A Dark and Stormy Night

I am thinking this morning that those of us who live in areas with all this snow are becoming tunnel people. The snow banks are so high that in many instances a human cannot peer over them. Walkways are tunnels through the snow, roads are tunnels through the snow, driveways are tunnels through the snow. No problem staying on the straight and narrow path here!

-31C this morning, 16C in the warmest part of the house, 12C by the insulated exterior wall, and a LOT colder by the windows, we have a lot of windows! Anyway, I look like the abominable snowman, layers and layers! I am one hot looking woman! We should have it warmed up by tonight. And it is snowing, still.

My birthday celebration is well under way. Whole wheat pancakes topped with fresh sliced USA strawberries, and a big glass of cold 1% milk for breakfast, courtesy of Attila. For dinner he will prepare a roast turkey dinner. He has already baked a chocolate cake, and made sure that there was ice cream in the freezer to go with it. The house smells wonderful! The oven will be on all day, hurray for warmth and food!

It was a dark and stormy night. It was snowing, and occasionally ice pellets fell with the snow. Roads were slippery. There was a stiff wind, so that the cold was penetrating (24F, -4C). It was warm though, in the little room where I was born, out of the wind, safe from the snow and ice pellets. My memory of the event is nebulous, consisting of physical awareness, concerned voices, and pain. The cord was wrapped round my neck. The birth was a difficult one, I was a big baby, almost eleven pounds, and my mother is a petit woman. My life was saved by being pulled into this life, not so gently, by my right arm. It was never the same; I have grown to love it and cherish it for the blessings it has brought into my life. I have never accepted any perception of me that was defined by my right arm. It has been my best opportunity in life, allowing me to understand the worth of tolerance, kindness, compassion, dignity, perseverance. I have always been grateful to be alive, perhaps because my arrival was so tenuous.

The warmth of birthday wishes that have come my way are wonderful indeed; I almost [almost] don’t need the roaring fire for warmth.

This year, I feel ecstatic to be as old as I am, and healthy. It doesn’t get any better!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-31°C
Date: 6:00 AM EST Sunday 26 January 2014
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 100.5 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -31.0°C
Dewpoint: -34.4°C
Humidity: 73%
Wind: calm

Quote

“Integrity has no need of rules.”
Albert Camus