it on cold days. Now, I get to go back in to my heated house, sit down with a cup of coffee, and bury myself in the warmth of my work.

There's plenty of people that still have to work in that cold, while barely making a living. And there's others that don't have a place of warmth or shelter. So instead of being miserable today, I decided to get to work on some more charity donations. I'll be sharing more about that later... Today is just for coffee and crochet!