That is the question....I guess I will not complain but simply mention that once more my part of the world is facing record cold temperatures this morning. And will continue to do so through the weekend. The only outside activity I performed yesterday was to walk down to the lobby to get my mail since at the beginning of the month, I expect a check. It was worth the walk yesterday but my pace was quicker than usual. Not only was it cold out, but also wet. Fortunately it was not slippery.
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Jen and Memrie came by in the afternoon so Mem could pitch her Girl Scout Cookies to me. When they came in, the little one was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and a windbreaker, which surprised me. Jen said she had a sweatshirt in her backpack but Mem assured me she was warm enough. They were not playing outside at all so I guess she was alright. I ordered a couple boxes of Thin Mints, like a good friend would. I showed her how to play the new travel version of Scrabble that I have which kept her busy while her mom and I chatted. They had to pick up Chris at school, having stayed after for Game Club. Board games only in this middle school club and has such great attendance and involvement that storage for the games became a problem. I like to hear that, and it also helps the kids develop their interpersonal skills, with which Chris has problems. Recreational therapy, I believe it is called.
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When they left, I got busy putting away about three loads of laundry done since my guests left, one of which was towels from those two bathrooms. It upset me a bit because I am still mourning their departure, but then got cheered up again knowing in a month, people will be back in those rooms and beds again! Justin is already slated to come and remake the beds next week sometime so they will be set for the guests and out of my laundry room. Last night Justin and I took the tree down, implementing my new ornament case bought at Joann's before CHRISTmas. It held all my ornaments, plus the blue ice garland. Since we are having a yard sale at church in the spring, he will need to come back to go through my remaining decorations and help decide what to keep and what to sell. Gulp! This will be killer for me because I have deep emotional attachment to some of these things, including a table top musical snow globe from my first married Christmas (keeper!) and a ceramic nativity set given to me by Jimmie W. one year. My heart says to keep it all, but my good sense says I need to clean it out, let go. The good news is that I have a few months to steel myself for this clean out!
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At Wal*Mart the other day, the main aisles were piled full of the plastic bins in all shapes and sizes, as usually happens after the holidays. I should have grabbed some, and still might do that, because Justin, Martie and I have a huge project to take care of after Lynn and Linda are gone home. We are going to tackle what we call the "Timmy" closet in the guest room. Those boxes and such were packed for me by Tinker, a church member and housekeeper whom Joanne paid to pack up The Preserve house when Justin and I were on a cruise in 2004. That spared me the agony of having to go through Timmy's things myself, and the fact that she did almost the entire house for us was an extra blessing! But, the boxes and containers are not uniform and therefore do not stack as well as they could. I also think that we can use some of those shrink bags for fabric items and stuffed animals, making more room in the bins, making for fewer bins. I already have the bags so that is no worry. Martie knows this is a tough one for me and has offered to help, and we especially need Justin for the lifting and toting, as well as some of the decision making. He is a great hugger!
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You know I have been housebound too long when I start talking to the TV! This a.m. on the news, a 911 call was being replayed about some actress who died recently, and the caller is her mother, begging for help. As they replayed the call, the Mom told the dispatcher that her daughter is passed out and they are doing mouth-to-mouth, please send help. The 911 operator asked if someone was with her, and the mom screams, "Yes!!". Then the operator asked how old the daughter was and the mom says, "She's 30!!", frantically. The nice male operator told the mom, "You don't have to yell..." He then asked, "Is she awake? Is she breathing?", where, at that point, I said aloud, to the TV, "You idiot!!" because the mother already told the 911 operator that her daughter was passed out and someone was doing CPR. Ugh! This might be a device they use to keep people focused or what have you, but from my perspective, it sounded idiotic. I need to go out! Next I will be throwing a shoe at the TV, or worse!
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Some might think the radio would be better, but I get frosted at that, too, sometimes. I listen to the radio from about 9 to 5 most days, over the Internet primarily, which means I do not get the same type of advertising as heard over the air. Instead, I listen to tons and tons of PSAs, (public service announcements) with well over half of them being sponsored by one organization or another that ends in 'dot gov'. Not good, not good by any means! It is incredible to know that tax dollars are being spent to promote these programs for what??, after school boxing lessons or sports training to keep kids off the street. Or, adopt a foster child, or become a child advocate, or make use of one government program or another. Do we really need a PSA to tell us that families who eat together three nights a week will have better communication? I don't think so, and that is not the government's job to tell us that, either. Ugh! There are programs upon programs out there, advertising on the radio via these PSAs and the stations have no option but to play them, to balance the paid advertisements. Not to be a conspiracy theorist or anything, but in listening to these PSAs, one could think about all the many ways that the government already infiltrates our homes and lives, and it is more than a little frightening!
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I might get in trouble for this, but one of the paid advertisements about drives me coo coo---a local jewelry store with several stores located in elite areas, has the owner come on and do the ad. His Southern accent is so annoying that I claw at my eyes when it comes on, but to turn it off would be a pain, too, because I would have to pull it back up again to hear the program! I am getting too crotchety in my old age, I guess. Would this be called 'my last nerve'??
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I was thinking about this cold weather earlier this a.m., remembering a time back in 2002 or 2003 when we had record cold temps and high high winds, at about this same time of the year. My former spouse was gone to a convention or someplace, and our employee, Mike, was left in charge of covering the plants and trees around our pool. Mike, the house boy, as my auntie referred to him, had the queen palms covered and all the others, attempted in vain to hold the tarps down with rocks and concrete blocks, but the wind still got under the covers and damaged one of the expensive palms. My spouse was upset to lose the tree, but not being here to see or feel the wind, he did not appreciate that we attempted to save the foliage. I just remember that episode, and thought that now, it would be Justin, the jack-of-all-trades 'houseboy' who would be running about, trying to secure things during a storm or icy blast. Some doubt that it gets cold here, but I beg to differ. I do get to wear my red coat on more than one occasion and although we might not have to shovel, the cold still bites!
