The Chinook is just about over. After warming weather since Saturday, the weather is starting to cool once again. By next Saturday the temperatures will fall below freezing; they will stay that way, near or below freezing, for at least the next couple of weeks. While it won't be the bitter -25C that it has been, it will still be cold enough for the sidewalks to freeze over, for the wheelchair ramps to become blocked and slippery.
I'm going to take advantage of this last day of Chinook. My plan is to go to the Coop to do some shopping. There are a just a couple of things I really need; I could get them from Safeway across the street. However the excursion to Coop will get me out in the fresh air for an hour or so, round trip, giving me a sense of the wide world still out there. Once the cold returns I will be reluctant to travel outside unless I am in my truck.
These kinds of opportunities are important in the winter. It is not unusual for February to become very cold, and for March to have a lot of snow; it is the month with the most snow days in a typical year. That means I could be housebound for several weeks, except for the truck, from now until the end of March when things start to warm up.
Fortunately for me, this year I am headed on a road trip with my friend David, leaving on February 4th. The timing could not be better as the long term forecast as calling for colder than normal temperatures in early February. We are leaving at just the right time. Still, for the next couple of weeks, my warm and cozy apartment will be tough to leave.
It won't be completely up to me. I have a birthday dinner to attend on the 23rd, an ALS Clinic to attend on the 25th, and an appointment with my new Family Doctor on the 31st. The Family Doctor visit is across the street, so no truck will be involved. The other two will require the truck. So I guess I really won't be housebound.
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