State of me... in These titles mean nothing.

It’s 7 am, Saturday morning, ten degrees below zero.

I have been up for an hour or so, mostly in the basement, playing, working, dealing with the fire and reading The Sportwriter by Richard Ford. He’s writing about how boring the past it and it is boring. I plan to stick it out though. It has an authenticity that I am kind of drawn to.

I am now at the re-cluttered kitchen table, heating up yesterday’s left over coffee in the smaller of the two blue enamel saucepans and making whole wheat toast for peanut butter and toast.

I just took a couple pictures of the cold sunrise and I am putting them in the computer and plan to look at them and hoist a couple up to Photobucket and share them here.

I also brought up a Menard’s flyer which I was pleased to see still has fine print lines of quotes or advice or philosophy across the bottom of its pages.

Meanwhile, Stripey Butt clings to the top of the screen panel of the screen door and looks in at me. I go to let him in but he won’t let go of the screen and I stand there with both doors open trying to get him to let go. I close the doors and come back to the table and look back at him and tell him he has to get down on the porch floor before I will let him in. He does and I do, and that part oft he morning’s ritual is over.

Coffee is hot by now and in my First Nations cup. Toast is toast and a little hard but tastes pretty good slathered with Chunky Skippy.

Pictures are now up in Photobucket and here is the first one.

Some of us have been together a long time and know that I’ve taken this picture many times and posted it in an on-line diary many times. But this is today’s picture and there is only one today. We are here. We are to do what is to be done. We are to help each other. That is life.

Menards is a midwestern chain of home supply store slash lumberyards. Their slogan was written by Radio Bob who runs the radio station in college town next door. It goes like this: Save Big Money When You Shop Menards. It repeats.

There are two Menards in LaCrosse, an old one and a new one. We get fliers. I rarely look at them, but when I do, I read the quotes.

Examples:
- You attract the right things when you have a senses of who you are. - Amy Poehler.
- The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. - Dr. Seuss.
- Failure is success if we learn from it. - Malcolm Forbes
- Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. - Booker T. Washington.

Those were the quotes in fine print at the bottom of the first four pages of the January 11 through 17 Menards flyer. Pretty good, aren’t they? I would love to know who chooses them and how much effort goes into doing it and whose executive decision it is to have them there. Almost gives you faith in capitalism.

Here’s another sunrise pic.

The venerable walnuts. The barn with its cupolo. The domed silo roof that the pigeons love. The ice on the window of the cellar door. We’ve all been here a long time. You know me. You know my setting. We sail the ship of seasons. Thus is life.

I’m somewhat pissed at the cats. The black cat who has just had the expensive trip to town has knocked over a stack of my books that were leaning against the living room wall. I can take that as an opportunity to see what books were stacked behind the ones that are now on the floor. I have them stacked two layers deep in that particular location. She has also tipped over a rather sad planter - a dark blue speckled with white ancient enamel wash basin with holes in the bottom. It was full of extremely dry potting soil and an if not completely dead than right next to it ivy plant. Some cat, probably the same one, knocked a bunch of semi-used chore gloves off the bench in the basement. I already picked them up.

Oh well.

Here’s the third sunrise picture.

Have a happy day, everyone. It’s Saturday!

By the way, I’m happy today.
I feel good. Life is a good thing.