When I let the dogs out (Yup, it was I) just a short time ago, I saw tiny flakes, but they didn’t last. They are but a preview and should return as we are due for about an inch of snow or maybe just a little bit more. It is in the low 30’s but will fall to the teens. I have nowhere I need to go except maybe the kitchen. Even the dogs aren’t interested in going to the yard. Nala, the theft, is asleep under the afghan. Henry is on my bed.

I remember my fourth grade classroom the most. It was in the old school on the second floor. We had two banks of huge windows, in the back and on the side. My seat was in the back in front of the windows but close enough to look out the side windows. I loved those windows. I got to watch the rain and, even better, the snow. The rain would pelt the windows so loudly we’d do silent reading. The snow was gentle. Lessons continued.

When I was young, I always wore mittens because I had trouble finding the right spots for my fingers in gloves. Mittens were easy. I still own pairs of mittens and only one pair of gloves, leather gloves. Mittens keep my hands warmer than gloves. I only use my gloves when I drive.

Last night I cooked scrambled eggs with cheese for supper. I toasted two slices of my honey wheat bread. I slathered one slice with butter and the other with black mission fig jam. It was the best supper.

When I was a kid, supper always meant mashed potatoes, some sort of veggie and usually chicken or hamburger. I loved meatloaf. I also loved hamburger in gravy on my potatoes. The chicken was always pieces like legs. The whole chicken, roasted, was for Sunday dinner.

The sky is changing. It was light gray. Now it is darker, a storm gray. The temperature has fallen to the low 30’s. Snow is imminent!

We are stuck in winter. The warmth of last week is a memory, a wish, a want. This morning is in the low 30’s. I may have to wear socks. It is serious when I break out the socks.

Yesterday was a day of rest. I stayed home in my cozies with an afghan around my shoulders. I zoomed my uke lesson. I napped twice. I coughed a bit. It seems this plague hasn’t quite disappeared.

When I was in Ghana, reading was my greatest pleasure. I read everything I could get my hands on. I got Reader’s Digest in the mail, a few months late and several together, but it didn’t matter. I read the magazine cover to cover. It was sent free for two years, a gift from Reader’s Digest to Peace Corps volunteers. It was an amazing gift, a most valuable gift.

The house I mostly grew up in was small. It had three bedrooms sandwiched around a tiny hall. The living room was the biggest room. The kitchen was narrow. The appliances were small. Even now I can close my eyes and see that kitchen. I can see my mother at the sink doing dishes. I can hear my father complaining about dirty glasses on the counter, his bugaboo. We were supposed to wash out the glass and leave it in the sink. Sometimes we did.

I have a winter jacket. I never wear it. I have scarves and mittens and earmuffs. I don’t wear them either. I usually wear a hoodie or a fleece if it is really cold. Mostly I just go from the house to the car to the store then back again so I don’t need to layer. I do have boots, but I don’t know where I’ve put them.

A little bit ago, no dogs were on the couch with me. That is unusual. I figured they were still out so I went to check. That was when I heard it, the stampede, two big dogs coming down the stairs. It was thunder. It was a herd of mustangs. It was Henry and Nala. They had been upstairs sleeping on my bed. Now they are in their usual nap positions. Henry is at the end of the couch. Nala is beside me under a blanket. Such easy lives they lead.