December in SWMO

Damp, dreary, and warmer vs. sunny and cold.
From the inside, I'll take sunny every time.
If I have to be outside, it's a bit of a toss up.

Today is sunny and cool. It is the first time we've seen the sun in over a week. With the clear skies we will also have colder nights. That means the shelters will be open and I'll be back at work. In all honesty, I'd rather have it be cold enough at night and have the shelters open than to be just above the cutoff temperatures and have people sleeping in the cold. 
It does mean that my sleep schedule will be a little whacked this week, but it's not too bad. I adapt to sleeping when able pretty well and it is definitely a worthy cause.

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It's hard to believe that it is only 10 days until Christmas. There won't be much going on at our place for Christmas this year. We have a tree up, a wreath on the door, and stockings hung on the fireplace. The nativity scene is ready for display but hasn't been put up yet. That's it. There aren't even any presents under the tree. 
I'm okay with it. Simple is cool. 

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In other news I am working on getting the deck closed in for the coming winter and cold weather. I tightened the plastic on the lower frames yesterday and will work on finishing that project today and tomorrow. It doesn't get too warm out there, but on many days it does get comfortable enough with a little sunshine and a space heater. It is a little noisy on windy days as the plastic rattles and pops with the wind, but most of the winter wind tends to come from the northwest and is shielded a bit by the house. 
In any case, it gives me some outside (sort of) days that I wouldn't normally have.
The cold weather streak that is just getting started will last for a couple of weeks and won't make it above freezing for a few days near the end of the year. I'm going to have to rethink this wintering in the Ozarks for next year.

We already decided not to exchange gifts for Christmas this year, so I'll just put this as an early idea for next year's Christmas list.

John