Okay…start complaining…the snow…the cold…and the really, really cold mornings! That being said, it is almost going to be balmy this afternoon—up to 32 and up to 36 on Sunday—YIKES! 

The great thing about the SLV is that it can be only 19 degrees outside and yet the snow/ice is starting to melt. Today and tomorrow should be wonderful days to get outside! Coming from Minnesota, I hardly ever get cold here in Alamosa. Back there, it might be the same temperature, but it is so brutally cold.  It’s that wet cold that gets them, where as we are a dry cold.

And don’t you know, that if you don’t hear the temperature on TV or on the radio, and you just go outside and get your chores done—you won’t get cold—if the sun is shining! I find that if I get a chill in the morning, it is with me all day long, no matter what. Maybe it’s mind over matter.

On New Year’s Day Larry and I spent part of our 27th wedding anniversary getting the walks shoveled in front of the store. It was so romantic! Not only do we shovel the walks, we also clean out the gutter about 3’. We shovel from the corner of 7th to the corner of 8th, where the melting snow will hopefully drain—we have done this for 20 plus years. I was absolutely thrilled to come in the next morning and see that the City of Alamosa had not only plowed the snow, they had also hauled it away! I don’t know if that is a first for us in 20 years, but it’s pretty close. Thanks Kirk and all you guys working on the holiday! I’d give you a bonus if I could! Pies on their way.

For all you businesses that put up lights this holiday season, there’s no law that says you have to take them down right away. They really brighten our town and since it snowed, they even look more beautiful. I’m actually trying to buy some green icicle lights so I can keep mine up all year—just like my inside ones. The stars on the inside of my store have been up, and on, for six years running. I called the company yesterday and told them how durable the lights have been. I love the LED’s and they sure use less power.

Great news for the SLV Cancer Relief Fund! Another great donation came in, plus my customer donations, and we are now to $6,000 — so proud…and honored to do our part in helping our friends and neighbors in the Valley. It’s also a great feeling to have folks come in for a form requesting help—knowing they have a battle in front of them, and knowing that I can explain the love and support that we all have for them in their journey. Thank you to everyone who has donated!

Last week I started a “what I would do” kind of segment and mentioned the unlit Christmas lights.  Didn’t have time to inventory all of them, as I didn’t think they would be coming down so fast. Oh, well… no one asks me.

Meanwhile, the next thing on my list is asking CDOT for a guarantee letter on how they are willing to rearrange the downtown traffic pattern if that is what Alamosa decides to do—and also transferring ownership of the streets. And a guarantee that they are willing to help pay for the changes. I would also ask CDOT to fix all the broken curb and gutters that were put in when the one-ways were built. I just don’t understand why we accept the poor quality concrete that was put in. It just keeps breaking. How can we possibly plan downtown renovations until we absolutely have these guarantees? Are we throwing good money after bad? (If money is ever bad).

I’ve decided to call this thought process WWRBDo. Floyd Carruth always calls me RB, so I’m going with it—what would RB do?

One thing we can be thankful for on all this cold weather is….it will help to kill some of the overwintering insects. The aphids in particular have been quite a problem the past couple of years so maybe this negative 25 will make a dent in the population next year. Stay positive, right?