Adjusting

After a bit of initial struggle, I've slipped into this winter as easily as I would into a comfortable sweater. I wouldn't say it is exactly mild, but January thus far has been less intense than I feared. The windows are open into the evening, and I am using but four blankets on the bed. There were a couple of nights when, after being outside for only a minute or two, my pants brushing against my leg felt as though they had been frozen stiff, but even that didn't bother me as much as it did in previous years. In part, this may be due to the fact that I'm leaving the heater vent in my room closed, for Sluggo's benefit, and I'm gradually growing accustomed to being colder all the time. But I think that a major factor is the horrendous heat of last July. The memory of it still makes me sweat. So pleased am I that it is over, that I am more appreciative of the cold. But, we shall see what happens if we get a frigid storm and a few feet of snow. I might then wish I were back in July.

Empty of deer, thrifty of clouds, dimly lit by the waning moon, this night has passed quietly with only the occasional whisper of soft wind in the pines. There was but one brief moment of excitement when my elderly cat suddenly decided to be inexplicably kittenish and went romping about the room, upsetting a number of objects and scratching furiously at the upholstery. The outburst was soon over, and now, having tuckered herself out, she is sleeping on the center of the bed, from which position I must soon roust her. I don't care how peaceful she looks, I am not letting her take her half out of the middle!

One other thing. I would be pleased if my prankish pant cuffs would stop untieing my shoes every few minutes. I suppose they'll give up the game after they've been softened by a few more washings. Ah, pants. I sometimes think we'd be so much better off without them, but naked I would be too cold, and I doubt I'd look good in even the nicest of frocks. Maybe I should just wear loafers until the pants lose their stiffness. I'll sleep on it.

There's MORE?

Dear LJ Friends,

Please quit updating faster than I can read.

Thanks,

Joe.


It turned almost warm here today. In fact, a gladiolus plant by the fence has decided to bloom. A few more such days, and the camellias will be bursting out of their buds. I don't want winter to end this soon! I'm just now getting comfortable with it. And I certainly don't want a false spring, fooling the plants into blooming and then freezing them.

The cool evening air flooding through the open window feels very nice, though.

Oh, I was looking something up in the dictionary and found this:

nard A fragrant ointment, esp. one of the ancients, believed to have been derived from the plant Nardostachys jatamansi; also, this plant; spikenard.

Heh. Someone should tell Craig Kilborn.