The 43

The whole eastern two-thirds of the country continues to suffer through bitter cold temperatures and a miserable winter. Welcome to Salt Lake City, where it climbed beyond 50 degrees today. It's barely snowed here this month. We've had some rain, but it hasn't been cold enough to turn into the snow the mountains need. It feels closer to March than January. And if you consider March about halfway between January and June, it's Juneuary! OK, I'm not trademarking that ... I despise January, so the warmer weather isn't so bad. Popcorn and I went for a run today in Liberty Park and I actually wore shorts. But I know we need the snow, but it doesn't look like we are going to get it anytime soon. On the bright side, January is halfway over. With weather like this, for once with this miserable month, no rush.

The Facebook memory from yesterday said it all. On New Year's Eve 2009, the day before the new decade, I declared that the '00s were a blur. Here on the first day of 2018, I realize that nine years ago, I had no real idea what a blur really was. Our New Year's Day was mellow. Ben went bowling with his swim team, and the two of us picked up a few things at WinCo afterward. I took the dog for a long walk and listened to some podcasts (two of my resolutions for 2018 -- more exercise and more podcasts). The basketball schedules finally were released for the winter, and Lori and I tried sorting through that. Lori made us ham scalloped potatoes for dinner, and we watched a little football (Georgia beating Oklahoma in double overtime). My wish for the new year, after its first day, is that it's anything but a blur.