Monday, 11:50 am: Yesterday was the first day, since the beginning of December; the outside temperature rose above freezing. Chunks of snow and ice slid off our roof throughout the day. Well into the early evening the temperature was still in the mid-30s [F.]. We were going to drive to Caribou for pizza yesterday, but the NOAA weather radio warned us about the possibility of freezing rain and slippery roads. Erring on the side of safety seemed like a safe bet, although pizza is a very tempting treat to test my driving skills. We stayed home and my skills untested.

On Wednesday we’ll drive down south for an orthopedic doctor’s appointment in Togus, Maine. Besides the medical issue, we plan on hitting the bookstores and eateries. We’re hoping the weather is on our side for the ride down and back. It is, after all, winter in Maine and anything can happen. I am [was] a fair-weather adventurer and any sort of daring needs to be done when the weather is much more pleasant.

If I can just get past all the biblical and Christmas documentaries on television over the past few days, and Christmas music on the radio I’ll be happy. It’s CD and DVD time. I think it’s time to watch Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. I’m sure there something in it to offend just about everyone, including myself, but it is still funny! It’s not quite a Christmas classic, but it’s much more entertaining than what’s on the TV and radio. As always I try to do the unexpected.

Current values from our wireless Davis Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 28.2° [F.]

Barometer: 29.463 & falling slowly

Humidity: 51%

Wind: 3 mph – Highly variable

Visibility: > 3 miles

Skies: Scattered high cloudiness

Precipitation: .18 inch – rain!

Since midnight:

Low temperature: 27.1° [F.] at 10:47 am

High wind: 28 mph at 5:40 am