This is our first freeze of the season and we were lucky.  We don’t have icy roads; it is just cold and dry.  I am used to hearing the trickle of our little fountain and when I went outside I realized why our lion was silent.  I stared in rapt fascination for a second as it is not a common occurrence in Dallas to see anything frozen solid.  Every year I pray for a white Christmas although it has only happened a handful of times that I can recall.  Snow is a rarity but I fear with human induced climate change the weather everywhere will get freakier.  We went from 71* to 17* in less than 24 hours.  That’s saying something even for Texas.  One minute I’m in shorts; the next sweats.  Rarely do I find any type of weather gloomy.  I realize northerners snicker, but I do not like the combination of sleet with freezing temperatures.  The South is simply not equipped for it.  Admittedly, I think it is easier to live where the weather is less harsh.  I admire people who live in Alaska and are plunged into darkness for most of the winter.  My little one loves the rain; I always tell her God is watering His garden.  The American writer Anthony J D’Angelo said,” Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”  What a great life quote.  I think that is far better than going around freezing.