It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Once Upon A Time When It Was Not Winter

I would be able to walk out there without help.
Or at least someone in the house watching to be sure I didn't slip and fall into the deep snow and not be found until Summer.

I would run back and forth every few days from the ( sorry ...) Solarium to the bird feeders , keeping the little beggars happy and well fed.

I would devise ways to keep the chipmunks and squirrels from being able to get to the feeders.

I would watch the chipmunks and squirrels figure it out quickly and get to the feeders.
It can be slightly depressing when you can't best a squirrel or a chipmunk.

I would tell my husband that I was fine, watching Him drive that riding lawnmower thing around and around and not crashing into things.
He was always a brilliant driver.
Only once did he get into a tight space on that lawnmower, which cannot be backed up.
So he had to do a lot of fancy back and forth, back and forth until he got out.

I know it is a beautiful garden, an acre of trees and shrubs and flowers constantly blooming, thanks to the Garden Club lady who lived here a long time ago.
I hate to think she is looking down from Garden Club Lady Heaven and hoping that I will do a good job.
Because I can't.
I can't even mow the lawn!
I will admire it all and praise her but there is no way I am going to break my back trying to keep up an acre of gardens ... my next garden will most likely be in Window Boxes .

I look out the windows today and see bright blue skies with bright sunshine , on bright snow.
Deep snow. It is still up to my knees ..
I should teach the kitten how to dial 911 in case she sees me slip and fall into a drift .. maybe I should have gotten a dog .. it could run out and dig me out .. or pull me out by my collar like Lassie would.

I have a feeling Minette will be interested in my arm waving floundering as I go under the snow , for
about a minute then she will go back to washing herself, biting her nails, chasing a dust mote.
At this stage, she is not a deep thinker.

I daydream of flying to Florida to visit my daughter.
But I had to go and get a kitten !

I daydream of accepting invitations to Buenos Aires ... there's that kitten again.

So I sit here ( or dash around after a small creature) each day and wait for the Seasons to change, the sun to come out and melt away all of the snow and let me out into the fresh air again.
I can wait.
 I have company now.
If she will just stop biting my toes.... late  at night ...... washing my hair .... late at night .... .. meowing pitifully when the she can't see me .....  late at night ..






Thursday, February 27, 2014

Drama Queens

It seems as if it is never just Sunny anymore.
It is either Sunny and the Coldest day of the Year or Cloudy, Grey and a degree warmer making more  Snow   possible.
If I suddenly fell down outside my front door, the pile of snow is still big enough that I would be buried until June.
If it didn't snow again, I don't think I will truly be warm again until August.

Minette is warm.
She has her own little fur coat. A very beautiful color too.
She has her own little soft, cushy bed covered in that fleece that baby clothes are made of.
She is either on that, or curled up in here, where mama was thoughtful enough to supply a sofa ..
with blankets.

And then she has the bed that is a bit too high for her yet, but if someone ... ok .. if I pick her up in the morning and toss her under the covers, she will go back to sleep.

Except for the mornings where she attacks my hair on the pillow.

Bites my finger .. no particular reason, it is just there .

Walks across my face .. while I sleep ... I know I am pale but can't she tell my head from the pillow ??
Which leads me to think I have a pillow face ... how I got it I have no idea but that is the only idea I have these days ... my head looks like a puffy pillow.

I opened a bottle of seltzer and the bottle cap sliced my finger.

If I said  ... A bottle cap sliced my finger ... my husband would start curling up and groaning and having a major drama fit, because the thought of a finger being sliced made him feel weird.. sick .. like curling up and protecting himself.

There were days, at our house,  when there was a tie for the  Drama Queen Award.

Speaking of Drama Queens ... If this kitten climbs on my head in the middle of the night again, I am going to let her join the Circus.



Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Stepping back


This is Cafe Rivas in San Telmo, Buenos Aires.
The street where the red jeep is parked, is  lined with houses behind walls, with flowering vines spilling over them to the ground.
You can hear all the birds on the other side of the walls. Sometimes water in a fountain ..
Walk up that street and you are where all the Antique stores are found, where Sundays the streets are closed to traffic and vendors set up tables and antiques and hand made goods and jewelry and all sorts of things are for sale .. music on every corner, cafes open their windows and doors so you can still enjoy it all from your table inside.

The food is pretty good here, I enjoyed lunch with a friend and family and my husband, whenever we were in San Telmo.
It was more than just a cafe, a place to have a bite to eat , it is like stepping back in time.

I want to step back in time again . Anyway I can.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

We Found Each Other

I have this tiny kitten who seems to have the ability to tear down a house in a short time.
She can break bottles , spill water, knock over plants and disappear all in one blink of an eye.
I forgot how fast kittens move.

I forgot how much work they really are .. they need watching every minute, they need company and most of all, they need naps.

I yelled at her after she broke the second thing this morning, she ran away.
I immediately felt terrible, she is a tiny baby.
Her life started out in the cold ..motherless and sick and on her way to a cold sad death ... someone ( an angel) discovered her with another old cat ( that  died ) and brought her to Animalkind , where she was doctored and warmed and brought back to health.

How can I yell at her ?

She crawls under the covers and tucks herself under my chin at night and sleeps, purring loudly.
I lie there and wait for her to move ... I have been getting to sleep later, lately.

She has developed a fascination for the bottom of the bathroom door.
Which is in my bedroom.
So at any given time, I can look over there and there she is , crouched down, staring at the bottom of the door.

My imagination goes wild ... spiders ?? what does she see creeping around ??
I have looked, there is nothing there ... I think she is playing that game ... Made You Look !

She will run around like a lunatic then stop ... and take a nap.
If I pick her up to move her, she purrs loudly.
If I am awake in the night and feeling sad, I can reach out and pet her, she purrs loudly.

We got lucky, Minette and I ... we found each other.



Monday, February 24, 2014

Skateboarding BA-Style

 Having had a son who liked to Skateboard and admiring anyone who has that sort of Balance, I enjoyed watching these people ... flying down a curved street ... a two way street ... with cars parked and the view of oncoming cars obstructed.
Sometimes they have a Watcher who gives a signal when it is time to avoid Crashing with an oncoming car but these two were fearless ..
I could only watch so long before I got a heart attack.
She was pretty good !
He was pretty good
He was also smart .. notice the helmet.
" Next time, lean into the curve" .... or something like that.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

how the light gets in


ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that’s how the light gets in

leonard cohen

Friday, February 21, 2014

Thoughts on Getting Out of Bed

Some mornings you wake up and it might be sunny and appealing to get out from under the covers. Then there are mornings when staying in bed all day might be the best idea you will have .

Then there are mornings that you lie there and think and those can be the worst of all mornings.

You might think of the past, how you should have done this or that or said this or that or wish you had it to do all over again .. making it last.

You might think of the future, something you always figured you could count on knowing something about , plans made, ideas waiting to happen, but then things happen and you realize that every day can be a surprise or a void in your life and you really have no idea what to expect.
Mostly you just make plans and hope they work out.

Then there are days that seem to be exact duplicates of the day before and you wonder, is this the future, one day after another .. the same .. but not ?

You try to make vague plans for things to do and people to see and places to go .. giving a thought to the future and hoping nothing else happens to change things ..

But then, sometimes Things are changed and there is no semblance of what was planned and what might be counted on ... those are the challenges.
Everyone has some sort of challenge in life and some are mostly impossible to deal with and some are often times easy to cope with .. but then there are the sort that you live with and cannot change.

Those are the hard ones.

All I can say from this point of view is that it is important to get out of bed in the morning.
That is a big step forward for some people.

Take a shower and get dressed and pretend the world is the same world it was just a few months ago.

Try not to sit and think.
Thinking can be bad for you.

And when all else fails, Get a Kitten.

Life will never be the way it was or exactly the way you want it to be but at least a kitten can keep you amused. And sometimes in the middle of a long dark lonely night, the sound of a tiny kitten purring can be a comfort.


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

A Big Melt Is Gonna Come

One of the things that I really relied on my husband for was Driving In Snow.
I grew up in California and the South. No snow.
He was an excellent driver  and a champ when it came to Snow.

So imagine, everything else that has changed in my life and all the things I am adjusting to, learning, forgetting and now ... I have to drive in snow.

I get an anxiety attack at the thought of  riding in a car in snow if someone else is driving !
Only he could make me laugh and forget about being scared but now I am the one driving !!!!

And to top it off , I am driving on country roads, over hills and through the woods and down the hills and dales and on that drive it is not uncommon  to never see another car.
Horses but no cars.
A cow or a sheep, but no cars.

So today it was not raining or snowing but very cold and tons of snow on the ground but I needed coffee.
You know you are addicted when you will risk life and limb to drive to the store to buy a bag of coffee.

I did fine getting to the store.
I grabbed what  I needed and was happy to see that Starbucks is on the shelf next to Maxwell House ..
I was limited in choices but got a nice caffeine laden Sumatra ..
Standing in line to pay I noticed the snow was coming down sort of hard .. the car looked like it had a lot of snow on it ..
While I was having fun shopping for caffeine .. er .. coffee, it had begun to snow in earnest .

My husband knew his cars and did his research and I am the recipient of his hard work.
I am driving safely in a Subaru that got me home .. even though I took a turn a bit too fast and the back of the car sort of slid sideways ..
I didn't lose control  ( well, when I got home I did a little ) and I got back in the lane with aplomb and crept and crawled the rest of the way to my house with no sliding or slipping.

Boy, was I glad to see this house today !

So tomorrow I will have my fresh, full of caffeine coffee and sit with the kitten and watch it snow.
Or , I will watch it melt.
They say there will be a melt and some rain.
We will probably have floods or something after that but for now, I am glad to hear that the snow will be gone ... eventually.

No Mo Sno !

Yeah.. corny ..
Bring on the Big Melt.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Animalkind

ANIMALKIND
Hudson , New York

This is the wonderful place that I was told to go to when looking for a kitten.
This is where I found Minette.

The staff are  all volunteers, vets and all.
You walk in the door and you are surrounded by glass rooms with cats/ kittens waiting for a home, for a little bit of love and affection.

I even felt better after going there the first time.
The place is just packed full of big loving hearts and small creatures waiting for a home and some love.

Our last cat was an Abyssinian and one of the most wonderful cats I have ever had. He died an old man and we were so sad, I never thought I would want another cat. Then I saw this photo and thought, maybe I will give this adopt a cat idea a try. When I got there, he had already been adopted but I got my sweet little Minnette instead so I am content and so is she.

Notes From A Kitten

Once I get the hang of using paws on keyboards, I won't have to ask my Mom to type for me.

My name is Minette.
My mom says it  should be Lucky.
Someone found me starving and freezing to death .
They took me somewhere warm and fed me and the doctor gave me medicine and then I felt like playing again.

There were no fun cats to play with.
They were all big and old and kinda sad.

Then one day a lady came in and she walked right over to me ! And I put my paw on the glass because I wanted to touch her. 
She opened the door and picked me up.
So I picked her to be my new Mom.

I didn't feel so good when we first went home, I was taking medicine.
Mom hid my medicine in smelly fishy things.
Mom is kind of smart.
I wonder if she will speak to me in Cat.

This house is very big.
I can run into the living room and slide all the way across to the other side.
I like to do that ... it makes Mom laugh.

I am pretty tired now.
Mom went to the store, she kept saying things about snow.
What is snow ?
Does it taste fishy ? Can I have some ??

Time for a nap.




Monday, February 17, 2014

Monday Musings

I am snowed in.
This leads to sudden fits of house cleaning.
I wish the snow would melt.

The driveway is clear.
The kitten has cabin fever.
No, she never goes out but she wishes I would.

I should get dressed and go buy coffee .
My nerves are not strung as tightly as they can be, I might as well make them nice and taut.
You will know me when you see me ... eyes a little unfocused, twitching now and then ..

I need a haircut.
It is very long and I kinda like it but I feel like I might look like one of those women who didn't come out of the cabin all winter and need a cut and maybe some coffee and a scone.
 
The kitten is getting annoying.
I might have solved the night time problem.
She is sweet and cute and plays quietly during the day .
At night she becomes this insane creature that runs madly around the house, sliding around corners, crashing now and then but barely stopping and it continues after the lights are out.
I am home with her all day, we are both snowed in , but that doesn't seem to make a difference, she still becomes Insane Kitty at around 11 pm.
I lock her in her carrying case with a blanket and a toy and turn off the lights.
I lie there and wait until she is quiet and not bouncing around inside the box.
Then I quietly unfasten the lid .. a minute or less later, she hops out, climbs up on the bed and makes a nest next to me and is purring and asleep in seconds.
She stays there until a pretty normal hour in the morning then she wants to wash my face and hair.
We have a discussion about this and most of the time, she wins. I get up.
Sometimes though, she falls asleep in the middle of the argument and I get some extra snooze time.

I thought for about a second, that if she had a playmate she would be calm but then I imagined that scenario  ....  Two  insane kittens running amok.
My poor unraveling brain cannot take that .

Tax season and all that boring stuff is coming and while I have been able to do the small things that have been required, writing checks for inordinate amounts .. I am now required to find tax related info from Argentina. . that we would have here..

I Have No Clue.

I cannot even begin ... if I try to do anything regarding taxes today .. you will find me. .. lying on the floor, weak from hunger and weeping with a mad little cat sitting on my head, washing her paws and
shrugging her shoulders when you say What happened ???

Happy Monday




Saturday, February 15, 2014

Wondering


                                                               photo: the paper mulberry

                                                    
I wonder how my kitchen would look ....if I did something like this .
I have been  thinking of doing something like a white wash / white paint on my kitchen cupboards.
The problem with that might be the paint on the old wood/if it is indeed real wood.
It looks like wood.
It is from the 1950's-60's and while the kitchen is light ( a wall of windows) it is dated and cheap
looking with those dark wood cupboards.

But I have beams on the ceiling !

And I am snowed in again and need a project.

I am usually very confident about these things but lately I wonder too much.

I wonder if I should mess with it.
I wonder if I will ruin it .
I wonder if it will be a big mistake and it will cost me a lot to fix.

I wonder if I should crawl into the bed and just come out in the Spring. If there ever is a Spring.


Friday, February 14, 2014

Sweetheart

She can sit in the palm of your hand ..
She might weight 3 lbs.
She is blue/grey and has huge yellow eyes.
She sounds hoarse when she meows.
She snuffles .
She sneezes but only in your face.
She is endlessly fascinated by the birds at the feeder outside the glass doors.
She takes cat naps at the drop of a hat.
She was up until about 2 am last night, playing with a thread on the carpet, attacking imaginary creatures on the bed, running then sliding on the floors and generally irritating the **** out of me.
I put her in her box.
She cried.
I put her in the other bathroom.
 I wanted to cry.
I put her back in my bed and talked to her about Me needing Sleep.
She said OK and went to sleep.

This morning I woke to purring and something warm and furry under my chin, around my neck.

She is not that impressed with the fact that IF we had to get out of the house right now, it would be
impossible, snow is up over the steps, doors are blocked, I can't think about it or claustrophobia will take over.

She is charming and cute and irritating and adorable and soft and sweet and a lifesaver.
I lost my Valentine .. I guess Minette will be my new sweetheart.





Thursday, February 13, 2014

What I Would Like



I would like   to wear a light sweater or a light jacket and a pair of jeans and some shoes, not boots, not Uggs but just a pair of shoes. 
Perhaps  the black suede flats with brass studs  from Buenos Aires.

I would like  to carry one of my fancy schmancy purses that I love .. 
I take them down from their spot on the shelf in the closet and make sure they are well, enjoying being back in the US and I know they are anxious to be carried out in the fresh air.
Purses have feelings too !

No more of this being stuck indoors all the time.
No more of this staring at snow piling up out there ... I would like to  get dressed and take a ride !
I would like to  buy some perfume ! or how about some new color of lipstick ! 
  

I watch the snow pile up outside the door.
I watch snow plows drive by, leaving a small wall of snow across my driveway, locking me in.
I watch the tree limbs bend lower, with the weight of the snow pulling them down.. down ...down.

I would like to see a concert   .


I would like to go to a wonderful art museum in Williamstown,  NY. The Clark Museum.
But I never drove there by myself. 
I have not been to a museum alone in more than 40 years.

I would like  to rent a hotel room in NYC .
I would like to  take the train to town.
I would like to go to the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan and have lunch somewhere precious.

I would like  to spend the day holding a baby boy. 
Making demented noises that will make him smile at me.
Anything for one of those smiles.

I would like  the pain in my heart to stop , every time that baby boy does something new and someone is not here to see it.

I would like  to think of something new to eat besides couscous.
I would like a Bloody Mary. 

I would like to accept my friends invitation to visit Buenos Aires and stay in an apartment, rent free.

I would like to visit my friend in Portland, Oregon.

I would like to go to London and spend a month with friends there .

I would like to fall asleep tonight in less than 3 hours.

I would like to travel Back in Time.


What would you like ?


Stay Calm

I find that I have no patience and no time to have to sit and type out strings of  numbers after ever comment I leave on Blogger.
I took mine off, and put on Moderate. This makes it easy for someone to leave me a comment .
It is also why I am not leaving comments on some of my favorite blogs, it is just too time consuming and annoying !
I must stay calm.

So if anyone misses my brilliant comments on their blogs... this might be why .



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Bring Back Summer !!



My days used to be full of sunshine, laughter, music and I was never alone.
Boy did things change !

Since October, I have been  alone.
My children visit when possible, if the snow doesn't interfere or work or life . .
I will always be grateful for all the time and expense spent leaving everything and coming here with the baby to keep me company, advise me, comfort me and make the dark nights not so long or scary.
Or buying plane tickets and flying here to see me  !!

My neighbor from Buenos Aires sends emails now and tells me how things are and how the neighbors are doing, this is lovely .. I am so happy about that and anxious to be able to go back for a visit.

The weeks are not quite as long when I know there will be company coming.
But then the snow came.
I have not had company for 2 weekends.

This week I got Minette. She lightens my heart, how could she not ?
A tiny loving purring little sweetheart who depends on me for everything...
We are getting along well, today I got kitten kisses so I think she is content with her new circumstances.


It will be fun to see how she likes the baby and what he thinks of a kitten .. I imagine everything will be funny and good.

I sit here , with a window in front of me.
I am facing the street.
I am also facing snow as far as I can see, piled high, at least 3 feet and trees ..
In the back there are deer, last night I counted 7, robbing the bird feeders, poor things.
I had to scare them away .. they are large and can be destructive and I can't   feed them plus the birds ..
Next the bears will come ambling over and the wolves will be slinking in ...
I want to  keep this down to Just Birds ..

Minette likes birds.
They make her make funny noises.
She sits on her little pillow and makes noises at them and I have to go away to laugh so as not to disturb her enjoyment.

All of this is nice.
I just wish there were Someone here to enjoy it too .. he was so happy to be back here and full of plans for snuggling in during the snowy winters.
The cold nights would certainly be warmer and more pleasant.
And maybe not so dark !!
Did you ever see any night as dark as a night out in the countryside ??
Summer nights here were nice, you could see every single star in the sky .. a huge moon shining .. now it is deep dark and while there are stars, they seem farther away and colder.

I say lets start a campaign .. Bring Back Summer !

Now I have to go out and see if I can find what Minette needs in the way of diet, toys and maybe another cushion,  a girl can never have too many cushions.


Monday, February 10, 2014

First night, Name change, Opinions

Her name is Minette.

What can I say, she is playing, eating, drinking, bird watching, sleeping with mama with the smallest bit of disturbance and generally the sweetest little thing you ever saw.
She came in here to see what I am doing and hopped up on the sofa and she is reading every word, with those huge yellow eyes .. I just got one of those slow blinks .. that means I Love You in cat .. just so you know.

As with all kittens, especially as young as she is .. she needs a mama and she likes to play .. with Everything. I want her to enjoy everything more than usual, she had such a terrible beginning and is so lucky to be alive ... and I am so lucky she is here too.

I think she weighs 4 lbs.

I woke up with her walking on my chest and breathing. Loudly.
I stuffed her under the covers and she curled up next to me and purred ... loudly.
We both went back to sleep.

Now she is here watching me ... tired out from her new favorite past time ..bird watching.
I didn't tell her but the birds laughed ..  one of the giant Blue Jays that we get around here nudged his partner and said " That is a Cat ? LOL LOL " 


Today will be spent kitten proofing some of the rooms and playing and I will see if she can tolerate the vacuum cleaner .. if not, I guess I will have to forego that treat and just dust mop ..(my luck, she will love the vacuum cleaner).



I am waiting for the man who took care of my driveway snow the other day .. he did not want to charge me .. he was ( I thought) kind.
But I paid him ... quite a lot imo.
Today he called and told me how much the bill was for    the men who removed the snow from my roof ( danger ! danger ! falling snow !)
I was kind of shocked since I didn't request this, he suggested it and I thought it would be included in the whole snow removal deal .
But now I have to give them the same amount I gave him which tells me some people are not as generous and kind as they might seem to be and when they ask you to make the check out to a church, maybe give them cash instead.

This is just my opinion.


Minette is asleep ... shhhhhhh ~

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Say Hello


This is Sasha. ( I changed my mind and her name, This is Minette)
The newest member of my family.
She seems very happy to be here. She likes where her little bed is situated, outside are the bird feeders. She also likes to loll around under the coffee table .. and we don't know yet where she will sleep tonight, she is welcome on my bed or she will have her own bed.
Things might not be quite so lonely around here anymore...

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Get a Glass, Let's Have a Little Whine Together

I go first !

I am sorry to say that I am sick of the sight of snow.
It is beautiful when it falls but I am not so in love with the mountains of it piled outside my doors.
It took a truck with a plow and more than a few dollars to get my driveway clear so I could pull the car out of the garage.

I had to have men climb up on my roof and remove snow so
1- no avalanche when I slam a door
2- no leaks
3- they said I had to do it, so I did it.
I am beyond knowing everything there is about living alone in the great North Woods .. or you might still call it New York State.

I want to go to a Mall.
Walmart, Target  and Home Depot  do not constitute "Mall" for me.
I want to look at nice clothes and try on boots and maybe buy a new pair of something warm.
Because I am convinced that it will never be summer again.
This is it ... snow. forever. Even birds get to go to Florida.
Me ? I get to sit here and watch the snow fall.
And wonder what made those prints in the snow  outside the windows ????

The man I depended on for knowing What needed to be done When, is no longer here.
So I am semi-anxious all the time.

I only see birds outside. No people, no deer, no dogs, just birds.
I like birds. I just wish they could drink coffee and chat a while.
Or as it was in Buenos Aires, maybe I need to learn to speak Birdish.

I will take lessons, maybe I will be more fluent than I was in Castellano.

I was counting on company coming for 2 weeks now.
This am I jumped out of bed and behaved the way a cheerful person might behave, full of anticipation .

Then I got the phone call.
It involved snow, ice and cars impossibly trapped in city streets and  no shovels.

I have to find something to do now .. alone  .. my choices are :

Laundry- in the basement of horrors.

Take a drive to another town and hope I don't get stuck in snow or ice.

Go to a grocery store just because there are people there .. I don't need groceries.

Where is a Starbucks when you need one ?

I might try to drive to the town where Animalkind is located.
Perhaps my luck will change and I will come home with a little bitty new furry member of the family.

We will see ..






Friday, February 7, 2014

Angels

I went out this morning with a shovel and jammed it into the snow that was very high and covering the driveway ...  then I was unable to move the shovel.
I could not pick up the shovel.
It just sat there,.
I think it smirked at me.
I put it away and went back into the house.
Sad ... Frustrated ... Depressed ... Feeling just the tiniest bit Hopeless.

I sent an email to my friend/and one of the Best People in the World, My Realtor.
I was trying not to be weepy, but that is the way I have been feeling lately.

I told her that I had to get out and I was trapped by several feet of snow between the garage and the clean street in front of my house.
She told me who to call.

In what seemed like seconds .. he drove up to the driveway and dropped that plow and in a short amount of time,  cleared the driveway .. clean as a whistle..
He made a tall wall on one side, amazing how much snow we have .
I will have that wall until sometime around the end of July is my guess.

Then he got out his shovel and cleared away the steps and my front porch.

I opened the door and told him of my delight, pleasure, relief and generally gushed over him and the beautiful job he did. That he had  stopped whatever he had been doing and come to my house and made it possible for me to escape.
 

Then he told me that my roof had to be cleared before Bad Things happened .. gutters, leaks, roof , all that stuff that I knew about  but had put off doing anything about..

When it came time to pay him, I was prepared, I knew that it was going to cost me and I knew I was going to smile and pay him and be glad.

So I asked, how much do I owe you ?
And he said .. Whatever you want to pay.
And make it out to xxxxx (a church camp for little kids)


I paid him and he left , repeating that my roof was important and I said OK ..  (thinking... how am I going to pay for that ?! )

I went to the supermarket.
The ride was beautiful.
Snowy hills with blue skies and huge white clouds in the distance.
Forests, fields covered in snow , horses in pastures, a cow or two hanging around a dairy, it is very beautiful here.
People were very cheerful at the grocery store. .. I guess they were as happy, as I was, that they were able to get out of the driveway.

When I got home, as I pulled up to my drive, I saw  3 men getting into a truck.
They waved and smiled and left.
I looked at the yard , the driveway ... the roof.
The roof was clean.
They cleaned the gutters and removed all the snow and made things safe again.

Who knew angels look like guys in pick up trucks ??

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Snowbound

It snowed all day yesterday and into the night.
It was and still is quite beautiful.
Today the sun is shining, the snow sparkles and the blue jays and little sparrows are fighting it out over the bird feeders.

There are deer trails in the snow, all through the back side and front yards  ...

There are also footsteps made by my boots ... going from the garage to the street.
Down the driveway that is all snow.
Which came close to being up to my knees.
Which  I tried to shovel.
Just once.
It was too heavy and I quit.

Help.
I am trapped.

The sun is shining and there are so many things I need to do ... out of the house !
Where is that young kid with a shovel who wants to make a few dollars shoveling ?
No such thing anymore .

Where is anyone with a shovel or snow plow ???

The downside of living alone up North ..

The driveway has to be clear by Saturday .. visitors will come and have nowhere to park !!!
I cannot have that .. one of those visitors , the tiny one , lifts my heart and helps me keep going when snowed in all alone.
His daddy helps me and his mama calms my frazzled nerves and they all cheer me up.
I worry I will do something that I will be sorry for.
Like cut my own hair.
Or Hitch hike .
Steal a horse from the farm up the hill.
Steal some little kids sled and slide to the supermarket.
Call the Police and ask for a ride to the store.
Or ask them to dig me out .
I might have to bake something chocolate.



Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Snow Days

So ... I woke in the night ... I thought I heard something .
No, I didn't hear anything.
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
Complete silence.
It was snowing.

I woke early this morning.
About 5 am. I heard something.
Snow plows, flying down the road.
Trying to stay ahead of the storm.

I woke again  around 8:30.
It is silent out there .
Snow.
Soooo much snow.
I cannot see the bottom steps to my front door.
I cannot see the stone wall beside the drive.

The birds are up in trees or somewhere but they are not on the ground
or around the feeders.

It is a totally silent white world.
And here I am .. all alone in it.

The only thing I can think of doing is to turn the stereo on really loud with Tango music and later I will bake cookies.
Make soup.
Learn to sew.
Iron. Do I have an iron ?
Give myself a pedicure.
Read my Kindle.
Hope the electricity stays on.
Wish I were in Buenos Aires coping with the heat.
Wish someone was here with me, that particular someone who would make the day funny and an adventure.

Snow days ...  they aren't what they used to be.


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Snowed In with Photos

Having gotten a comment that someone would like to see photos of the snow, I realized that I have not shared many with you ! And all I do, it seems, is take photos of the snow.

So here are a few .. just imagine how quiet it is, how peaceful, how cold ~






Monday, February 3, 2014

Snowed in Part 1

http://vimeo.com/56983484

So, as is usual for me lately, I am giving in to my Obsessive behaviors ..
I have been listening to this music, just this one song, for about an hour now.
Over and over ... you know what ?
I don't care, I like it !
If I were not listening to some music that I like, I would be walking around an empty quiet house, looking out the windows at .... snow .
More snow.
A lot of snow on the ground.
Snow in the trees.
MORE snow falling ... that would set me to howling and weeping... believe me.
I am snowed in.
Once again.
This living alone in the North woods is not for single people.
Unless they give in and just go bonkers and get all happy and goofy when they see snow.
They probably don't brush their hair either.
Or their teeth.
Do they bathe ?
Probably not .. why bother ?

I don't know about you but I Thank God on days like this that there is an Internet.

I can listen to Sting and laugh at Superbowl commercials ( without actually having to sit through a ball game) and I can even watch television shows and movies.
All from this chair right here in this room right here with that window in front of me showing me the snow piling up by the second.

I see more chocolate chip cookies in my future.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Out of Cookies



I baked chocolate chip cookies and gave them to my son and daughter in law to take home ..
no sense in me sitting around in the frozen North with a bag full of cookies calling my name.

I saved myself a few ... really .. just a few.
So few that I ran out tonight.
Yes, they just left today.
Anyway ......
I am out of cookies.

Me When I Am Out Of Cookies
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sunset in Buenos Aires

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