Ideas to warm up in snowy February

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you it is easier to write about 50 ways to “stay cool” in July, than 50 ways to “stay warm” in February.

But here goes, almost anyway.

The 2022 Old Farmer’s Almanac comes to us with a winter warning: Prepare for a “Season of Shivers.” This winter will be punctuated by positively bone-chilling, below-average temperatures across most of the United States.

So, burr! Blame it on the Old Farmer and his danged Almanac and not me. It’s been quite nippy, and snowy and white over the last few weeks.

And also blame the Old Farmer and his Almanac, looks like there will be more to come.

“This coming winter could well be one of the longest and coldest that we’ve seen in years,” says Janice Stillman, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. For 230 years, the Almanac has been helping readers to prepare for winter’s worst with its 80 percent-accurate weather forecasts.

In some places, the super cold of the coming winter will also bring lots of snow. Above-average snowfall is also in the forecast as temperatures in this mid country will be relatively normal, snowfall will be abundant, with several storms predicted throughout the winter. And portions of the Southwest (that is Arkansas) experiencing the frigid cold predicted for much of the rest of the country.

So here we go on ways to stay warm.

1. Drink some hot tea – yea, that’s right hot tea.

2. Add some jalapenos to those scrambled eggs in the morning.

3. Dig out those Florida beach photos you made last summer.

4. Leave off the “rocks” in those whiskey chasers.

5. Talk back to the editorial writers when reading the paper — just a bit — don’t overheat yourself.

6. Stoke up the wood stove — add an extra piece of wood or two.

7. Silently nudge up the thermostat. Ozarks Electric will thank you in a month or so.

8. Watch the SEC basketball referees, that will heat you right up.

9. Put on those freshly pressed pants — straight from the ironing board. 10. Steam up that early morning shower.

11. Shave with really hot water, I mean steaming hot water.

12. Hot chocolate sure tastes good.

13. Boil some water on the stove to put a little warmer air in the house.

14. Put a double dash of McIlhenny’s Tabasco in the Bloody Mary’s.

15. Eat only toast so warm it melts the butter.

16. Imagine it is August 12th before you head out the door.

17. Steam up the evening shower ‘til you can’t see the mirror.

18. A little Texas Pete on the eggs does the trick.

19. Get out your IRS tax forms.

20. Now hit doing those taxes a lick or two.

21. Sriracha sauce on the hamburger never disappoints. 22. Imagine the humidity is on the rise.

23. Tomorrow morning walk just another block or two to elevate the “sweat factor.”

24. Add generous amounts of Tabasco sauce to the pimento cheese sandwich.

25. Keep the fajitas sizzling as you fork them on your plate.

26. Soup — yes — hot, I mean hot, Chinese soup sure sounds good.

27. A little shot of slightly warmed bourbon, just hot enough to melt the sugar cube — will get you warmed up.

28. Put those potato chips in the microwave for 20 seconds — then eat.

29. Melt the cheese on those corn chips for the afternoon dip snack.

30. Microwave up that

glass of water for 15 seconds — then drink it down.

31. Slather on the kimchi on that ham sandwich.

32. Imagine wiggling your toes in the warm sand on the beach.

33. Eat them wasabi coated dried peas for a snack.

34. Put on some sun tan

lotion just because.

35. Chili — make it hot as in temperature and spicy as in hot, hot, hot.

36. Don’t eat cold donuts — only those fresh out of the hot fryer.

37. Knock back a little shot of vodka.

38. Think about your electric bill coming in next month’s mail.

39. Fill up your car, truck or SUV, watch your money burn right at the pump.

40. Again, watch those

dogged SEC basketball referees at the scorer’s table looking at those darn monitors.

41. Watch the marshmallows roasting over the fire pit outside, now eat one still smoldering.

42. Think back to six months ago, it was 98 with a heat index just short of 110 degrees.

43. Now remember. It will be warm soon enough, humid soon enough and spring very, very soon.

This cold weather can’t last forever.

Stay warm and stay safe. Politics returns next week, that usually makes us all “hot under the collar,” now doesn’t it?