Brrrrr!

It's cold outside. This is our first freeze of the year. The cold front rolled in Monday and the temp dropped steadily throughout the day. To add to that, the wind was blowing about 25 mph throughout the day, so the wind chill was way down there. We even saw a few flecks of snow late in the day. And the skies were overcast the entire day.

When it gets cold like this, Donna and I both agree that it is a good time NOT to be living in an RV. Our least favorite memories while full-timing in our trailers have been when it was cold. There just isn't much insulation value in an RV, so when the heat goes off, the cold creeps back in immediately. Of course, when you live in an RV, you try very hard to be in warm places during winter and cool places during summer, but that doesn't always work out. At the end of 2012 and start of 2013, for example, we were camped just outside Big Bend National Park, when a blue norther rolled in bringing snow. For 2 or 3 days, the temps didn't get above freezing. Just prior to the storm, we had been venturing out in short sleeves. (See "Images of Big Bend" and scroll to the last picture.)

So right now, we both agree that we are happy in our comfortable -- and warm -- home. But since the weather was so miserable outside yesterday, the old woman decided I needed to be punished, so she dragged me all over town. We started by running some errands, then we went to see a movie, A Star is Born. The very first movie Donna and I saw together so many years ago was a previous version of this movie starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. The current version is, I believe, the third. To be honest, I did not care for it. I guess I'm becoming something of a prude in my geezer years, but the movie began by using the "F" word and it continued throughout. I bet the word -- or some version of it -- was used at least 200 times. In the bathtub scene, it was probably used 20 or more times during a 5 minute span. I saw no reason why it had to be used. It did not advance the plot or add to it in any way. For me, it simply made it trashy.

But that wasn't the only thing I disliked about the movie. I really did not find it convincing. The scene when the two leads meet in the bar early in the movie is not convincing. Considering the type of bar it was (I'm being vague intentionally so as not to give anything away), it is a bit of a stretch that those two would find each other and then connect. The ending, though I was expecting it since I had seen a previous version of the movie, was not convincing, either, as there had not been enough to transpire to bring it about. And despite the good reviews "Lady Gaga" received, I was not impressed with her performance, though I did like Bradley Cooper's portrayal of a kinder, gentler male lead.

Regardless, after the long 135 minute movie, Donna and I grabbed some burgers at Whataburger, then stopped in one of our Walmart Neighborhood Markets to pick up a few things. Each time we went from car to building to car, the wind chilled us to the bone, and I think Miss Donna enjoyed seeing me being miserable. That girl has a mean streak.

It was good to get back home where it was nice and warm. The low early Tuesday morning dipped to 25. As I finish this and prepare it for publishing early Wednesday morning, it is a chilly 23 degrees outside. If there is any wind at all, then the chill factor is down to at least the teens, if not lower. It just depends on how hard the wind is blowing.

Stay warm!