Growing up in the sunshine state and spending the last few years in Northern California I have never been subjected to a cold winter where everything freezes and you can actually get your tongue stuck on a pole. Sure Tallahassee had it moments of temperatures in the teens…but nothing that lasted for too long. Anyways, this has been a pretty chilly week here in Munich, and today is actually considered quite warm…temp is about 35 degrees. Well, last week I watered down the yard with our hose, and at the end turned the water off and headed inside. Most of you think this is normal, but apparantely it is not a good idea when it is winter time. For example, this week (specifically two days ago) I needed to water something down again, but when I went to turn on the water it took all my strength just to turn the knob. Not thinking too much of it other than it was a little cold so things had shrunk, I went to the spray handle and couldn’t even squeeze it. Sure enough, the water that was left over in the hose from the previous week was completely solid now! Basically I had an entire hose that was filled to the rim with ice, and no water was getting through even if I could squeeze the spray handle. Luckily it warmed up yesterday and today so nothing is frozen anymore, and I can drain the hose after I shut off the water valve. As they say…You live, you learn!