Cold? Bah.She has no idea.NO IDEA.

We moved from Minnesota to Oregon six years ago and have since acclimated to the milder climate. Mornings like today's, though, make me wonder if you can take the girl out of Minnesota but you can't take the Minnesota out of the girl.

This morning, fall is in the air. The sun was out, the dog left a steaming wet spot in the back yard when he went out for his morning constitutional, the air was crisp and cool, and the fall haze hid the mountains to the east. Perfect. (Ok, I'd love to see the mountains every day, but they'll be back.)


I was wearing jeans, ankle socks and flimsy shoes, a v-neck t-shirt, and a thin hoodie that I only threw on at the last minute because I'm wearing low rise pants and I would be sitting all day. I was hot (Uh, temperature-wise. Well, sure... I was hot-looking, too. Never mind I skipped my makeup and hair routine today...)

Happy with the weather, I had to laugh at this lady who was walking her dog along the side of the road. They were moving at a brisk pace and she was bundled up in a winter coat, gloves, and a long pink scarf srapped around her neck, cheeks, across her forehead, and sunglasses covered her eyes. Good grief, you'd think she was standing at an unsheltered bus stop in Minneapolis on a day when the wind chill was colder than 20 below. And she was walking at a pretty good clip.

Is this some sort of freaky Oregonian sweat therapy?
I see this kind of wardrobe choice more often than I expect and it always surprises me.
Maybe these people are recent transplants from California or Nevada? I really don't get it.

I'd like to see these people at the Holidazzle parade in Minneapolis, sans skyways. The Holidazzle parade is during the big Christmas shopping season and people actually stand outside for hours to watch the floats. The parade has only been cancelled for blizzards or -20 windchill... so that means people (meaning we) have stood outside (have frozen our tushies off) for an hour (or four) when the temperature is around zero (before calculating windchill) to watch a parade (and question our own sanity - of course, it's for the children... yes, the ones who are crying and whining that they're cold. Sissies.)

For those of you who have an idea what the Minnesota climate is like, but don't know a lot about Western Oregon, here's a comparison:

Summer
Minnesota: 75-100 degrees during the day and night, often very humid and muggy, lots of mosquitoes
Oregon: 60-90 degrees during the day, 50 degrees soon after sundown, comfortably dry but not arid, what's a mosquito?

Winter
Minnesota: +20 and down to -20 with windchill, very dry, lots of snow and ice that stays on the ground from late October through late March.
Oregon: 35-55 during the day, 35-40 at night, drizzly or foggy or rainy, snow maybe every other year but it only lasts hours or days so it doesn't really matter anyway. Ok, they close down roads and schools for half an inch of white stuff and they've never seen a snow plow here in the valley...

Now you know what I know about these Oregonian wimps.

You are officially entitled to laugh at them now.