A few days off in the middle of the week, in mid-Winter

A few days off in the middle of the week, in mid-Winter

I work at a very popular shoe store, performance wear, aka running/walking/trail shoes. But, even we have slow periods. So more time off.

I wake up under the eaves of my Tiny House—sometimes my nose is cold and sometimes my sleeping body heat has warmed the upstairs. It is incredibly cozy lying under blankets on a soft pillow in the half light of a winter morning. This a.m. it was a little hard to get out of bed, I wanted to stay forever in that netherworld of dream, but . . . Day called.

Most mornings, nature calls. I quickly climb down from my loft bed on a sturdy oak ladder specially built for me and the Tiny House. Next is a series of actions not in any particular order:

Visit the composting toilet, screened off in a corner
Change out of fleece sleep slippers into lamb’s wool Uggs
Don a sweater or insulated shacket from Patagonia
Switch on kettle, prep tea
Pills—thyroid and Vitamin D
Shovel

That’s right. I go outside in the cold. Today maybe 14 degrees. (Weather predicted to get even colder by weekend.) I love the brisk activity, a wake-up call, the sound and feel of the shovel scraping the wooden deck, knowing I’m clearing it off for my grandsons, son-in-law about to head out to the hospital. My daughter sometimes puts on the light. I see her inside the glow of her kitchen at the table doing her morning writing while the boys sort themselves out with breakfast and cartoons. Just a little morning TV, then off for many hours. Sometimes, especially on cold days, she’ll have a crackling fire screensaver playing.

I come inside and pour off the tea and light a candle and put on my music. This is scene setting. A way of telling myself to not grow weary in winter, with all the cold and snow. Even as I do this more snow falls, coating the just shoveled deck. Oh, well.

Then time for meditation/devotions/some intentional quiet time, maybe a little mental planning. I know I want to write a bit on these days off. Yet, I’m also frustrated by the news, this new computer that has somehow made things easier and harder. I can’t access my printer—too old, I guess—it expects me to use Bluetooth technology—so the speakers on my desk are now obsolete. I have struggled with these changes, trying to make things work—I’m at the point where I’m giving in. I ordered a Bluetooth speaker and will check Marketplace and Next Door for free or reasonable printer. I just want to occasionally print, not become a copy shop.

Does all this sound boring? I hope so. I’m not thinking of Prince Harry or Meghan Markle or Greenland or the meeting in Davos—though my phone wants me to know. And, yes, the stupidity is relentless. It’s out there, like the wolf in the snow, the rabbit running along the fence. This interpretation sounds quaint compared to real life. So, I avoid that for now,

After breakfast I can think about the writing.

I have several blogs I keep up with. There’s Substack, Memoirous, Facebook, JaneHertenstein.com where I announce a new piece has been published. Happy and sad at the same time. It’s out there in the world, and it’s now out there, gone, no longer viable for submission. Which means I have to make more stuff. Which means cupping my hands under my chin, staring out the French doors to outside and pondering the snow. I don’t know. What’s next.