Today, we are halfway to normal.
We got the ice off the cards and got Maria’s car out of an ice pack. Hours of digging and scraping, this ice is hard, thick and stubborn.
Tomorrow, we’re heading to Williamstown, Mass, to see a movie, Licorice Pizza, and maybe hit a museum and get some Japanese food. I am learning how to eat well in a restaurant; I don’t care to break our healthy and good-tasting food streak.
Halfway to normal means, it isn’t snowing, raining, or blowing. It’s still frigid, and I think I’m seeing the first signs it’s getting to the donkeys and the sheep.
The donkeys seem edgy and irritable, and the sheep desperate for grain and hay. It will be cold for the next week or so, but the sun was out today, and if there was little or no melting, the animals at least know to stand sideways and soak up some warmth.
I went out three or four times today and felt it, but Maria needed help getting her car moving, and there were some great photo opportunities. It was worth it. I just come in, drink hot tea, wrap myself in blankets and sleep for 20 minutes. I wake up comfortable and somewhat refreshed.
I did a Leica Patrol which I will put up tonight, or early tomorrow if I wear out early. It was a good day for the patrol.
I can’t spend my whole life indoors in cold weather; I dress warmly, with several layers of good winter boots with many ridges on foot.
And I’m sleeping like a baby, thanks to my sleep apnea mask. I’ve been experimenting with two or three different shows, and I’ve found a light and simple one that works well. I slept for nearly seven hours last night and needed every second.
We’re as dugout as we will be; there is no moving this ice. And the photo opportunities are rich and exciting. This wasn’t the worst or biggest winter storm, but it does seem to be the nastiest and one of the longest. Spring is on the horizon.
Jon…
RE: Eating Well
Eating well wasn’t a habit that came easy. For me, it still doesn’t, especially when eating out. A degree of control can be maintained in a specialty restaurant, by focusing on selections that don’t violate common dietary standards. But where “down home” dishes (unfortunately labeled as “American food”) are served, selections that meet such standards can be difficult to pinpoint.
During weeklong business trips in the US, I monitored my meals. But business travel outside the US was a lost cause; I always gained weight then. I would be flirting with rudeness if, while accompanying a French host, I suggested to a French cook what dishes to omit. But once, that is almost what happened. After examining a French language menu, appalled I whispered, do they serve mule meat here? The menu actually listed “moule”, which is pronounced similar to “mule” but translates as “mussel”.
I feel like you do, Jon, that I can’t spend life indoors in cold weather. Nature is my church, my vitamins, my Xanax; only the brutal wind can keep me inside, when it drives the wind chill indices way down. Here in the Midwest, we had around 12 inches of snow just last week, which made for great snowshoeing. I spend time outside in our yard, filling bird feeders and the heated bird baths. It gives me so much pleasure to see the feeders and bird bath mobbed by birds. I love all of the seasons – each one has something special to offer.