Daily Notes- January First 2020

                                       

My Solstice Paperwhite Bulbs have grown so much.  And each grouping has a few swollen flower buds at the tips.  I can look down into the glass vase and see the white roots growing in the stones and water I give.  New growth in Winter.

We went to bed before midnight and got up late- the Sun already filling the bedroom with light. I wanted toast for breakfast- something crisp and crunchy. No bread in the house.  So I climbed up on the kitchen ladder and looked deep in the cupboard where cereal is stored.  Way back a rolled up bag with just enough for one bowl.  Wheat and Bran shredded biscuits.  Followed by a buttery shortbread cookie.

The climb up the kitchen ladder also brought me to the boxes and jars of things no longer fresh and no longer necessary.  Wheat Bran. Old Tea Bags  Other things now happily tucked into the compost bucket.  I used the brush to sweep the cupboard clean and later today the heavy Polish Pottery will be shoved to the way back to be stored during the painting of the cupboard it fills in the living room.  More decorative than useful. But still loved.  By me. I need boxes for the liquor cabinet.  Which is full of bottles.

I spent a wasted hour or more reading comments on a "tidying" post.  One hundred and forty four LONG comments.  People have quite a bit to say about getting rid of things.  My eyes feel "greasy" meaning I have worn them out reading on a screen.  A phone screen.  Not the way I want to go forward in the New Year.  Tidying the drinks cupboard???

I noticed I need some additional felt tree ornaments for next Christmas- white with green stitches on the edges and red button ornaments.

I made a very nice pot of chicken soup for G yesterday.  And did two loads of wash while writing my three pages in the journal.  I folded the first load out of the dryer but the second needed more time as it held heavy lined pants that G wears for snowplowing.  Under his ski pants.  He is wearing the new orange waterproof gloves.  Loves them.  Good gift.

Our contractor came to plow our very long driveway and 10 inches of snow yesterday afternoon.  Our snowblower stopped working and will need service tomorrow.  Not open today.  We think a belt snapped.  We felt well and truly TRAPPED with no way out.  We could walk out to the street but the car wasn't going anywhere.  We each tried shoveling.  I made it down the sidewalk --- one shovel width down the driveway to rescue the recycle can that got hit by the garbage truck.  Still full of papers.  The snow was just too full of water and very heavy and G had gotten rid of all the good shovels (that could push snow off the side of the driveway like a small plow) and kept the one shitty plastic shovel.  The man makes strange decisions.  The snow slipped right off the plastic shovel.

Anyway the driveway is clear of snow- the grass along the edges- where the plow scrapped is toast and we can drive out in an emergency.  When G spent half the Winter away from home on business trips- I hand shoveled that driveway after each and every storm and still got to work on time- well, once it was too deep at the end and I couldn't get out. Someone from work came and picked me up. And I used the no longer here shovels to push the heavy snow- not lift it.

I will not dwell.   But it's really hard not to.