Sometimes I Wish I Could Just Stand in the Shower All Day

Haven't blogged in a few days, but I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd start putting down some thoughts in the wee hours of the morning. And yes, sometimes the warm/hot water of the shower feels so good, it would be nice to stand there, without pruning or running out of warm/hot water, all day. Some days it's like a warm hug, washing the troubles away.

It's been an emotional few days, basically waiting to find out when I'd get my car back (still haven't yet), trying to sell some more stuff, and trying to juggle the bills I have to pay while I'm not making any money with my car. Once I get the car back, I have to have it inspected so Lyft will let me drive again. I also have to get my license plate renewed by the end of the month. So on top of the deductible, there's a couple of other costs to add in order to get driving again, while not driving. It's always something.

We had a bit of a snow storm and I went out and got my physical exercise by shoveling. Living on a corner lot is a blessing and a curse. More ground to shovel, but less neighbors. I am in better shape than I was last winter when I shoveled so this time it wasn't too bad. The snow was also light and fluffy so it was easier to shovel. An old shoulder injury from the boats kind of reared its ugly head and I was sore for a couple of days but nothing too serious. It's raining right now, we had ice earlier and snow is expected later and then it's gonna get really cold. Winter in Chicago has finally arrived.

I did do a little bit of baking. Made a birthday cake for Eric, yellow cake with Hershey chocolate frosting. He enjoyed it and I do like the smell of baked goods in the apartment.

I did walk a couple of miles yesterday too. Had to take the snow globe I sold to the post office to ship it out. It was during the freezing rain, but still early enough so that it wasn't too dangerous. Also felt good to get outside and move a bit.

Haven't read much except for things on Facebook and Twitter. I now cannot look at my phone or my computer without wearing my glasses, and when I do, my eyes start to water and my vision gets blurry. Sometimes getting older is not glamorous at all. Technology can also hinder as well as help.

I watched the football playoffs on Sunday. The teams I wanted to win ended up losing so I'm not sure I'm going to watch the Super Bowl. Football is my favorite sport and the Super Bowl this year ends up being on my Dad's birthday so part of me feels I should watch it. It's going to be a long off-season. Maybe I'll just watch for the commercials and not really pay attention to the game. Sometimes it's easier when you don't have a team to root for and don't really care about the outcome.

That's about it. I'm still plugging along, working on what I can and anxiously waiting for the day when I can sit in my car for hours with strangers again.

Waiting For The Storm

I don't remember whether or not my parents listened closely to the weather reports or that the weather people told of impending storms more than a week away. I do know that I have been hearing about how we're going to have a "big storm" this weekend for about a week now. It was a winter storm watch yesterday so I went grocery shopping. I was told this morning that it was a Winter Storm Warning starting at 3pm. When it started to flurry around 2:15 I thought, uh-oh...earlier than they predicted, maybe it's going to be more than they thought. However, it only snowed for about an hour and now, it's 8:15pm and it's only snowing lightly again. There were a few flakes around 6:30 but nothing that stuck and definitely not the "SNOWMAGEDDON" they have been warning us about. I'm happy it's not too bad and I know that things can change and I could wake up tomorrow to a foot of snow, but for now, I'm just waiting.

I remember the Blizzard of '79 where we got FEET of snow and school was actually canceled and our garage roof collapsed. I remember the Valentine's Day blizzard a few years back when I had to trudge through snowbanks to be one of the only people to go to work (and our heater died).

I like snowstorms. Or I like at least 1 snowstorm a season. I like how it makes everything clean and quiet. I like getting the exercise of shoveling. I like making the first tracks in the snow. When I lived in Florida, people didn't understand that I missed snow. I guess growing up with it, you have a fondness for it.

So I'm ready for whatever happens. I have food. I have books. I am watching movies and Blue Planet II on Netflix. The NFL Playoffs are on TV on Sunday. The cats are snuggling on the couch and in their beds.

I'll let you know tomorrow if I have changed my mind about the snow.

Another Rough One

Ugh. Woke up today feeling really tired and down. Opened the door and the curtain and discovered it was snowing. The weatherman promised sun, but it never appeared. It did snow off and on all day. I know we're expecting a storm this weekend, but it didn't do anything for my mood. I made myself some breakfast and thought about going to the store. Also thought I might drive the PM rush hour for Lyft, but didn't do that either. I took a couple of naps which just made me more tired. Also developed a headache. That could be from the approaching storm, or my just general feel of malaise.

This weekend I'm gonna take pictures of all the things I plan to sell and put them up on eBay and Craigslist and maybe even Facebook. I think I'll feel better to get rid of some of this clutter. I also plan on driving for Lyft tomorrow night and Saturday night and Sunday brunch hours probably. Those were the times last year that I found to be more profitable for me.

I should be finished with one of the books I am reading tonight. I've also been cooking for myself a lot more which always makes me feel good.

I know this down phase is just a phase and it will pass. I usually get a little down after the holidays. After you take down the decorations, the house just seems so plain. The weather is dreary too. The older I get however, the faster the time goes and before long I'll be back on the water taxis and hopefully in captain's class.

For now I'm gonna go read my book and have a restful sleep. Ready for a busy, productive weekend.

Today is the First Day I've Felt Winter

One of the nice things about living in California for 3 years was the mild winters. I could survive California winters with a sweatshirt most times and we rarely ran the heat. It was nice, but I always find it weird to put up a Christmas tree while wearing shorts or while everything is still green.

Luckily, I moved back to Chicago in November and it was surprisingly mild here in the Midwest. I had lunch with a friend the first week I moved back and it was in the 70's. I was happy about the mild temps because I had lost most of my clothes in my "transition" period in L.A. and only had 3 pairs of shoes (2 pairs of sneakers and 1 pair of flip-flops). After the mild weather we got snow every weekend for about three weeks. Again, I didn't mind it because I hadn't experienced it in a few years. It was pretty, made it feel more like the holidays, etc.  After the snow, another mild streak. It was almost 40 degrees on Christmas and all the snow had melted.

Now the holidays are over and apparently so is the mild weather. This week we have had wind chills below zero all day for the past 3 days. I've been feeding some sparrows with a bird feeder on my porch and usually I can go out and sweep the seed debris away without having to get bundled up. Yesterday, sweeping was cold. I went out Friday night and it was cold. Again though, I haven't minded it. I've missed seeing my breath and frost on the windows.

Today that changed. I got up early to go to the grocery store and I needed to put gas in the car. I bought some mittens when I first got back because I knew I'd need something. It's hard to pump gas in mittens. So standing at the gas station this morning waiting for the gas to finish it's journey into my car, I was cold. My face was cold, my hands were cold, and even though I was wearing warm boots and a jacket, I was cold. I was cold when I got back into the car and put my mittens back on. It took me almost the entire drive to the grocery store to warm up. Leaving the grocery store I was cold again. The bottle of juice I bought started to fog up as I walked from the store back to my car. My trunk hesitated before opening. The sun was shining, but I couldn't wait to get the groceries back upstairs, feed the sparrows and be inside for the rest of the day.

Winter is here and now I know it.