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...