I’ve been playing with paint:

This was taken just after I applied the polish and before I cleaned up the edges.

Every once in a while, I flirt with nail polish because I love the look of it. Only in winter, mind you, it’s not at all practical in the spring when I’m in full gardening mode. I saw this shade at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. I really like it, but I eventually encounter the same problem I always have: it chips. Unless one doesn’t have to do any work around the house, takes obsessive care of their finger and hand movements, and has it done professionally, it isn’t going to last that long.

I’m already planning to remove it all this morning and put on a fresh coat. And eventually, I’ll get sick of it and that will be it for a while. I do paint my toenails in the summer, but that’s always been the case.

For a couple of years about 11 years ago, I had someone apply acrylic nails to my nails and got them done every two weeks. I’ve never liked my nails, which grow exactly like my mom’s did – the sides of the nails angle outward instead of a straight vertical, making it impossible to grow my nails to any length. Plus they’re smallish. The acrylics became a pain in the tush and I started to worry that they were ruining my natural nails, so I stopped.

Does anyone out there wear nail polish? If I’m foolish enough to continue this for a while, do you have any tips for me as to the brand of polish and top coat you use?

Changing the subject, I started The Night Circus, but I’m so sleep deprived at the moment that I’m not reading it today. I’m barely into the story and when I’m sleep deprived my perceptions are off. This is not a mystery which flows easily for me, it’s a different genre that I have to read carefully. It would be too easy for me to give up on it. So I’ll look at a couple of magazines today, instead.

Don is off to NYC this morning for an audition.

Happy Friday.

Sorry for my absence yesterday, but, as you might have guessed, a full-fledged head cold made its presence known on Tuesday. I had been outside doing a bit of hacking at the ice that is everywhere. Shortly after I came in, my head felt like a bowling ball, and it became clear that the head cold that Don had been dealing with was now passed on to me. Thanks, Don!

I felt really crappy yesterday, so no post. I’m ensconced in my chair, blowing my nose endlessly, doing nothing more than looking at Instagram and the news. Yesterday was a somber and momentous day for our country. You know how I feel about that.

Happily, my sister had just sent us some essential oils (she recently took a class in them) and I have the ones for allergies, which she assures me I can use for a cold. Bless her. And I received my very own video made by Little Z this morning which gave instructions on how to use them. Just what the doctor ordered, my little nephew and his big smile and his quite precise instructions!

I took care of Don and now he’s taking care of me. It is absolutely freezing here – it’s only going to reach 22 degrees today. And we’re due for another damned ‘wintry mix’ on Monday. That means more ice and sleet. Don managed to hack his way out of here yesterday to run some errands. It’s just dreadful. And it isn’t even Winter yet. What a month it has been!

But it’s sunny, so there’s that.

My brain is too fuzzy to think of a title for this post.

Have I purchased any Christmas presents for Don yet? No.

Happy Thursday.

• It’s been raining for 12 hours and it will continue throughout the day. Definitely a stay indoors day, which is fortunate, since I did a lot of porch clean up yesterday and have no desire to do any more for the time being. Pots were lugged, one by one, to the leaf pile and dumped out and then placed near the shed entrance. Porch decorations were added to the pile. Various pots and supports were retrieved from the garden beds and they were added to the pile. Then the rakes, weed whacker, and shovels. Then I had to find a place for them in the shed – not easy!

And then, facing reality, I brought the snow shovels to the porch.

I always put off this particular job, partly because I’m lazy, but mostly because I hate saying goodbye to the summer and fall. I still have a bit to do, and we have to take the Adirondack chairs and cushions to the storage facility, but soon it will all be done.

My little stone doves are now upstairs in the office, perched on top of the French cabinet. The little turquoise child’s chair is up there, too, but I think I have to find a better place for it. The Boston Fern is already up there, wondering why it isn’t outside.

• What else? I upgraded my iPhone, not because it wasn’t working just fine, but because it kept running out of storage and I was sick of having to delete photos all the time. I was eligible for an upgrade because I’d paid off my current phone, so I bit the bullet and got a new one with a lot more storage. I like the larger screen area. And the camera is better, as well.

• Did you know you can call Amazon? I ordered a phone case that was to be delivered in one day because I have an Amazon Prime membership. I needed it in one day because the phone was arriving that same day and I needed to go into the city the following day. I didn’t want to be carrying around a phone that had no protection. Anyway, the next day I got a notice from them saying it wouldn’t arrive until Friday. I was not happy. In googling how to call Amazon, I found a number, called it, and someone answered! I explained my problem and my disappointment in the change in delivery dates. (I guess there are times the inventory looks available for a certain area and then the computer realizes that it isn’t nearby, hence the delay.) Long story sort of short: the woman I spoke to called me back on Friday to confirm that it hadn’t arrived in time for my day in the city, so she’s refunding the cost and I can keep the case.

Even though they are a monolith, you can talk to someone.

• We’ve been watching season 3 of The Crown  and finished it on Friday. Excellent. Don had seen seasons 1 and 2 (he watched it when he was staying in the city) but I hadn’t, so we started watching the first season last night. Wonderful acting, wonderful set design and attention to detail. Simply superb.

Okay. Looks like we have to clear our culvert a bit as it seems to be overflowing (though this is the county’s responsibility). And then I’m going to read.

Happy Sunday.