Since I feel like crap and the sound of water dripping (to prevent freezing pipes) is about to drive me insane, let’s look at a pretty picture of Paris; specifically, the Seine and Notre Dame. It seems a distant memory right now. I frequently look at the photos from our trip, partly to remind myself that we were actually there, and also to bring a smile to my face in the midst of what has been a surreal two weeks.

Big snow storm, waiting for heating oil to be delivered, running out of propane, waiting for that to be delivered, two quick trips into the city, weather extremes, coming down with whatever-this-is, more snow, polar vortex, still sick….you get the picture. It’s been two weeks that I’d rather not repeat. The night before last, I coughed all night long. Last night, I slept in a near-sitting position and managed to avoid endless coughing, which helped enormously.

Today we’re finally supposed to be in the thirties, which seems positively balmy. I am counting the  hours until I no longer have to listen to the drips. Soon. In the meantime, Don (who is a saint, let me tell you) left early yesterday morning in a rented van to drive all the way to Detroit. This morning – actually, right about now – he’s meeting up with my old friends Jan and Joe, in order to retrieve the things I’ve had stored at Jan’s house for over 30 years. Jan moved about two months ago and the new owners will be starting renovations next month, so we were down to the wire. I meant to go long ago, but work commitments kept me from making the trip. Finally, Don said he  would go. I don’t deserve him. But Don does like a road trip. He drove all the way there yesterday and will drive all the way home today and I will forever be grateful to him.

There’s a funny old victorian loveseat (not at all sit-able) that has a high back for the man and a lower back for the woman, that was my great-grandmother’s. (I have no idea where we will put it.) There’s a box of my great-grandmother’s Haviland china. There’s a red trunk with a curved top that has all sorts of memorabilia from high school and college and a few years beyond. (I also have no idea where I will put the trunk. Or the china.) There were moments when I thought – briefly – of chucking everything, but I knew I couldn’t. Sigh.

So that’s where we are. I’m slowly getting better – it’s only been 5 days. Remember that I suffer from chronic allergies and sinus problems, so anything on top of that, like a cold or upper respiratory thing, is just that much harder to shake. It takes a while to clear out. Please – no well-meaning warnings about dire scenarios! I don’t think that helps at all, nor do I want to take that into my consciousness.

But it’s sunny out there and the temperature is finally getting out of the teens. Good news. It feels like a Sunday somehow, but I’ve lost all sense of time and what day of the week it is.

I want to go back to Paris. I mean, I really  want to go back to Paris.

Happy Saturday.