Thaw in Everyday Ramblings

This is late morning today. Today! It was supposed to thaw yesterday. I still couldn’t make it to my own personal grocery store though I did make it to a store and got fruit and eggs and tortillas.

You can see these very confused late (or early) blooming yellow iris out there in the icy mix up melt across the street. Bleh.

I finally got out, went to my Weight Watchers meeting across town but it was a lot more difficult to navigate than I had expected. I ended up canceling my looked forward to walk with Ms. Frida the poodle and Mrs. Sherlock. Broke my heart. I ended up taking the bus back. Our Steel Bridge was a reflective sheet of ice including the light rail tracks.

My stomach was tied in knots the whole time I was out. Even properly geared up it was scary. Bleh. Bleh.

The temperature stayed 1 degree above freezing for three days! We finally saw an increase this afternoon and it is finally navigable out there. Oh happy and most longed for day.

I can deal with cold; I can deal with proper snow, but this I cannot deal with. I marvel at the guy out riding his bike in the dark at 6:30 in the morning as I left the house. There were almost 40 people at my meeting but I bet I am the only one who did not come in a car.

At least the buses, while late, were pretty empty. And I have never been in a grocery store with so few shoppers. The produce stockers were all talking to me and I had to go look for someone to check me out.

I don’t seem to be able to engage with Christmas this year. I am under orders not to spend any money (other than maybe for a chocolate bar each) on my family. We all basically have everything we need, at least the folks I am closest to, and there is still a big chunk of change going out for the dental work next year.

The organization for which I work is making a change in how it records accrued vacation and sick leave that is going to affect my pension I found out on Friday. This all has to be negotiated with the Union but I need to keep my eyes on the prize and retire a year early if I can possibly do that. It is all head-spinningly complicated.

If they don’t gut the law I get Medicare in 2 ½ years (and that is a big if, thank you Koch Brothers and Trump supporters) but my full retirement benefits don’t kick in for 3 ½ years.

What I need is a healthy guy with four-wheel drive and a weakness for rowdy gray cats and gifted gentle yoga teachers who can share living expenses with me that transitional year.

Hey, I have useful skills! I can tell a Sharp Shinned Hawk from a Coopers Hawk and happily read for hours without the need for attention.

I do wonder sometimes if I am going to spend the rest of my life on my own. It is a practical point of view and the main one I hold considering the demographics and my innate ease with being on my own.

Hmmm. Even in the midst of a winter thaw (even though officially it won’t be winter for 10 days) are the seeds of spring.

Somebody just shook up the snow globe is all.