So I live in California. North Hollywood, actually, which is a hop, skip and an Academy Award from Hollywood. Earlier this week, the temperature was in the 80’s. Yes, you people on the other side of the country, the 80s! People were out in their shorts and flip flops and it felt like Spring. But, I thought to myself, we haven’t even had Winter, yet! What the?
Anyway, so as I was donning my cutest “Havaianna” flip flops, the clouds started to roll in. It happened overnight, I guess as weather does, and all of a sudden, in the same week, we are in a freeze warning! A freeze warning, I said to myself…as you can see, I like talk to myself a lot…I’m my best listener! The problem with a freeze warning, is that I am house/dog sitting. (You know, the thing that you do for people who go out of town and they trust you to feed and water their pet and keep them alive until they return). I packed for the 80’s! (Not the 1980s–although my boyfriend would have loved that, since he coveted HIS parachute pants and would love to see me with my teased hair and shoulder pads)…But I digress. So, one of the jobs of a “pet sitter extraordinaire” is that you must walk the god…oops…I mean dog…(that was a true typing mistake, but thought it was funny, so I left it there)…I went into “my room” and looked at the choice of clothing that I had packed…How do I make an, “80’s” wardrobe into a “30’s” wardrobe? Hmmmm….Yes! Layering! So I piled on a tank top, long sleeved t-shirt, sweater, cotten hoodie, Pashmina and gloves. Why did I have the gloves? Because, in an extremely organized moment–they don’t come all that often–I threw my gloves in the….Glove Compartment…Oh, now I know why they call it that! I thought it was for the users manual, extra Ketchup packets, and napkins I have collected from various “fine” dining establishments.
So, I get the dog. His name is Bart…like Bart Simpson. He even has a Bart doll..very cute….Bart likes to play a game of let-me-get-my-toy-before-we-go-on-a-walk-and-then-when-you-try-and-put-the-leash-on-me-I-will-walk-around-you-in-circles game…Not so cute. So I grab Bart, in what is to be his final circling–if it’s up to me–and get the leash on him.
We are ready-dog leashed, doggy “receptical” bags (or as I like to call them “Doggy Gift Bags”) in hand, gloves on and here we go. As I open the door, a wall of cold air hits me. Brrrrrrrr…I said. I decide that I don’t look cute enough in my 17-layered outfit, so I put up my hood (Now THAT’S a look).
Bart and I go outside and start walking. Have I mentioned, it’s FREEZING. Now, a bit of info. I was born and raised in Hollywood. Never left. My blood is very thin. So, weather in the 30s is cold to this California girl. (Yes, laugh away). My boyfriend is from Wisconsin, and when we go there, I tell him I love cold weather, I just have to dress for it. But when I am house sitting and have packed for several days of summer…that’s not ready.
Did I mention that it is also very windy…Bart and I head down the street and every 15 seconds I say…It’s freezing. I constantly talk to Bart, by the way, who is also a very good listener. Oh, yes, I left out a very important part to this story, this walk is taking place at 2:30AM! As my nose is frozen into place…can it really be frozen into any other shape?…I say to Bart…”go…you gotta go..cause I can’t stay out here much longer”…after 10 minutes, he “goes” (I am saving you from the actual phrase I used). It was too cold to collect his “gifts” so we stifly walked back to the house.
As we walked back in, the warmth of the heater hit my frozen face, and I knew I was going thaw out and survive this “midnight” walk.
What is the point of this little musing? Well, that something is up with the weather…Global Warming? some say yes, some say no…but whatever it is…I will never be caught house sitting in winter in California with “80’s” clothing!
