Freeze-dried Soozcat. Just add water.

Ah, Utah. Where people turn into beef jerky.

Me, after about a week in Utah's climate

Now don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things to like about Utah, especially right now. My family's here. I've had a chance to see my mom, and CM's mom and dad. Miss V is here, taking a break from college and binge-watching Jane the Virgin. We're pretty much finished with gift shopping and stocking stuffers, so there's little to no Christmas pressure. I got to see one of my sister-in-law's handbell performances. The family smörgåsbord is coming up tomorrow. It's been snowing picturesquely most of the day.

But. I have made my home in the Land of Rain, where it is fairly humid most of the year, and I've gotten acclimated to nine months of gentle drizzle punctuated by occasional sunbreaks. I am no longer inured to Utah's high-desert climate, where you can feel the aridity sucking all the juices out of your eyes, nose and mouth, where you wake up in the morning gasping for water, where your hair turns into a thatch of dried split ends and your skin grows so chapped that hand lotion becomes a necessity, not a nicety. And that's after three days. Even walking around in an unusually wet snow for the state, you can feel yourself slowly dehydrating.

Will write later... gotta go find a glass of water.