Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Another day off work. Still negative temps with serious wind chill. I was a bit surprised the college closed for a second day, but I do understand. I see students wearing shorts -- yes, they wear shorts in January. I would say something snarky here, but I'm truly trying to not think or say hurtful things about others. It's a struggle, let me tell you. Yesterday afternoon, once I learned I would be home today, I didn't read any student work like I should have. Instead, I worked on the piece I've been focused on for the last six months. I'm not ready to talk about it or share any of it yet. I simply want to keep making forward progress. That's not to say I don't share it with others. I do. Like with my friend who I meet every Monday for sharing and feedback. He has seen nearly all of it to date. I trust his judgment. He gives it to me straight, which I need. To see how others might react, others who don't know me, I decided to post a few pages on the c...

-10 the high for today. Right this very second it is -20 with a real feel of -48. I can't remember the last time it was this cold. Because of how dangerous it is to be out in these temps, the college closed for today. It's a relief to know I don't have to carefully prepare myself to be out in this weather. I can't imagine standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. I'm not even sure the transit system is running today. I'll have to check. Just checked and yes, the buses are running. Much like the furnace for this little apartment. It's been running nonstop since around nine last evening. I am not looking forward to the next gas bill. And since around 2 am, the wooden structure that is this apartment has been popping and thumping. I just want to stay in bed and pull the quilt up over my head. But I can't. Ado needs me. So I bundled up to take him out this morning. Three layers. Still, the cold seeped through before we'd even gone a half block. ...

I'm trying to work, really work, but the action at the bird feeders is incredibly distracting. The biting cold and snow have the birds eating constantly, which is fine by me. I love just sitting here watching them. But I'm not getting any work completed. Perhaps I should wait until this evening, after dark, to start work. The third pic I took last Sunday. I walked over to the hill to snap a few photos. There were people sledding. I stood and listened to them laugh and whoop as they whooshed down the hill under the blood moon.

An arctic blast has moved in. The -23 degrees wind chill makes my face hurt as soon as I step outside. Even Ado, who typically loves being out in the cold, did his business quickly this morning then turned around an made a dash for home. I fear for animals and the homeless when the temps dip like this. I hope shelter is available, enough to give adequate warmth. This afternoon snow fell, adding a layer of slippery on top of the sheet of ice that is my driveway right now. I searched high and low for my landlord's number, but somewhere in the move to the smaller apartment his number went missing. Today, while Angel Baby and I were messing around with the old typewriter I just bought a new ribbon for, trying to figure out how to make an exclamation point since there is no 1 key (shift, hit the 8 key, back up, hit the period key), my landlord pulled in. I slipped my feet into my boots and went out to say hello and ask for his number. Almost immediately he apologized for the condition...

 

I put a post-it note on my monitor to remind me to listen to the Purdue men's basketball game at 1 today. At 3:30, I looked up from the book I was reading to see I'd totally missed the game. This is like the fourth game I've wanted to listen to but missed because I simply forget. Hence the post-it. Lot of good it did. I must not be all that interested in actually listening to the games or I'd figure out a way to make sure I remember. I almost missed taking Ado to the vet yesterday, for his spa day, because I'd totally forgotten about his appointment. I didn't have to get up for work, so at 6 am I rolled over and went back to sleep for over an hour. When I finally dragged myself into the living room, I noticed my phone's calendar had kicked in, trying to remind me of Ado's bath and nail clipping appointment. Maybe my forgetfulness was because of the first week back in the classroom fatigue. Maybe it was because of having a gnarly headache four out of th...

Snow. Finally. Ice and snow at the creek So far about eight inches, and it's still falling. Supposed to fall through the day, making today a wonderful day to stay inside and bake orange-cranberry scones (done), listen to good alternative music (doing), sketch out some new ideas for poems (doing, well, in between baking, listening to music, and writing this blog post). And watching the bright red cardinal at the bird feeder. I took Angel Baby to work this morning since the snow was already about five inches deep. Doesn't seem like a lot, but when walking in it the going can be tough. Maybe not for a youngun' like him, but I also wanted to try out the four-wheel drive on the Jeep. It works. It works really, really well. The roads had been plowed somewhat, but they were still a mess. The Jeep made the snow seem like child's play. No spinning tires. No fish-tailing. Just like a usual driving day. During break I organized my dresser, closet and laundry room. I also...

The "have-to-go-to" meetings are out of the way. Really, they weren't so bad. I don't mind sitting through a meeting these days. Not too long ago, I would have been singing a different tune. I remember a retreat my dean required all of us to go to, and I wasn't happy at all about having to go. It was a Friday, a day I used to mark on the calendar for grading since we have no classes on Fridays, and the retreat was scheduled at a time during the semester when I had a ton of papers to read/respond to. Yeah, I was in a foul mood when I arrived at the retreat. The person brought in to run the retreat said hello when I walked in and told me to take a name badge. She then said I didn't have to put my name on it. Instead, I could put how I was feeling. So I put "Annoyed." When my dean saw this, she gave me a look of half amusement half disappointment. My foul mood didn't improve as the morning wore on. If anything, I became even more resentful for hav...

Yesterday I took my first bike ride of the year. Not a long ride by any means -- just out to work to grab a book I needed and to fill out the tuition waiver for Angel Baby (he's decided to return to school!) -- but it was a lovely ride. Earlier in the morning, between reading and fixing some coffee, I watched the frost melt off the Jeep windows, using the slow disappearance of the tiny ice crystals as the gauge for when I could get the bike out and go for a ride. Temps near 50 and sunny with barely any wind to speak of -- yep, I wasn't going to let the day slip by without some kind of ride, even if it was just to Uptown for reading time at the coffeehouse. Today, another beautiful day, with sun and warmth. Another opportunity to get out and ride somewhere. When I arrived home from my ride yesterday, I found a package in my mailbox. I figured it was for Lovely Beautiful Daughter since I haven't ordered anything that needed to be delivered. I'm really trying to cut do...

For whatever reason, I've become a crier. I cried last week when Angel Baby filled me in on what was happening with him and his girlfriend. He'd been counting down the days until she came home for a couple week's break from the military, only to have her avoid getting together with him. After four days of being told maybe we can get together later , he ended the relationship. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he sat cross-legged in the oversized chair. My heart was breaking for him, and I fought my own tears, keeping them in check until after we talked a bit longer. Only when Angel Baby was out of the room did I let the tears have their way. A few nights ago, I was watching Life Itself  when the tears started up again. While the story itself is a bit on the cliched side, I was still moved by the idea of two people being so incredibly in love (most likely because I don't have this, and most likely because I will never know what this kind of love feels like). That aside,...

A new year. 365 days stretching out in front of me. So much promise. I hope I do this year justice. I spent my New Year's eve right here, with the last two episodes of season seven GOT queued up. I indulged in a Big Mac meal, complete with a coke to add some Irish whiskey to, and settled in to enjoy the evening. At midnight, I lit some candles and said hello to January 1, 2019 by meditating for twenty minutes. Ado had already gone to bed hours before, but he got up long enough to come out and check on me. After a minute or so, he decided his bed was really where he wanted to be. 2018 ended on a good note. I accomplished the two big things I wanted to do for the year: change my last name back to my maiden name and complete the poetry chapbook that I'd started during my sabbatical. My name change was granted on December 18. The last poem of the chapbook was finished just before 6 pm yesterday, after a couple of weeks of working to get a draft in place. When I copied the poem ...