Two places are filled to the brim on the eve of a promised winter storm: the gym and the grocery store. I visited both and came home to make a diabetic fish stew: no potatoes, no rice, no roux. Fish, kale, and Bangkok spices.
This is the first normal winter we are having in 17 years here. Normal winter temperatures that you associate with Illinois. And it even snowed more than once.
I remember when I was pregnant with Klara, I wore the exact same clothes and shoes the whole pregnancy which culminated in February. I was glad not to have to spend money on maternity boots but it felt weird to wear a summer getup in February. It only snowed once that winter and that was the day before she was born, making the drive to the clinic for high-high-risk pregnancies very entertaining.