*THANKFUL* six

I am Thankful that I live in Southern California!

I say So Cal because Northern California has much different weather. It could almost be a state unto itself.

I have lived here most of my life. Mostly in the OC (Orange County) but for the last 15 years I have lived in neighboring Riverside County.

OC is about 10* cooler or hotter than where I live yet it is only 45 min away. The summers get hot, real hot, triple digits for much of the summer. And this summer was a scorcher. I love the heat for the most part. It occasionally get humid but generally it is a dry heat. I am always thankful when fall comes and cools our days. The winters can be cold, very cold. (you know, whiny So Cal cold) We frequently get frost in the winter and year before last we had snow all over our hills. It didn't last but there it was in all it's glory.

I enjoy gardening and I like being able to plant something all year round. In OC I could grow a winter veggie garden but here it gets too cold. No matter, I use the winter to plant bulbs and spring flowers, clean up those areas I'm not happy with and just putter.

I love sweaters and have a little collection of them. It's about all I need here. From time to time a heavier jacket is required but not often and only when we will be at an outside activity. I wear sleeveless all year round and almost all of my shoes are sandle types. (I like to see my toe polish)

Winter is rainy season. We can get a fair amount of it. Last year we beat our record. Still it never rains as much as say, Oregon or Washington. Not even close. We complain about it though. We SoCalers don't like to get wet. And we cannot figure out how to drive in the stuff. Unless of course a street is flooded and then everyone believes that their car will transform into a boat.

I am Thankful for the mild climate that we have compared to other parts of our country. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.