THE WEATHER?

What the heck is up with the weather??? Where did all this "coldness" come from? I am in Memphis, TN and it was 21 degrees last night! Does it not realize that it is only November 14th?  There is a chance for sleet and snow here Sunday night.  Good grief!

When I retired, I thought that never again would I experience really cold weather.  I mean, the whole idea is to be where it's cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.  Right?  I guess I haven't mastered the art of that yet. I am the same person that went back to Texas in the middle of July and stayed there until the end of September.

I think it is pretty safe to say that all of us had a VERY cold winter last year.  All my friends who go by the phenomenon of "what's in the middle of the persimmon" told me that every persimmon they opened had a shovel in the middle.  That means you are going to have a hard winter.  If you aren't familiar with this phenomenon, here is the Reader's Digest version. 

Cut open a persimmon seed. (Find persimmon fruit in your supermarket. It should be locally-grown to reflect your weather.)
Look at the shape of the kernel inside.

• If the kernel is spoon-shaped, lots of heavy, wet snow will fall. Spoon = shovel!
• If it is fork-shaped, you can expect powdery, light snow and a mild winter.
• If the kernel is knife-shaped, expect to be "cut" by icy, cutting winds.

It's best to use ripe seeds. Now what do you see below?

See the shovel?

So, I'm staying at the Agri-Center in Memphis.  It has full hook-ups and the campground hosts are nice, but it is basically a non-paved pasture with campsites and hook-ups.  There are no trees to block any wind. If it were to rain much, you would be in a muddy mess. However, there aren't many RV parks around this area.   I am here mainly to visit my sister and she actually lives in Collierville/Germantown area.  The Agri-Center is the closest one around. But when the wind starts whipping around, it is cold!

When I woke up the other morning, here's what the steps to my 5W looked like.

I am leaving Memphis on Sunday and stopping at Scottsboro, AL and then head to Columbia, SC for Thanksgiving.  The cold weather is going to follow me! It is going to be 25 degrees in Columbia the night I arrive.  There is a possibility of sleet and snow in Scottsboro Monday. I don't think I'm ready for this! I guess I need to put on my big girl panties and quit whining......or NOT!

I had a great visit with my sister.  Her daughter, my niece, got to visit a couple of times while I was here.  That was a great bonus! There's kind of a strange thing that happens with my niece.  I am 12 years older than her.  She is 12 years older than Daughter.  Niece's oldest daughter, Sara, is 12 years older than Daughter's oldest daughter, Curly.  Niece's youngest daughter, Hannah, is 12 years older than Daughter's youngest daughter, Popcorn.  Kinda spooky, right?  Hopefully next time, my nephew will be in town and I will be able to visit with him and his family. 

Niece, Hannah, Sister with me

All the guys watching football.

Since it has been so cold, I decided to try my hand at making a t-shirt scarf.  They were all the rage in Branson.  So, I watched a Youtube video, went to Goodwill for some t-shirts, and went about making a scarf.  For the first one, I think it turned out pretty good. My sister kept it.

I told you before that my sister is not well.  So, every time I leave, I get a little sad.  But hey, isn't that a good thing about full-time RVing?  I can always come back when I want to.  Just don't let be SO COLD next time! :)