[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="561"] Image via www.washingtontimes.com[/caption] Winter hasn't even begun, and already Mother Nature has been pummeling most of the United States with unseasonable cold and early snow storms. As of this morning, the giant storm that brought lake-effect snow to the Buffalo, New York area had left at least 6 feet (!!) of snow in its wake, and is being blamed for five deaths already. To add insult to injury, another storm is on the way, expected to bring an additional 2-3 feet of snow. I'm strictly a Midwest girl, having lived part of my life in Wisconsin and part in Minnesota. I'm hardened to the cold and—having gone from house to house in a