“At the darkest time of year, Lord Yule laid down his beard of snow and cloak of frost and ice to illuminate the gloom.”
The impending storm got me out early, and I’m just back from finishing my errands. My fingers are about ready to break off from my hands. They are bordering on numb cold. The frigid air and the wind are shocking and take your breath away. Snow is predicted for this afternoon. At first it was a dusting to an inch. Now there could be up to four inches. My philosophy today is simple: Let it snow! Let it snow! I’m home, comfy and getting back to warm. I have cream for my coffee and a blueberry turnover. The dogs each got a biscuit in a cat shape. The irony was lost on them. I have no further need to go out today.
Dark clouds and cold days seem to invite a nap. I’m penciling one in on my otherwise empty dance card for today.
My kitchen floor will finally get washed today despite the impending snow. I break out in hives every time I go into the kitchen and see paw prints covering every inch of tile floor from the back door across the kitchen to the hall.
When I was a kid, I walked to school every day. The weather didn’t matter. Every kid in my neighborhood walked to school, meandering on warm, sunny days and fast walking on cold or rainy days. We didn’t complain. That was the way it always was.
In Ghana, my house was on school grounds as were the houses of most of the staff. My classroom block was about a two or three minute walk across the compound from my house. Every day I walked pass one of the dorms, the dining hall and the principal’ s office/ staff room combo then back again, sometimes there or four times a day. I got wet on rainy days, but my clothes dried quickly. If I were out and about in town and it rained, I’d just duck into a store or covered spot until the rain ended or lessened to mist. Life goes on in the rain.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
January 3, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Hi Kat,
This morning the sun is shining but the temperature was 25°F when I left the house at eight. It’s nearly as cold at my desk. No snow for us thank goodness.
This morning I was informed that one of my fellow coworkers had passed away from stage four pancreatic cancer last week. He was only a year or so older than I am. May he Rest In Peace, he always had a big smile and a kind word for everyone and everything. I will miss him.
When I was in High School I only had to walk a couple of blocks to the school. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow would keep me from walking to and from school. I remember that older folks would deride us for being soft, because they always had to walk two or three miles through blizzards and hurricanes to get to school. 🙂
Now that I only live three miles from work I miss spending forty minutes each way in the car by myself listening to NPR, (National Public Radio). Now I only get to listen to one story at the most each way. 🙂
January 3, 2022 at 6:48 pm
Hi Bob,
That’s a cold morning, a bit more than brisk. I didn’t leave for errands until 10:30, and it was 34˚ by then with a strong wind, a freezing wind. I got cold just going from the car to the store, and it was a short run.
That’s too bad. I’m sorry that a coworkers whom you knew has passed away.He sous like he was a good guy.
I had to walk about a 15-20 minute walk to the corner where the bus came. It wasn’t a school bus but rather a regular bus from a bus company. My town was the second of four on the route. Town four was where my school was.
Before I injured my back, I used to walk round trip to work every day, 8 miles. I hated it when I could longer walk, still do.
January 3, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Hi Kat,
It’s cold and grey up here, too.
There was nothing on my dance card for today until I walked into the cellar to get laundry out of the dryer. There was water on the main cellar floor. The hot water heater was spurting from its top. It was a fatal spurt. The plumber came within 15 minutes of my call and confirmed my diagnosis. He came back and installed a new one a little later. I was pleased that it got done same day because I figured I’d have to wait a bit without hot water. My bank account is very unhappy, though. Oh well.
Have a great day.
January 3, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Hi Caryn,
My hands are cold. I don’t now why as my house is comfortable.
Henry is asleep on a cushion and a half of the couch while Nala is behind me on the same couch with her head resting on my back. She feels nice and warm on my back.
I hated when big things go bad in the house. That has happened to me a few times inside and to my car once. I still weep in my sleep.
Have a great evening. Stay warm. Hug the pups!
January 3, 2022 at 7:13 pm
No, Kat, I was much the same as you going to school during Winter months. Us kids had to walk about 1/2 mile to the bus stop. It didn’t matter what the weather was. If it was cold, windy, rain, snow piling up in the street, it was the same. Walk! Then we had to stand at the bus stop in the bad weather. There was no shelters at that time, like now. We stood there and took what ever Nature handed out. We about froze at times.
January 3, 2022 at 7:46 pm
Hi Les,
In elementary school there were no buses. We all trudged to school in every kind of weather. The only reason I took a bus in high school was my school was two towns over from the town where I lived. I waited for the bus on the steps of a store not yet opened. If it rained, we huddled against the building and kept an eye for the us.