What I Did On My January Snow Days

 Greetings from cold NC. We still have some snow falling this morning but most of the storm has moved on out of the area. The snow is from the northwest backflow. I don't know what that means but after almost ten years here, I kind of know if only in my head. The snow in the afternoon was blowing in heavily from the south. Quite pretty. We had some sleet/ice fall in the early evening. The main road in front of the house has been scraped or salted but it is looking a little sketchy driving wise. Our road to the main one is solid white. We won't get above freezing today so I don't know about church in the morning. It is sanctity of life Sunday, so hope the decisions will be made with that in mind. You, know we don't want y'all slipping off the highway and losing your life type sanctity of life thought. Oops, next Sunday is sanctity of life Sunday...hmmm...well, you want us to be there next Sunday right? **** this just in, snow day tomorrow. No services so everyone can stay safe and off the roads. 

Y'all know that Peggy and I exchange recipes all the time...some of the time? Okay, every once in a while. She sent me a recipe for Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake. I think I have a similar one around here somewhere. Anyway, I got to thinking it has been over a year and a half since I've eaten at The Blue Rooster and last fall, I ate only three apple cider donuts. Oh how the mighty have fallen. 

The Jimmy Carter funeral was certainly an interesting view into the art of the snub. Even people, important people aren't really that good with snubbing. If some snubbing is going to take place it falls into these categories, oh, I didn't see you. Here is a good one, just don't acknowledge or be polite or something like oh my, this funeral program is just so dang interesting. Bill Clinton looked like he was reading a menu, deciding between the deluxe burger or the double deluxe burger with waffle fries. Nobody even mentioned Al Gore. He is probably thinking, hey I was snubbing too but just out of camera range or maybe he was being snubbed. The heater probably got turned up with the solid cold going on between Jill and Kamala. I mean everyone has snubbed or have been snubbed sometime in their life. Snubbing is an interesting story being told but not being told. For the love of it all, personally, I am a recipient into year three of a one sided continuing snub. How does someone do that? In the words of Whitney Houston, 🎜This is the greatest love snub of all....🎜Yes, children, adults even high ranking in a political realm snub. Guess it is something that continues with being a grown up.

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I didn't sleep like a sinner till half past nine, but we had a leisurely breakfast that included waffles. Very nice treat for a snow day Sunday. Lots of roads are still iced over but the main roads have been treated. We will get above freezing today and the sun is out. All the snow out front will melt but the backyard with lots of shade will take another day or two. I saw the professional scrape and salt trucks yesterday, but I also saw someone just being helpful. Had the scraper on the front end of the truck and a DIY salter attached to the tailgate of the truck. He seemed to be concentrating on the middle spots in the lanes as well as right in the middle. 

This afternoon we will clean out The Garage on the Catmore Estate. You know clean up any messes, check the linens and such. We aren't kicking them out yet but it wouldn't take much for Roy to say, shut it down. Nope, too cold. 

Roy is recovering nicely. But being the overachiever that he is, I'm keeping tabs on what he needs to do, what he is able to do and what he can't do. His answers are entirely different from a couple of weeks ago. The overachiever needing harder goals to accomplish but when one is married to a "cheive" person like me, the extra credit stuff does not interest me. 

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Remnants of snow remain this morning. Icy patches on some roads. We got out the snow shovels yesterday and cleared a path up the driveway out to our road. Our road was dry until you get past the gravel road behind us. We got the trash can down to the main road in case of a Monday pick up. Got the beautiful Christmas wreath off the front door of the porch, so all two things of Christmas decorations has been taken care of. 

With a snow Sunday, I got a lot of things done. Made my two week portions of adrenal, vitality, infusion and elderberry into single serve containers. Makes the medicine part of the morning easier and faster. Started working in the front room upstairs and made a dent into things on my project desk. I finished two books last night. Both biographies, Lucy and the other Brooke Astor. Both interesting and thought provoking. I've mentioned before on the ol' blog that it is sad how Lucille Ball could not modify her appearance or her comedy stylings. She finally agreed with critics that she could not reproduce Lucy now as the younger one from the I Love Lucy days but she blamed fans for that, not that she kind of ran the schtick into the ground. Most of the stories in the book I had read from other sources but this is the first that I read of there being issues between Lucy and her writers. Again, this is later on from the I Love Lucy days, but Desi was a bridge that could make the verbal blows she dealt out, land softer on bruised egos and hearts. Now, the Mrs. Astor book, I knew nothing about her and found the book interesting on how she lived life and what came as she got older. She lived till she was 105. I googled it up, the ending, because the book only goes to the civil and criminal indictments of her son and a somewhat trusted friend.   

2025 and Other Stuff

 Happy 2025! I had written a post wrapping up Christmas and New Years here and well, it was too boring. Not boring to live but boring to tell. I try to have some original thoughts but they are becoming hard to manufacture when in a routine. We are in the eyes have it season with Roy getting cataract surgery the day after Christmas and this week they will do the other eye. We are all about eye drops and eye patches and a schedule for all these things. 

I'm in a funk but I don't know why. Sometimes I feel like I can't complete a sentence or a thought. The funk isn't from winter because I love winter. There is a lot of hope in this season but sometimes it stays hidden and hope arrives just when you need it. 

Since I have been so distracted of late I think that will be my One Word for the year. It can easily be changed into a productive or a spiritual connotation. It feels right even though I feel like I have been living a distracted life the past few years. Thankfully, I have regained some ability to focus but it has come with a lot of grace and a lot of work. You know connecting a thought or completing a sentence is a worthy goal. 

Wrapping up 2024. It seemed like one of the strangest years of recent memory. The county changed trash pick up companies and the last month has kind of been a mix of when will the old trash bins be picked up and when will we receive our new ones. That has pretty much resolved itself but for those who haven't received their trash bins some have resorted to stealing them from the side of the road. Last Monday was the last Waste Pro pick up and they emptied trash and recyclables into the same truck. I've heard it has always been that way but on the second to last day of a contract, not trying that hard. This was a year when a hurricane in the mountains happened. You can still see just how devastating it has been. It will takes years to recover is some areas of the mountains. I still have effects from my six weeks of illness. Had a short reoccurrence of the illness a couple of weeks ago, but it ended sooner than before if because of the supplements I'm taking. The never ending cough hangs around a bit, less and less thankfully. I've been taking a mixture of immune support, elderberry, antioxidant infusion, adrenal and tart cherry. It truly has made a difference. Also the cough syrup works! Thank you Rowe Casa.  

We made the realization that this spring when we plant veggies and such, we are going to keep it in a smaller, more accessible area of the yard. Think we will plant sunflowers over by the fence. We shall see. It's not that the yard is too much for us, but maybe, that comes sooner than later.

There were some losses this year, not in the usual way one would think of loss. If this was several years ago I would have fought to know the whys but at this stage, it is something that can take a backseat from now on. Sometimes these things happen because of a third party and you can be thrown in with a group just being guilty by association. It feels a little passive/aggressive intentionally. Been there and ain't anything new. Other losses come from someone outgrowing you or the friendship or vice versa, me outgrowing them. It is all a natural thing of life but it can be painful. In 2024 I just wanted to be done with the whole thing. Sometimes communication feels like a set up and not genuine. 

Our cats like to rearrange the rugs in the kitchen. It is mostly a small rug that is pushed and played with. They are non skid type but they are able to get underneath it and move it all over. One never knows where or where that rug will be. The play tunnels are moved quite a bit as well. 

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Friday. We are supposed to get snow and maybe some ice today and through the night. We've had little flakes of snow since Monday. The roads have been salted but there are still slippery spots. We headed out a little earlier for Roy's cataract removal appointment. Because of several cancellations he was taken back for preop rather quickly. On our way to the surgery center the tire pressure light came on. That happens in cold temps and we decided we were close enough to get there, then if a tire problem occurred we would call AAA. By observation, it was the front right tire. Roy took several steps back while assessing the situation and caught his heel against a concrete parking thingy. He fell backwards. Didn't hit his head and only the side of his right palm hurt. Roy did so much better this time in recovery He was awake and even drank some coffee. We got home much sooner than anticipated and the tire pressure light came on as we drew near home. He rested a lot yesterday. I did a lot of his chores thus no rest for the weary. 

Schools are closed this morning but by the look of it construction must go on. Big trucks hauling heavy equipment are prominent on the main road this morning. Roy cancelled his appointment with the ophthalmologist this morning. They gave us the paperwork yesterday and then did a quick consult with the Dr's nurse. I am thankful not to be out on the roads this morning.