Chilly Pensacola Sunrise
Today is the annual homeless services day, and homeless count day when hundreds of Pensacolians leave their beds at o-dark-thirty to serve our brothers and sisters who don’t have beds to sleep in, don’t have a roof over their head, don’t always have something to eat.
The homeless love Pensacola because it in so temperate, but even the temperate climate of Pensacola can be occasionally brutal, as it is right now. The Waterfront Mission has said it will take in anyone who comes, to shelter them from the harsh mid-freezing temperatures.
It’s not like Pensacola loves the homeless. The city has passed ordinances preventing them from begging, and from soliciting at the traffic stops. On the other hand, it’s not like they are going away, so charitable organizations in Pensacola do their best to care for the homeless population, providing cold weather shelter, meals, toiletries, places to collect mail and to bathe. There is a free health clinic. There is occasional dental screening. There are veteran services, who try to house and take care of our walking wounded. There is even a service for the pets of the homeless, in case of hurricane or similar emergency.These things make me very proud of Pensacola.
This morning dawned very cold:
AdventureMan crawled out of bed into the cold and chill, donned several layers of clothing and headed out to help with the count, and with serving around 500 people a hot meal. He does it because he loves doing it and I smile thinking how “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.”
A Record Low for Pensacola
The previous record was 19°F set in 1924, according to Weather Underground:
There have been entire winters when I haven’t turned on the heat. Last year, I turned it on twice, when I was having meetings with people who are more sensitive to cold than I am. AdventureMan says we tackle it Continental-style – we put on another layer 🙂 I have a drawer full of lovely Austrian sweaters that I am happy to wear 🙂
The High In Pensacola is 38° F.
Pensacola is Florida. Yes, it is Northern Florida, but it is not the North Pole. The temperatures today and tomorrow would have us believe otherwise:
Bundle Up, Pensacola!
It’s a wild ride, Pensacola catching the bottom end of the cold waves rolling across the USA, and oh, my poor bougainvilleas! People told me they didn’t think bougainvilleas would do well in Pensacola, and I was determined to prove them wrong. For three years, they have been beautiful, but I haven never had to get them through temperatures this low:
Today we were out having lunch and there were people wearing shorts! The highest the thermometer got today was 44°F. So COOOLLLDDD!
Palestinian Snowman
Love this photo from Skye news; Palestinian photo as snowstorm hits Middle East. We were flying back from Cairo to Amman once, only to discover Amman had a snowstorm and there was maybe 4 inches of snow in a city ill-prepared for snow removal, LOL. When we moved there, we knew it got hot – but we had no idea how very cold it also got, and how the cold was amplified by the marble floors and hard surfaces. We LIVED in flannel shirts 🙂
Rosettes in 2013
Tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for – a crisp, cool, dry day when I can make thin, delicate rosettes. We have so many special occasions coming up and I want to be able to share them with others.
The weather here is so erratic – from hot with high humidity and fog to sudden cold and clear. I knew the weather was changing last night when the Qatari Cat came running in to snuggle up close to me. Today I ran errands so I would have tomorrow all to myself – it takes a major portion of the day; you make the rosettes one at at time. Bless his heart, AdventureMan will take care of the new happy baby for me tomorrow afternoon so I won’t even have to rush. 🙂
Moron Weather
Sunday got warm, and yesterday, when we had a huge physical task to complete, lugging bags and bicycles from here to there and then out-there, it was hot and humid, and we were drenched with sweat. Even last night, leaving Darling Baby, it was hot. And humid. And foggy. It was horrible. Then, this morning, suddenly it is 46° again – still cloudy and foggy, but it feels lighter, less humid. I checked good old Weather Underground, and here is what the temperatures looked like through the early morning:
It dripped 20° from 4:23 to 7:10. This is very strange weather, and a lot of people are getting colds, or having trouble breathing, or having migraines from the air pressure or changes. It is bizarre weather!
Christmas Deco – Done
The temperatures went back up today. Yesterday was it – and I am so thankful for the low temperatures.
For a Sunny Cold Day in Pensacola
Normally, I sleep my best in cold weather, but last night the Qatari Cat decided sleeping closely snuggled up to me was preferable to the snug heated bed we bought him, and which he normally loves.
The Qatari Cat is a large cat. When we have our delegate dinners for the GCCDC, we keep him in another room. Most often, delegates will hear him complaining and ask if we would let him out. I am willing to bet that there are more photos of delegates with the Qatari Cat in circulation than with us! All that aside, when he snuggles up, he takes up a lot of room. When you want to change positions, he is a snoring, uncooperative lump, and you have to arrange yourself around him. I did not sleep so well as I like to sleep on cold November nights.
Yes, he is a spoiled cat.
Today’s Psalm from the Lectionary Readings is a delight for a chilly, early November day, warms things right up:
Psalm 34
Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant;
so your* faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
20 He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
My Kind of Day . . .
Tropical Storm/Depression Karen blew herself out before she ever got to Pensacola. We had a glorious sunny Saturday, a Sunday with frequent spells of rain, and today dawned with high skies and sunshine. It looks like rain on the weather map, but the skies are blue. Even better, the temperatures have dropped. It is 62° as I write. Wooo HOOOOO!
This is an exciting time of the year for gardeners. Tomatoes blossoms will ripen into tomatoes once the temperatures go below 70° at night. For two years we have had our own tomatoes well into January, even February.
When we went downtown on Saturday, a beautiful breezy day, there was no market on Palafox – I guess they had been cancelled by fear of the storm blowing in. It was quiet, but a good lunch crowd.
Sunday I finished a charity quilt which turned out better than I had thought it would. That sounds funny, but sometimes I play around, try something new, and about three quarters of the way through I figure out that I am not happy with it. Sometimes it is hard to finish a quilt you don’t particularly lilke, but I have learned to press on, that sometimes once it is pieced, sandwiched and quilted, once it is washed, it looks better. That’s the story with this quilt. I had time on the rainy Sunday to finish up the quilting and binding, and once I washed it, I was happier with it than I had been. It is going to a youngster aging out of the foster care system.
Off to water aerobics and whatever else keeps me outdoors on this beautiful day!
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