As the weekend approaches, there are more cancellations and fires in the wood stove. It’s the usual bait-and-switch of this winter – heavy snow, ice, rain, then all three.

Outside is what they call a wintry mix, of snow, ice, rain, and gloom. I had once again to put off my meditation class at the Mansion, but we are sending them 10 beautiful oval tablecloths for the Mansion residence and for the Memory Care unit.

I love the meditation class and the people in it; I will see them at the Mansion next Tuesday.

A few years ago, we would be into deep winter with plenty of snow on the ground until Spring.

So far, it’s just a cold dark, soggy mess. For much of the country, it’s a lot worse. I have a new appreciation for politics.

I have no desire to set foot in Florida, let alone visit the state or move there. I’d rather be free than warmer.

I checked the Disney World website for prices, mulling a trip there with Robin, my granddaughter. Forget it.

I hope Disney World and Florida devour one another, as looks increasingly likely. Florida is doing the impossible, and they are making Mississippi look like Florence during the Enlightenment. Our farmhouse with 17 acres costs nearly as much as a week in Disney Work with two-4 people.

I wrote a lot about Walt. He had his flaws, but he was not that greedy. He wanted kids to be able to afford a visit to his kingdom and loved the idea of families visiting his parks. His successors don’t seem to care about that; they want to drain every penny out of every visitor.

I took Emma there when she was young; it was not nearly as crazy as now – you have to spend a fortune just to wait in line.

Maybe I’ll train down to New York. I’ll take her to see the Rockettes at Rockefeller Center in New York City instead, or maybe the Lion King.

Florida is starting to look like Mussolini’s Italy just before World War II with a lot of mind control and idea bans and ranting about government.

I keep thinking of Martin Luther King, who preached the value of being “woke.” H.L. Mencken called ambitious politicians Boobus Americanus. I hope he is watching. We need him.

Bud Is Staying Warm Inside

I’m planning a cozy, quiet reading festival this weekend.

I’ve been going through my bills and discovered $500 a month in errors, overcharges, and subscriptions to things I never heard of, from safety software to magazines I never ordered to cable channels I never asked for.

I’m working hard to master handling money in the modern world. I’m “woke.” I have to pay attention.

Yesterday, we went to Shift and ordered pizza and grain bowls for the weekend. A friend and I have a phone appointment on Saturday afternoon to talk about Prince Harry, his new book, and Meghan and the Royal Family.

I want to thank those people who sent me mystery series recommendations. I ordered 8 books, most from mystery writers I’ll be reading for the first time

. I’ll share the ones I love; they look promising. Thanks.

At the moment, I’m deep into City Under One Roof, a debut mystery by the screenwriter Iris Yamashita. I’m enjoying this book very much. I should finish it late tonight. Next up is Fox Creek by William Kent Krueger. I just recalled that I read his Desolation Mountain and Sulfur Springs. 

He’s a wonderful writer as I recall; I’m looking forward to reconnecting with him. I appreciate the recommendations, I love the British mystery writers, but the genre was getting a little stale. I need to freshen and expand my list of mystery writers that I love.