Indiana (Dec. 20-27)

Eventually, I’ll get caught up.)

Arriving in Louisville this time of year, the weather can be all over the place. We’ve had rain, snow, warm, cold, etc. Last year it was warm with no snow. This year was colder, though the weather was predicted to get much colder as a polar vortex was on its way from the north. But as we arrived, there was no snow and warmer than what we had in Minnesota.

We made our way to southern Indiana where we would spend a week with my mother-in-law as well as my sister-in-law who was also visiting for the holidays from Bangkok (soon to be headed to Lao).

I guess these guys don't head south for the winter - standoff between a bluejay and a cardinal

The house is small but it works when we’re all there. We’ve been there enough that we quickly move into our routines in the small town of Scottsburg. We work out at the local YMCA. I go for runs out in the countryside. There are cities with shopping centers closer to Louisville that we can reach in about a half hour. Otherwise, the town has all the basics.

A massive hawk behind the house. I've never seen so many birds in the winter.

One thing that we did this year which we haven’t done in the past was volunteer at the local food pantry for the homeless. Someone may ask, with only a week available to us in Indiana, why we would use such valuable time in a food pantry. In fact, it’s a great use of time. First of all, it’s something we did as a family and less selfish than doing something like working out. Second of all, there is huge need, particularly this year. We’ve been so blessed over the years that, for me, it’s the least I can do to share what we have. In the end, I wish we had done more than we did.

The nice people at the pantry gave us our instructions and we were off and running. Our initial task was to take the items from the area where they were donated, do a bit of sorting and then stock the shelves. This way, when they assemble the packages to be distributed, they can quickly find what they need. The goal of the pantry is to try to provide somewhat of a balanced diet for the needy given the odds and ends that show up among the donations. I have to say, another benefit to volunteering is the education you receive about how this all works, what the gaps are, and be better informed when donating in the future. After we were done with our work, my sister-in-law and I headed to the local Walmart to fill up a couple shopping carts of items that were most needed, particularly with the frigid weather coming the following day.

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Three days before Christmas, some of the family decided to do some preparing just in case the predicted bad weather became ugly (flashlights, food, etc.). In addition to the cold, we were told that there would be terrible winds that could bring down powerlines and make the frigid temperatures even colder. That evening, snow began to fall and then the winds picked up during the night.

The next morning (Dec. 23), everything was white and wind guests were stronger. Temperatures were expected to drop further so I decided to get my run in beforehand. It was cold but, after about 15 minutes I was fine. After my frigid experience in Minnesota, I had purchased a hat and gloves and was better prepared. It was cold enough, however, that as sweat seeped out of my hat, it froze into an icicle.

Throughout the day, the cold really set in. By afternoon, I took this screenshot: -28 F (-33 C). On Christmas Eve, temperatures warmed to balmy single digits as we attended our two church services.

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Christmas was rather low-key and relaxing with family. The week went quickly and soon we would be repacking our bags for our trip to Idaho.