What doesn’t kill you may heal you and other frozen stories

1. It’s three below zero right now.  (Tree below zero according to that old Finnish joke.  Must look for photo to illustrate.)

Here you go

2.  It’s damn cold.  I started Barry’s car this morning when the thermometer shivered at 6 below zero (-21.1 C).  It’s all thanks to Grandma’s 1969 or 1970 one-piece snowmobile suit with the orange-red racing stripes.  When and if that snowmobile suit disintegrates, he’s on his own.  He can start his own car.  The suit is ripping in one place.  He suggested I sew it.  I suggested he sew it.  Tit for tat, as they say.  (I like rushing out in the freezing cold on stay-at-home mornings sometimes, the inner engine pumping in the dark, clouds of vapor rising from the face toward stars, the fingers not yet numb.  This is not a daily obligation, so don’t any women libbers fret.  I do it because it’s invigorating and strangely fun.)

Snowmobile suit (photo from four years ago)

3.  Here’s a Golden Elixir to warm and heal you to the bones, I swear it’s so.  You may think it’s going to kill you but it will only kill invading viruses and complaints.  You are not allowed to complain while sipping.  It will negatively affect the positive vibes.  Boil 1 cup water.  Add 1 T. lemon juice, 1/4 t. turmeric, 1/4 t. ground ginger and–I hate to say this– 1/4 t. cayenne and you may want to make that 1/8 teaspoon unless you’re a cowgirl or cowboy.  Add honey to taste.  I added 1 teaspoon and didn’t taste it much.  Do not add 1/2 cup honey like you might desire to mitigate the cayenne.

Golden Elixir, yep.

4.  Shhh, don’t tell, but I’ve already messed with the 2013 Whole Living Action Plan from Whole Living magazine.  And it’s only the first meal!  (You may be a rule-follower, but yours truly has been known to break rules from Day 1 and here she did it again.)  This morning’s smoothie was Mango-Tahini.  Well, that wasn’t happening.  The cantaloupe and avocado were ripe and rarin’ to go.  So they got diced and blended with–hmmm, what?–oh, yes, some lite coconut milk, a couple of ice cubes and maybe something I’m not remembering.  A green smoothie to wash down the Golden Elixir!  I swear I’ve never felt better.

5.  Booked a trip to Fort Myers, Florida, last night to visit the parents and extended family in April.  It’s been 75 degrees (23.9 C) down there recently.  Let’s ponder.  Negative two degrees (-18.9 C).  75 degrees.  Negative two degrees.  75 degrees.  Which would you choose?

Now which do we prefer…?

6.  It’s damn expensive to fly these days.

7.  Gosh, it’s sometimes fun to toss in the “damn” word.   It’s rather unexpected, isn’t it?

8.  The wood stove needs stoking every 6.8 seconds.  Can’t get the inside temperature to reach 70 degrees no matter what. We’ve hung blankets over the sliding glass windows.  I dug out an ancient pair of homemade moccasins made by my friend Melinda back in maybe 2003.  Warm fur stitched in the bottom!  Maybe Melinda will come from California and sew the snowmobile suit?

9.  Oh, and am also wearing a hooded sweatshirt.  Nice and toasty.

Some people don’t seem to mind the cold. Some people even jump in the frozen lake in January.

10.  Must tackle the huge pile of unwashed dishes as soon as pushing the publish button.  Writing a blog takes precedence over dishes!  One must always remember that.

11.  Am enjoying letting the Universe decide when a blog be written.  Kathy’s always convinced she should write posts daily but the Universe really is wiser, if one listens.  So we don’t know whether one shall appear tomorrow or in six days!  And Kathy is no longer going to feel obligated to explain this all to death.  She’s also going to sometimes reply to comments and sometimes not.  The Universe will decide.  Oh it’s GREAT to know there is a deeper intelligence than our thoughts which knows just what to do.

12.  Time to stoke the wood stove again.

13.  And you?  What’s your day look like?  How cold is it?  How warm?  What’s on your mind?