The first of February. Cripes.

One of last season's pre-spring avalanche tracks. By my calculations, it's only about six weeks to the actual seriously-deadly avalanche time of year. This picture is deceiving. It doesn't show that this particular "avalanche push" is more than a mile long! Scarier still is that this is just one of the very early ones of the season!

Does that wig anyone else out? I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to be caught up in something such as millions of pounds of hard-as-rocks snow catching you and pounding you down into oblivion. (Insert actual shiver here!) I have to admit I am extremely happy that I live in an area that doesn't have this potential danger hanging over my head!

So... how's your day! Hahaha! See, here's the good news... we don't live by scary amounts of snow that will kill us. Yay!

It's still winter here. At least the sun is shining bright... but there's a wicked wind and no clouds so it's verging on bitter cold with the wind chill. Of course I'm very thankful that the wind chills of -30 & -40 etc. are just wind chills! Not the actual temperature like it is in other states. I can't begin to imagine living through weather like that!

A friend in Alaska was telling me how she had to crawl up a rickety ladder onto her roof, hauling an even rickety-er step ladder so she could reach the top of her chimney that had iced up and wasn't letting smoke out.

She had no choice. The actual temperature was -50 or less with wind chills down to triple digits! But it was either get the stove pipe cleared or die. It was too cold to start the truck which, is parked a quarter of a mile from the cabin she lives in. No wood stove, no truck to run, at least 12 miles to the nearest neighbor... it shows in stark terms why many people died in areas like that throughout the history of weather such as that. She has my greatest respect and admiration.

With my lungs, It'd be a miracle not to get pneumonia. Not to mention my inability to do something as simple as swing an axe or hold a chainsaw safely... I would literally die. She's really something else!

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I'll be going off to my friend's house. Normally I wouldn't be all that interested in the game itself. (I have taped it in the past to watch the commercials!) But I do like the Steelers (and clearly dating myself here... I loved cheering for them in high school! Anybody remember Mean Joe Green?) Cripes.

But it will be fun to watch it on the HD, surround-sound big screen!

GO STEELERS!!!!!

For me, it's back to the Y on Monday for water aerobics and water walking. With the bitter cold winds I've not been able to go out. Monday's forecast is for temps in the 30's to 40's so it'll feel good to go back.

My trainer wants me to start on some other Nautilus machines. It is really great to be able to use a machine that will not cause damage to my chest but will still be beneficial. The stair climber didn't work as well as we'd hoped. My knees are too bad to handle it without causing a lot of discomfort.

But, I'll still be doing the treadmill and will try it again as I gather more core strength and tone. The weight loss is helping too. I hope to be able to tolerate it by summer.

Well... off to spend the day staring at the big screen! Good thing I'm going to the Y Monday! I'll have to work off all the veggies and dip!