Muddle

Another day missed, but this time it's not PG&E's fault. It was a personal power outage this time. After shopping and then reading the Internets for a while I just ran out of energy and fell asleep, not waking up until almost midnight. It has taken this long to get my brain functioning again. I never got around to making dinner, and now I don't know if I should bother, or just microwave something, or open another can of soup. My brain may be functioning, but not very well. Even trivial decisions resist being made.

It's very cold out. I went outside, hoping the nocturnal chill would energize me, but it hasn't. Maybe I should just try to go back to sleep.


( Belated Sunday Verse )

Cold, Of Course

Clouds, probably full of ice crystals, brought us a splendid sunset this evening. The good thing about winter sunsets is that they are as much to the south as they are to the west. My view to the west is blocked by nearby stands of pine trees, but to the south the only serious blockage is almost a quarter of a mile distant, where a long row of pines once served as a windbreak for the apple orchard that is to be converted into a park. A long bank of clouds hovering over the valley gave the trees a fiery backdrop which was quite impressive, and extended far up into the sky.

There's a good view southward from my back yard, and had it not been so cold out I would have stayed out and watched that sunset until it faded into night. As it was, I had to bring my freezing ears indoors after just a few minutes. Sadly, the only windows on the south side of my house provide only a view of the house next door, so that was the end of my viewing.

My PG&E bill arrived and, as I'd feared it might, it nosed $200, which is fifty dollars or more above my usual December bill. I might be shuddering at the thought of January's bill, but I'm unable to tell because I lowered the thermostat another two degrees and can't tell if that's a shudder I'm experiencing, or just a shiver from the chill in the room.

I'm about to move myself into the living room to watch television from under my blankets, but first I must take the trash wheelie bins out to the street. Bonus: After a minute or two out there the house might not seem so cold for a while. In a Sierra piedmont winter one must be thankful for such small favors.