Heavens! It might reach 36 degrees today! A regular heat wave. It will be nice to see some snow melt. Since we had that big storm over 2 weeks ago, nothing – and I mean nothing – has melted.

On Monday, I organized our vinyl collection. We used to just call it our record collection, didn’t we? But now, the word is vinyl. Anyway, most of the records were under the spinet desk next to the piano, which is where our turntable is. Don was sitting in his chair and I was sitting on the floor, occasionally showing him a record that we’d forgotten about.

Side note: I used to have over 1000 albums. If I ever had an exact count, at this point in my life I sure don’t remember what the number was. They moved with me everywhere I lived. But they had to be tossed because of the conditions in the shed. It was heartbreaking for me. I managed to save some of them, but not many. It seems like every other day I mention some album of mine that I miss.We’ve been slowly accumulating some favorites again, because we love them. I have a lot of CDs and some tapes, but to me, there’s nothing like the sound of vinyl and the sight of a record spinning on a turntable.

I would love to own another component system again – you know, the kind where you have a separate receiver, turntable, and CD player. Yes, I got rid of mine years ago and I regret it.

This sorting of the albums sent us to Barnes and Noble on Tuesday because we decided we’d each buy a new album. I’ll tell you one thing: B & N’s labeling and organization of their stock needs work. “Haphazard” is the word I’d use. We spent quite a bit of time there and when we finally went to the checkout, an older guy chatted with us but then started to trash LPs/Vinyl/records. He would “never” have them. He sold all of his. He hated the pops and sounds. On and on and on. We would politely counter with the fact that we love them. He wouldn’t listen. All of this while 3 people were waiting in line and we were just trying to get out of there. Don said, “You know we just spent money here on vinyl.” But the guy was clueless and kept it up. So we turned around to exit and Don muttered an expletive.

I wonder what his manager would say if he knew that this guy was trashing something they sell?

I miss record stores. I could write reams about them but I already did. Here’s the link to that post.

We also stopped at Michael’s because I’m going to crochet an afghan for Don and needed some yarn. He got to pick out the colors.

There’s also some red in there. He wanted a pop of red.

Since it’s been so long since I’ve crocheted anything I’m going to have to practice. I hope it comes back to me quickly. I’m looking forward to the meditative quality of stitching.

I have to finish a book today as it’s due at the library tomorrow. It’s a great book by Michael Connelly. But is anyone else out there having a hard time concentrating lately?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

I’m running out of photos.

Mostly because I’ve been huddled under a heavy afghan all weekend because of the dangerously cold temperatures. I often joke and call it “Ice Station Zebra” after the movie, but this year, it IS Ice Station Zebra. My lord, it never seems to stop! Right now, at 9 am, the temperature is 3 degrees.

That being said, it will warm up a bit today and starting on Tuesday, the daytime temperatures will be above freezing for this week and next week. Whoever thought I’d be excited about a high of 34 degrees? Hopefully, some of this snow will start to melt. I’ve watched our deer struggle to walk through it and it breaks my heart. Enough, already.

We watched figure skating yesterday afternoon and then we watched the Super Bowl. Normally, we’re not into the Super Bowl, but of course, we wanted to see the halftime show with Bad Bunny. And we were rooting for the Seahawks. Bad Bunny’s performance was stunningly powerful. The level of detail in the sets and story telling was superb. What a statement: Love is more powerful than hate, inclusivity is who and what we are and should be, there is space for all of us in America. And all of that should be championed and applauded. It should be a given. I want to watch the whole thing again today because I know there are details I missed. I love how he walked with the flags of all the countries in “America” naming them one after another. Yes!

Thank you, Bad Bunny. You are amazing.

And hurrah for the Seahawks!

Truth be told, the television was on for hours yesterday and that’s not the case normally. We’re craving quiet today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday,

The wind has kicked up and the wind chill is already below zero. It will get worse as the day goes on. The musical accompaniment to my taps on the keyboard is the constant ringing of the wind chimes on the porch. I always used to say that, because I inherited them from my parents, whenever I heard them Mom and Dad were talking to me.

Well, now they’re yelling at me. Nonstop.

We watched the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics last night. Two things: whatever happened to educating us about the countries represented, identifying their leaders who are shown as the athletes enter the stadium? For heaven’s sake, they didn’t identify Georgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, nor did they identify Princess Anne and her husband, or the dignitaries from any number of countries. Yes, I know Savannah Guthrie was expected to do the hosting, but there are a whole slew of people working for NBC whose jobs are to research and provide all those facts and bits of information to the hosts. Instead, we heard what countries Shaun White had competed in, as well as information on his ‘brand.’ Now, I like Shaun White a lot, but really? Bob Costas and Jim McKay did all of that and more and that’s why they were so darned good at their jobs.

And  they edited out the boos from the crowd when Vance, aka James Donald Bowman, was shown on the Jumbotron. I’ve since heard them. They were loud. Hey, NBC, that’s called propaganda and it’s what the press does when they bow down to a dictator.

Okay, moving on.

We ran out to the store yesterday to get a few things we needed as at some point today it’s going to be dangerous to to go outside for the rest of the day and for part of Sunday. I ended up dealing with a lot of chores, so I didn’t get around to my miniature piece. But I will today.

Thoughts going through my head: I’m getting the itch to do some handwork. I have a quilt that needs to be hand quilted. Some of it already had been but I have a lot more to go. And then, because of this crazy winter, I’m thinking of crocheting another ripple afghan – this one for Don. If you remember, years ago when I was selling scarves on Etsy, I sold so many that I had to work quickly to replenish the stock and my right wrist really suffered. The end result: I haven’t crocheted for years. But I like the rhythm of it and I think I really need that to counteract the insanity we face on a daily basis. I would use cheap yarn from Michael’s. Crochet is a yarn eater and I want this to be an inexpensive project. I’ll check out thrift stores as well.

Alright my friends, I hope you’re warm and cozy this weekend.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.