Oval Walking

After we had an icy snowfall, two neighbors checked on me to make sure I wasn’t planning to walk. I didn’t the first day because the road was white. There was a good chance there was ice under the snow. I was surprised the ice slid off my car when the sun shone on it. The next day I could see the road in front of my house was clear, and I dressed for the single-digit temperature. What a surprise to find the road white from Holly’s house to Joyce’s driveway! Finding it slippery, I turned back. It was a shame to waste all that layering of clothing, so I walked an oval path on the dry road to the end of the street and back. That is basically just in front of Logan’s house. After ten loops, I had walked half an hour and was willing to go inside.

After going through my morning routine, I decided to write this. When I got up to make tea, I told myself to walk an oval path inside the house, circling around an inside wall. That will be my rule for the rest of the day – to circle at least twice before sitting again. Although I haven’t changed the thermostat, the house is uncomfortably cool when I sit still. I’m wearing thermal underwear, street clothes, a warm throw that Linda made for me, and a thin blanket on my shoulders. Lurking just under the surface is the idea that I COULD climb in bed and snuggle under the winter duvet if my teeth begin to chatter. A cup of hot chocolate might come first.

I am Invisible!

I am not only invisible, I have photos to prove it. As soon as I woke up, I rushed to the French doors to see what the weather was doing. The forecast of snow was not living up to my expectations. There was only dreary rain. Wait! I now had an extra hour of the day, because I don’t walk in rain. I looked at the conditions outside and decided to delight in the freedom of the day. That’s when I noticed my usual self reflected in the glass, only I wasn’t there. Only my socks showed! Of course, I reached for the camera.

They say cameras don’t lie. Should I believe what I saw? Another photo aimed at all of me should show me the truth. Deceptively, I could see right through myself to the deck railing. Now, if only I can learn to harness this new power at will!!

Turning Back

Normally I have great determination to do what I set out to do. Something, more likely Someone, nudged me to turn back on the icy road. It looked about the same as yesterday, but testing the ice told me it was slicky and dangerous for walking. The ice had melted and refrozen so that the gravel was covered, giving no traction. When I walked back home, I noticed Holly’s car was warming up. In minutes she would be driving where I refused to walk. I laughed at the difficulty I had in taking the phone out of my pocket and getting it unlocked. Dictation was the only way to get my message on the screen, but I was able to warn her in time. She let me know when she got to work safely.

Instead of giving up the walk, I did three laps from my driveway to the icy road and three short laps in front of neighbor Julie’s house. Julie came out with dog Mickey. She listened to my warning, but she felt it was safe for her to walk in the leaves. Indeed she was safe! She is more nimble and sure-footed than I am. I would not have stepped down, well off the road into the leaves.

I went home when I thought I’d been out long enough. It was 18F -7.778C, and my nose felt like a snowman’s carrot. Perfect! I went inside about the same time I would have if I had walked to the stop sign. Hopefully I won’t see anyone soon in case I am tempted to boast of being sensible, for a change.

Spell checker objected to my word “slicky”. It suggested SLICKLY. Has anyone ever used slickly in a sentence in your hearing???

First Bus/Weather Failure

For two and a half years, the on-call bus service has served my needs wonderfully well. Today it failed. I was dressed and waiting to be picked up at 7:30 for my 9:10 appointment. At 7:47 the phone rang, and I was told the drivers would not drive on icy roads. I asked the woman if she knew of any other way I could get to my appointment. She was apologetic, but the answer was no. I had driven to town easily yesterday. She thought melting snow had refrozen, causing the problem this morning.

There was no time to take a photo of my wild, deer-in-the-headlights face. Joyce told me yesterday that she was going to take her car to the repair shop. I already knew Shawn was in Asheville for an early appointment. I texted Cindy, thought for a moment and texted D. D was going to her volunteer job, and we all know volunteers are impossible to replace. Before I could get properly desperate, Cindy offered to take me AND stay there to take me home! Her own appointment in Sylva was not until afternoon. I’m sure you can understand how very grateful I was.

Cindy found a good place to park at the doctor’s office and walked in with me. My jaw dropped as I saw a bus pull away from the entrance as we walked toward it. What??? Why did they just drop off someone when they wouldn’t pick me up? I’m wondering if the drivers saw the line-up before setting out and canceled any they felt could be dangerous.

From that point, the day veered off in a wonderful direction. Cindy is so much fun to be with. We laughed all the way there, in the waiting room, and all the way home. My eyes have settled enough that I can get glasses now. Hooray! From a distance, Karen shared her experience of wearing both hearing aids and glasses at the same time. Neighbor Shawn offered to go with me to pick out frames on Friday. What fun! I’ve never had instant playback while struggling to make a decision that could rest on my face for years to come. Friends, family, neighbors, and bloggers make a fantastic cheering squad. Oh! I have been blessed in so many ways!

Substitute Walker

Most of the Christmas decorations had been put away, but the dishes were still in the dishwasher on Epiphany. I ran it when it was full and loaded the dishes on a trolley in the kitchen. It was very simple to roll it to the storage closet. That was an epiphany moment – how easy it was to use the trolley as a walker!

The only drawback is that I supplied the power AND the brakes. Can you imagine how this would play out? I would roll merrily along, stumble, tumble, and those dishes would break on my head and back. I’m glad I thought of that before it was too late.

Cold Weather

We are gearing up for winter storm Cora that is supposed to hit tomorrow. Already the start time has slipped back by several hours. Despite that, a number of closures have already been announced.

I don’t know exactly how cold it was when I walked this morning. I replaced batteries in one of the outdoor thermometers, and its screen refused to show the temperature. At first I thought the cold broke it, but later at 9:30 it showed 14 degrees. In preparation at 8:00, I added one thing to my normal clothing – pulling the hood of the sweatshirt over the knit hat Karen H. made for me years ago. Legs encased in only jeans stayed warm. People visibly waved back at me, and one even waved before I did! I imagined they were rewarding my dedication.

Holly stopped her car on her way to work and voiced what everyone really thought – you are crazy. I wish she had asked me, “Are you crazy?” If she had, I would have given her John’s stock answer, “No, but it helps.”

I made an emergency run to Dollar General for tissues, batteries, and hand lotion. I had gotten eggs, milk, and bread three days ago. That’s what David calls ingredients for French toast — the items most people get the day before a storm. Mine was ordinary shopping, not part of the storm frenzy. I found my car has a glove warmer!! My gloves were too big to fit in coat pockets, so I turned to put them on the car seat. That’s when I found the glove warmer – strong sunlight shining on the seat. When I came back, the gloves were toasty warm.

Returning Home

Brother Bob and Beth drove me home after I’d spent five days at their house. Although the day was cold, it was clear and sunny. What a pleasant drive it was! I didn’t pay attention to the time, but I think it takes about three hours one way. I quickly made a tuna casserole, heated frozen vegetables, and cut up an apple. Eating gave them a chance to relax a little before making that long drive home.

I don’t remember how we got on the subject of ceiling fans, but I learned something I didn’t know. Fans have a switch so that you can change the direction from clockwise to counter-clockwise. I must be the last person on earth to find that out. Going counter-clockwise is best for hot weather, and going the other way helps in cold weather. Before we got here, I had already decided I’d rather have the fan set for hot weather. I’m not really enthusiastic about having a fan stirring the air in the winter. While I put lunch on the table, Bob checked all the fans by turning them on briefly. Every one was set for summer. Good! We walked around the house and spotted the switches just for the fun of it.

What a wonderful visit had had with them!

New Year’s Day 2025

Brother Bob and I spent almost all day transferring files from his old computer to the new one. The copying was slow, so we’d wander away and do a few other things while waiting.

Beth marinated pork tenderloin, and Bob cooked it on the grill. What a tender, tasty treat! She served the obligatory black eyed peas, a traditional dish for the first day of the year.

When the computer project was completed, Bob said, “Let’s go see Christmas lights!” They knew Tanglewood Park had a spectacular display to drive through. I couldn’t help exclaiming over all the lights that made things appear to move. It might have taken half an hour to go through the whole thing. I picked two photos to show a tiny bit of what we saw.

New Year’s Eve 2024

I had a new experience after 80 years – cooking with my brother. We wanted to help Beth as much as possible, so we diced things and assembled corn chowder for the family gathering. He pointed me to the measuring spoons, and we doled out the seasonings. There was a spoon larger than a Tablespoon, and I laughed as we both tried to read what it was. Bob’s eyesight is much better than mine, but he had distance glasses on. I put on readers and still couldn’t say with certainty what we were looking at. We didn’t need that for the soup, so I took a photo as we continued.

What a marvelous family gathering we had! I hadn’t seen Bob’s daughter Julie and her Mike for ages. I saw his daughter Kathie on my birthday, and she brought her son Max to this party. I don’t remember when I last saw Beth’s daughter Susan and Bill. I took a video as we sat around talking. It’s too dark, but you might be able to see people laughing as the scene opens.

We talked, ate, and laughed for about four hours. Those who drove from a distance should have gotten home before it was fully dark.

Beth and I were chatting after everything was cleaned up. She intended to be in bed before midnight. I saw that it was only three minutes to go before the new year would begin, so she put the TV on for me to see the ball drop in Times Square. That somehow made it seem more official for me.

Street Decorations in Greensboro

After dark on December 30, we drove about half an hour to Greensboro to see a huge neighborhood collection of Christmas decorations. Some years ago neighbors decided to hang balls of lights in trees. It spread so that now there is a big area where most folks decorate their yards. They agree to have the lights on during a certain period before Christmas. Participation is voluntary after the 25^th, so we probably missed some.

We drove around and ended at the booth where food for charity was collected. Beth and Bob had brought canned goods and left them there. It was a marvelous experience for me.