Winter's Gift

                                               
                                                                Winter's golden gift
                                                        The city bathed in sunlight
                                                            Cold, yet heart warming.
                                                      




                                        

Of Potatoes and Other Things

Last night,I thought it would be great fun to eat chips with the hamburgers that my husband was making.  So I washed and sliced potatoes, sprinkled them with olive oil and salt and popped the cookie sheet into the oven.  My coworker told me that olive oil smokes at a lower temperature than vegetable oil, and before long the house was awash in smoke, the mini dachsund was shivering and shaking.  We ran the exhaust vent above the stove the bathroom fan and opened both doors to try to air out the house.  When all was said and done, I had a puddle of olive oil on the bottom of the oven and a smelly house.  I ran the self clean feature on the oven.  It was still too hot last night to wipe clean, so this morning before work I took a sponge, (which I had to throw away) and cleaned up the soot.  There are light bulb gremlins at work in the house.  The brand new oven bulb is not working nor is the flourescent bulb above the aquarium.  However, on the bright side, I somehow have internet access at work, miracle of miracles.  After all the whining, I think I might be over the worst of the sinus problem.  I got my w-2 (saw how little money I made last year) so we should be able to file income tax returns soon, when all the forms are in.  My daughter is going with her friend to talk to a counselor about the friend's boyfriend.  He is acting bizarre --so strange that my daughter is afraid of what he might do.  Her friend's mini dachsund bit her finger last night, and the finger is swollen and stiff.  Depressed that I have to start building up stamina from the very bottom, yet again.  I hung two pictures and a silk spray at work.  Otherwise, it has been quiet.  Valentine's Day is four weeks from today.

In Loving Memory

                                       
                                                   
                                          Kenny (55), Pete, Shaun (63), Betty,
                                  Scott (42), Autumn (23) and  Peter (23)                                                          

                   With each gentle breeze, twinkling star or wave upon the sea....

                                                       we shall remember.

With Deepest Sympathy

The other day I awoke to the news that there had been a small plane crash in Florida.  The pilot died in the crash, but a passenger survived although he had severe burns.  Last night, my daughter told me that one of her math teachers at the middle school had lost his valiant fight with cancer.  This morning, I was searching online for his arrangements, when I  read the headline, "Professor Dies from Injuries Suffered in Plane Crash."  I was shocked to learn that the passenger taught at the university in the city where I live.    My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of both young men.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand.

Trying to Get Better

I am trying to get well.  I am forcing myself to take it easy and sleep when I can.  I am using a saline rinse and breathing steam from a pan of boiled water.  I sit at the table with a tent over my head and breathe in the vapor for a few minutes.  I need to get better so that I can visit my mother.  My father told me yesterday that her back hurts causing her much pain, and that she is putting too much food in her mouth, causing her to choke.  So, I need to expedite the recovery process.  Today, I vacuumed, swept the kitchen, cleaned the aquarium and threw in some laundry.

Trust

The bouts of coughing exhaust me.  I am happy when I have peace for a few minutes--a bit of time to recover and regroup and get ready for the next spell.   And though it seems much longer, I have only been sick one week.  Will I ever be well again?  And I worry.  I worry about my daughter and her friends.  One of her friends ODed over winter break.  I have known her since she was a baby.  Problems with her boyfriend.  And I am holding a secret that I cannot share, because if I did share it, I wouldn't be trusted ever again.

Crotchety

Everything seems accentuated.  Smells and noises are intensified.  I wonder how people who are chronically ill manage to keep a pleasant personality.  I want to talk to my husband about sprinkling smelly deodorizer in our room.  I dislike it at the best of times, but even worse when I am hacking up a lung.  And what about the driver who manages to get his car up to 25mph in a 45.  And the young woman at the self scan aisle in the grocery store who used one hand only to unload her cart.  The man at the restaurant who was leaning against the window with his feet sticking out the booth into the aisle.  Isn't there a law that diners need to put their dirty shoes under the table?  However, you will be pleasantly surprised that I adhered to my resolution and have neither killed nor lambasted anyone!