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Salt

February 5, 2018 at 9:12 am by Claudia

A crappy weather week ahead. Yesterday, it snowed, then in the early evening it turned to rain, which has left us with a frozen mess. I have to go out and salt when I’m done writing this post. And Wednesday looks to be a day of significant snow.

Oh joy.

I may be stuck here for a while, as the temps are in the single digits at night, which means I have to protect the pipes from freezing.

Oh joy, again.

Maybe I’ll become one of those hermits who live in the wild and are snowed in for the winter and don’t emerge until Spring.

Anyway, enough of that. It’s sunny…that’s a good thing, right?

I had a lovely time and Rick and Doug’s yesterday, as usual. Then, when the snow started falling in earnest, I headed home. Even though I didn’t blink an eye at driving in snow when I was a young thing growing up in Michigan, I do blink an eye now. I remember driving clear across the state in a blizzard in order to get to a friend’s wedding. No biggie.

I miss that girl, but she has been replaced by a wiser woman who would much rather stay home than deal with snow and slippery roads.

Don has been urging me to watch Peaky Blinders on Netflix and I’ve tried. I’ve watched two episodes, and though the show is beautifully filmed and the acting is great, it’s a bit too violent for me and I’ve yet to connect to at least one character. I know who is supposed to be the protagonist and I also know that they young men are damaged, especially by what they saw when they were fighting in WWI, but I’m not there yet. I promised Don I’d watch the first season, which consists of 6 episodes, so I’ll hang in through #6. I just finished Grace and Frankie over the weekend. When Don was still here, we watched Godless, starring Jeff Daniels, on Netflix. Excellent. I really loved it. Also violent, but there were actual good guys.

Okay. I have to get moving. It’s time to salt. Then I have to get out of here so I can buy more salt.

Exciting, right?

Don moves to the theater today and tech rehearsals begin. Less than two weeks until the first preview. (And the release of the cast album!)

Happy Monday.

A Start

February 4, 2018 at 9:37 am by Claudia

I’m writing this rather quickly, as I slept in and I have to make my way to Rick and Doug’s home for brunch. Doug’s daughter is in town and I look forward to seeing her again. Should be lovely.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments yesterday, along with some great advice. We’re all dealing with this, aren’t we? Don says it’s all about balance and he’s right. I managed to do pretty well yesterday, though there were a few slip ups here and there. I had several errands to run, as well as laundry and vacuuming, but I did start my book! Huzzah!

I can already tell I’m going to like it. It came out a few years ago and was on a lot of the Best Books of the Year lists. If I had to compare it to another book – and it’s early in the game – I’d compare it to All the Light We Cannot See. It’s called A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and is written by Anthony Marra. I’ll share more of my thoughts when I’ve finished.

The sun in the photos is courtesy of yesterday. Today is gray, with rain and snow in the forecast.

Sigh of spring-yearning.

I just might paint that kitchen wall this coming week, since I’m stuck here because of the cold temperatures.

Happy Sunday.

Finding Another Way

February 3, 2018 at 9:13 am by Claudia

I’m back home again. When the taxi driver pulled into my driveway and I emerged, I noticed that there had been a small amount of snow mixed with ice – a true ‘wintry mix’ – which was going to have to be dealt with. So, I dropped my stuff inside the house and went outside to salt everything. My back was sore already from a combination of hauling things up the endless stairs in the apartment building and adjusting to another bed, and carrying the salt bucket around was the final straw.

So, when I could land in my chair, I took it easy the rest of the day. Much better this morning.

It’s very cold here and will be for the next week.

Sigh. I miss my husband. Speaking of which,

This was taken yesterday at rehearsal. It was World Play Your Ukulele Day. I snagged this from his Instagram account. Isn’t he adorable? Heart is melting.

I now have books stacked up and holding everywhere in the den – all of them classified as “To Be Read.” But the truth is that it’s been hard for me to read anything other than a newspaper or magazine lately. It’s been a while since I read a novel. I go through these periods every once in a while. I want to read, but I can’t do it.

Don and I had a long talk about the world and the stress of watching and reading the news every day, especially with this hideous and corrupt administration. He has been urging me to cut back on my news consumption.

I know we’ve talked about this before on the blog, but it’s really hitting me that I am constantly living at a high stress level and that cannot continue. It shows in my moods, emotional ups and downs, the fear that is always there, and it also shows physically – in too much comfort food, i.e., sweets, and weight gain.

I have to find a better way of coping with this. I think it’s harder when I’m not with Don because, as most couples do, we balance each other. When I’m alone, I tend to be too glued to Twitter and the latest headlines and suddenly, I’m enraged again.

So, this weekend, I am going to force myself to start a book. You know me, if I’m not reading a novel, something is off. I’m going to take it easy today, with only a trip to the grocery store, if that. I’m going to set a time limit as to ‘news reading.’ I want to stay informed, but obsessing is another story. And I’m going to start cutting way back on sweets, which is a challenge in the depths of winter.

Wish me luck!

Happy Saturday.

Salt

A Start

Finding Another Way

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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