It is 6:30 a.m., I’ve been up and about for several hours. Attila left for work half an hour ago. It is a lovely time of day, at this time of year. The coloured lights on the Christmas Tree cast twinkling colour on the tinsel, as the forced air heating sets the airwaves in motion on either side of the room. My old hand made lamp casts a soft light from the far corner. It is warm inside these walls, and very cold just a few feet away, beyond the border of shelter.
The light is beginning to creep into the sky. My coffee cup sits empty beside me. Soon it will be time to rise from this comfortable chair, to prepare breakfast, and then to begin the day’s activities. I linger in the soft light, just a little while longer.
Attila and I are continuing to “try”, a complex shared activity that seems to be progressing slowly but surely (I think!).
Here I am writing again as the day begins to close. It is very cold outside, but Mist Cottage is warm and cozy, thanks to our most marvellous thermostat. My day passed quietly, crochet hook in hand, sitting in the warm sun, comfortable in my easy chair. Yesterday shovelling snow was my exercise for the day, today it was the elliptical machine for thirty minutes. I have slowly worked my way up to a half an hour on the machine, having started at fifteen minutes. So far it is very easy on my arthritic knees.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-13°C
Date: 6:00 AM EST Wednesday 13 December 2017
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 100.1 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: -12.6°C
Dew point: -16.9°C
Humidity: 71%
Wind: NW 21 km/h
Wind Chill: -21
Visibility: 19 km
Quote
“Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne
1804 – 1864
Sounds like a perfect day. -Kate
It *is* very cold outside, and we’re getting more snow. I don’t think this set will be reaching you, as we seem to be on the northern most edge. Fortunately, by the time we leave tomorrow at 5AM, the snow is supposed to have completely left our travel route. Thank goodness.
I’m glad to hear the elliptical is working for you. Do you have a problem with your knee going out, Maggie? I’m trying to determine if an elliptical might work for me, though I do have a balance issue that might be problematic.
It sounds like a wonderful day! Like Teri, I sometimes lose my balance, so I have an ancient Nordic Trak that I use. I can hold on to the bar lol.
Kate, it was very nourishing! -Maggie
Happy trails Teri, I hope you enjoy your vacation!
My knees are arthritic, they don’t go out, they become hot and very painful when bothered. I don’t know if the elliptical would be easy on knees that go out, but you could try one out in the store to see how it feels to you, maybe you could tell from that, there is no impact as there is with walking. I too have balance issues, and the eliiptical takes care of all that, there is a cushion at chest level that I can lean on and the handles are substantial so that I am always holding on to something solid and reliable. For my particular problems the elliptical is a very good option.
Sandy, how lucky I am to have days like this, how very lucky!
Having something to hang on to is crucial on these machines, I was lucky that the one I ordered sight unseen, cheapest option available, turned out to be what I needed.
Your descriptions are just right, and as I was reading today’s, I was thinking of Attila – and how he would describe his early morning hours if he were writing a blog such as this? What would he have described? Happiness at the charms of the season? Does he like the changing seasons and all the work they require? He’s a worker-bee for sure, but when a body retires, as I have now for a few years, it’s easier to find the loveliness in a life than it is when you are working/working/working all the hours of the day. Does he plan to retire anytime soon? Will he be happy with free hours to pursue his interests as he wishes rather than going off to work? It’s a lucky man or woman who works at a job they adore, but that really doesn’t apply to most of the population, I think. We work in order to survive. I don’t know why I am off on this tangent? Most of our snow is gone, only stubborn patches here and there remain.
Bex, when we moved to the country house Attila loved the outdoors, didn’t seem to mind winter at all! He grew up in a nice warm house in the north, was comfortable all through is childhood, loved the winter, did a lot of cross country skiing, saunas, a good life.
But the country house changed his views, the endless shovelling, the constant work to keep the house warm enough to be habitable, and worst of all, working outside all winter long in the extreme cold (-30C and below)… he HATES the cold weather and the snow now.
Attila will not be able to retire for many years, we have our fingers crossed that we will both have our health when that day comes, he looks forward to it with fervour. Attila is quite capable of, and happy to occupy his time as he pleases, he only works because he must, and would abandon it in a split second if he could mange it financially.
An interesting tangent!