AaaaaaaChoooooo

I have been doing one of three things.....keeping these items close at hand, initiating the organizational assessment for my new client or napping.  Yes, that is correct - I still have this cold.  Am I better? Yep.  I am well?  Not so much. 

I have about forty things I want to blog about but just have not had the energy to do so.  Every day I think, "this is it - I am well" - oh well.  Here I am - as I have blogged many times, "still on the planet."

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah - I will light the candles but no latkes - as yummy as they may be, I do not need a big bunch of fried food right now. Rats!!!

Winter finally arrived and it is cold in Minnesota - cold and beautiful.  Of course, we need to acclimate again and remember we are tough and resilient in the face of below zero weather.  I pulled out my winter coat yesterday and was so happy, for the first time in years,  I actually remembered to get it cleaned before I needed to wear it.

This weekend I am looking forward to baking cookies and making truffles to give as gifts with my homemade jam and pickled beets.  I may still have this crappy cold but at least I am feeling ready to do some fun stuff besides use tissue and do client work.

Happy Friday --  stay warm.

The Return of Winter

Just when our snow is about gone and we are actually being duped into thinking of spring - here it comes again. We are supposed to have more snow today than has fallen in the last 44 days. Oh well - we are in Minnesota after all. They are forecasting snow to begin about 10 am and continue until the wee hours of Friday morning.

I am on my way to the office early this morning and my plan is to leave after my noon meeting to come home and be cozy at home. It is really nice to watch the snowfall - from my own warm living room - not from the driver's seat of my car.

I will post some photos later.....if you are in the path of the storm, stay warm. Have a terrific day.

Musings

I continue to battle this cold or whatever the bug is - good lord, I have been home recuperating for half of this week - again.

Yesterday, I finally filled the antibiotic prescription given to me last week. That is real desperation, as I rarely take any prescription meds let alone antibiotics. I am being hopeful tonight that I will wake up much better in the morning.

It surely is cold - recently the Twin Cities broke 40 year low temperature records! Between snowfalls, the sun shines brilliantly everyday turning our world into a sparkling wonderland.

I am beginning to prepare for my trip to Seattle - I depart December 25 and will be there until January 3. Woo Hoo!! A real break - not a trip to take care of someone else, which has been the case most of the time this year. We have lots of fun things planned - I will be sure to take photos and post while there.

It has been such a strange time - I just saw a piece on the evening news about the jacking up of interest rates by credit card companies. In the piece, a women who looks like your local retired librarian, said, "I would be better off going to the mob to borrow money." Truly a sign of the times.

I here, just here ----- staying warm and healing. Talk to you soon........

Winter in the Northland

It is just downright cold here in the Upper Midwest. I have been home all morning working but now am on my out to a meeting. It is 2 pm and it is minus three degrees!!!!

It is beautiful outside though. Pristine white - sparkling and clean. I am dressed in layers and am actually feeling better for the first time in nearly two weeks - glory be!! We Minnesotans are a hardy lot!!

New Look for the Diningroom

I have wanted to "finish" the diningroom since the remodel in 2005 and just didn't get to it until November. I think the new area carpet really finishes the room. (Can you see Miss Kitty under the chair?)

I have an icky cold and am trying to kick it for the second time in as many weeks. I am taking another round of Chinese herbs and have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow afternoon. Here I am - in my fuzzy slippers and big warm sweatshirt just sipping tea and making a big pot of Chicken Soup!!

My time with my friend V was really nice. I am looking forward to my trip to Seattle.

Good news about my mother. She is now out of the walking cast and can move about without the aid of a walker. She also says the doctor doesn't want her to use her cane either. I suspect the doctor told her to use the cane at times but she would never share that with me.

She will begin in-home rehab shortly and has been told that she can no longer do outdoor, fitness walks and should never kneel again. She has healed much better than they expected at her age. I am grateful.

She says she will slow down now and "stop running around like a crazy person" - what that means is Mother spends a great deal of time moving so fast that she is out of her body a lot of the time. For instance, you cannot put even a used tissue in the bathroom waste basket and expect that it will be there in half an hour - she runs around and picks the tissue out of the basket to throw in the trash. Sigh.

Things feel so much better now that I have just relaxed into the now with her. It is her life - these are her adult decisions - there are things she is doing that are dangerous and can have far reaching negative consequences for her - still, those are her adult decisions.

It is very cold in St Paul - we are back in our boots and gloves. I put the small shovel and the window scraper in the car this afternoon. Winter - I love living in four seasons, it is good for the body and soul.

Talk to you soon...................

Weekend Report

This winter has been the coldest since I moved to Minnesota in 1988. It has been so frigid that even the squirrels in my backyard are considering a move to Florida.

I snapped these photos this morning and again this afternoon in my backyard and from the office window overlooking the front entrance. It is beautiful outside, crystal clear - right now it is 15* - but it's about to get a lot colder in the next few hours. I am home, warm and cozy, ready to make a pot of slow simmered chicken soup and work on an art project.

I just noticed, the blogroll is back - great! Have a terrific evening.

More Snow

The next storm has started in earnest. I have no idea how much St. Paul will get but the weather folks are saying 10 to 12 inches by tomorrow noon and it supposedly will continue to snow until Friday night. The rumors are rampant - tonight I heard someone say that we could get 16 inches by Friday night, depending where you live in the Twin Cities. We'll see.

Pictures to follow.