Mystery Storm

We weren't sure what to expect from the much-hyped impending snowstorm. Unlike many winter events around here, this time temperatures were predicted to stay well below freezing throughout the storm and into the next week. And yet, because of warmer air aloft, the snow was also forecast to turn to a wintry mix before ending, which would refreeze on the ground. 

The result was a shower of tiny ice pellets that lasted throughout the day, leaving several inches of granular, almost sand-like snow that partially filled in footsteps as they were left. This unusual precipitation was pretty, but too cold to pack, hard to walk in, and heavy in the shovel. It was fun to slide down the hill on, though. 

Whatever it is? Is still coming down out there, a little wetter now, with temps in the high 20s slated to fall to the teens after midnight. So who even knows what twe'll see in the morning?

You Dropped Something

I laughed when our cat Tibby bolted past me this morning into the bathroom as I came out. She dashed over to the water bowl we keep in the corner for the pets and nosed something indignantly. It seems I inadvertently swept a small bottle of ibuprofen off the counter while performing my morning ablutions, and Tibby wanted me to get it out of there. 

Message received!

No Need to Panic

My plan was to swing by Trader Joe's early and pick up some fresh produce to get us through the coming storm. I had plenty of pantry staples and protein options in the freezer, so some fruit and veggies were all I really needed. Well, those and a gift card for a friend's birthday today, but I figured I'd be in and out in a few minutes, even if the lines were long with other shoppers. 

I did not expect to see a line of twenty people or more waiting outside the store to be let in, though, and neither was I willing to wait in it! A friend had texted me last night, joking about emergency shopping and sending a picture of the huge parking lot at Wegman's, completely full of cars. "Amazon Fresh is fully stocked," he added. 

That's where I headed, too, driving right across the street from the shopping center with TJs. I grabbed myself a smart cart, scanned the in-store QR code, and added everything I needed directly into my reusable bags. Then I skipped the checkout line and rolled out of the store. Meanwhile, across the street, that line was getting longer.

I'm sure our friend will understand the IOU in her birthday card!

I Guess He'll Find Out

 "It has to be lunch time!" the little boy in front of me whispered to the kid next to him. "I'm starving!"

"You can't die from hunger," the other student answered dismissively.

"Yes, you can!" he insisted.

"Not in school," she shrugged.

I looked at the clock. It was only 9 am, and lunch wasn't until 10:45. 

That Worked Out

"Do one small thing that will set you up to accomplish what you want in the next six months," my meditation guru advised yesterday morning. As I considered her words, I thought of all the trouble I have been having with my right foot since I turned my ankle in Maine last summer. 

Despite custom orthotics, exercises, NSAIDs, and a variety of splints and braces, my heel screams every time I walk farther than a few yards. I've been toughing it out, but if I want to get in shape to take advantage of that reservation I finally scored in theGrand Canyon Phantom Ranch lottery, I need to be 100 percent. 

With that in mind, I opened the portal to schedule an appointment with my podiatrist and was pleasantly surprised to find availability this morning at 9:45. He saw me right away and offered several treatment options. One was PT, which happened to be right across the hall.  

Another was an X-ray. "Do I have to call to schedule?" I asked. "You can go there right now," he said. "They'll take you today." The third was a prescription-strength anti-inflammatory, which he sent to my pharmacy. 

After scheduling my follow-up appointment in four weeks, I walked over to PT and booked three sessions. Then I drove up to the hospital and had barely sat down after checking-in when they took me back for my X-ray. I was out of there so fast, I didn't even have to pay for parking. As I headed out of the garage, my phone buzzed; it was the pharmacy: my prescription was ready, so I stopped on the way home to pick it up. 

I walked in the front door less than two hours after leaving home, with a sense of accomplishment and optimism that my foot will soon be better.

Crisis or Opportunity?

I know myself well enough to understand that doing something active early in the day usually gives me positive results. Once I get started, I stay started, but the temptation to sit a while reading the news and drinking coffee can be powerful now that I'm retired. With no strict schedule, I can sit there for hours, and soon it's time to walk Lucy and wait for Heidi to come home. Not much gets accomplished on days like that.

Tuesdays are usually pretty productive; I'm up at 6 to get Heidi off to school, and I have my bowling league at 10. Even so, I sometimes skip my meditation and have to rush through breakfast and showering, just to linger in my comfy chair. 

This morning, though, as I opened the bedroom drapes, the curtain rod came crashing down when the center bracket screw pulled out of the wall. Consequently, I was up on a ladder with drill and drywall anchor in hand, making the repair before 7:00 am. 

Now that got me going! Meditation, shower, and breakfast were all checked off my list by 8:45, and I even had a few minutes to relax in my chair before heading out to bowling.

Anglophilia

My brother and I were recently talking about our mutual admiration of the actress Claire Foy. We agreed that she was luminous as the young Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, and it seems as if she's been a bit underutilized since. 

I was just telling my sister yesterday about my new pastime of reading magazines for free on the public library app. I'm especially fond of those published in other countries; they offer a glimpse into everyday life and culture that feels immersive. They also cover topics that are not widely reported on in the US publications I usually read. 

For example, this morning I read about a new movie based on Helen Macdonald's memoir H is for Hawk, which I read and loved when it came out a decade ago (right around the time the early episodes of The Crown were first broadcast). 

And, what do you know? As HELLO! magazine informed me, the main character is being played by Claire Foy!