Orlando set a record low high yesterday, meaning the high of 49 degrees was the lowest ever recorded for January 2. A hard freeze was forcast for last night (mid to upper 20's for several hours) so we took the standard precautions: covered the plants (with their precious tomatoes, peppers, and new blossoms), turned the pool pump on, set the outside faucets on trickle, and set the recycled water to spray the grapefruit tree. (Let me tell you, the water which I would have otherwise called very cold felt positively tropical on my hands, compared with the air.) It must not have been as bad as predicted, however, because the temperature on our back porch was a hair over 40 degrees at 5:30 this morning. The plants seem to have survived, even though there were spectacular icicles on the grapefruit tree through most of the morning.
I've been making soup stock, enjoying the peculiar situation in which I can have the oven and stove on for hours and not make any obvious difference in the warmth of the kitchen. Soup-making is a cold-weather sport, and this has been our first opportunity this year to enjoy it.Hm. Wish I could come visit. It's plenty cold for soup here. I was thinking of trying to find the ingredients for Ice stew.
We enjoyed a fire in the fireplace tonight while watching the first four lectures of a Teaching Company course on the High Middle Ages. I believe it's been two years since it's been cold enough for a fire here.
The soups were yummy. The fire was nice, and the middle ages lecture informative. By the way Janet, though it is often cold when we eat it, AIS stew is named for the Indian tribe, not the weather :)
I knew that and that's how I see it in my head, but since I type like I'm speaking I didn't even think about the spelling. As a kind friend once pointed out when I said I should think more before I speak, I do think, but I do all my thinking alone and then when I'm with people all the talking spills out.
