Whew! Glad this day is over. When you work mostly indoors, you forget what it's like to be outdoors in winter weather for long periods of time.

I had to stop in Wiltondale for an hour or so this morning, to interview residents for a story that will likely run in The Sun Monday morning. It was about 28 degrees. The sun was shining, but it wasn't helping much. Stood in the cold, scribbling notes as fast as I could while my fingers slowly froze. And as any reporter knows, Bic pens begin to slow and fade when temperatures dip below freezing, so as my notes grew a paler shade of blue, I had to stop periodically to warm the tip o' the Bic in my too-cold hands.

The folks who graciously gave me their time and thoughts never thought to invite me inside. So my hands and face are still red from the exposure, and it took me all day back in the newsroom to warm up. It's my own fault, really. I went out without a hat. And I could use some gloves with the fingers cut out so I can hold a pen. And I learned long ago I need a No. 2 pencil on days like this. Lesson learned.

The forecast   calls for bitter cold temperatures tonight, with a low around 17 degrees, and another cold day tomorrow, more than 5 degrees below normal. Things will cloud up, too, and there's a slight chance of snow early Sunday morning. Only an inch or less. And given the snow-forecasting success we've seen from Sterling in recent weeks, I wouldn't count on that. More storms are forecast for next week, but all of them have still-unresolved issues about snow/rain mixes.

We'll just have to wait and see whether clouds ruin our view of a couple of nice evening flybys expected next week by the International Space Station. Stay tuned for the specifics.