There Were Snowflakes...

piled up on my windshield wiper when I drove home from work yesterday.  Look!  And right now it's about 22 degrees out there.  It's supposed to rocket up to the high 40s (big whoop) and be all sunny today (that part I like), stay that "warm" for a day or two, then sink back to below freezing.  *sigh*  I think we're doomed.  Winter's coming, and coming fast.  DS & DIL1 came for DS's birthday supper last night.  Durwood made chicken cacciatore and steamed carrots with a little tossed salad to start; I made chocolate-covered cherry cupcakes for dessert.  DS brought a bottle of red wine (we don't know what kind of wine is good) that was perfect with the chocolate cake.  I confess I had a little more with my dessert.  DS and I went down to check on the kraut, it's doing fine, and we all had a nice meal and visit.  We got him a DIY cookbook from America's Test Kitchen that he'll have fun cooking out of; it shows how to make cheeses and bacon and sausages and all kinds of stuff, even Oreos.  Now I can get behind making those.  Did you see they have Oreos with red filling for the holidays?  I looked at them the other day; I'm sure they're only red coloring but they're strangely alluring.  I love Oreos; I could eat them ALL.  Today's Photo a Day theme is "where you slept."  Lame.  Who wants to see our bed?  It's boring and bland so I'm giving you a picture of where we slept... in Bonaire last time we were there.  I want to look at warm things today so you have to too, not that I think you'll mind.  Wouldn't you rather be in a nice warm and sunny place with the clear and salty ocean just a block away?  Don't you wish you were where you could make a picnic and drive a couple miles to the beach where you could have a little dive then sit in the shade in the sand and munch your sandwich and bowl of fruit salad?  Yeah, I do too.  I want to be there RIGHT NOW but I can't be because I have to go to work and besides we think it'd be too hard for Durwood to fly anymore so we're exploring places we can drive to; I'm good with that but that doesn't make me want to be on an island in the Caribbean any less, especially now that it's freezing outside.  Freezing.  That means winter jacket and gloves and a hat, warm socks, a long-sleeved shirt with a sweater and most of the time some sort of shawl or scarf over my shoulders when I'm sitting at work hunched over my knitting.  Oh, I had a customer yesterday, a real one who bought something with a check.  That's nearly like real money, well, it's real-er than a credit card.  He was a nice friendly guy too so I got to talk to someone.  It was good.

November 13--France, Cluster Brooch with Letters Spelling "Amor"  He put the brooch on her bare breast.  She shivered at the cold metal's touch but couldn't take her eyes off the gold and pearls around an emerald.  "Is this for me?" she asked, touching the amazing thing with her finger.  He leaned over and breathed on the brooch.  Again she shivered as he warmed it.  "Of course it's for you.  I'm not so cruel as to taunt you with it, am I?"  She shook her head and smiled.  "No, of course not, you're not cruel at all," she said a little shakily.  She moved to rise from the divan but he pinned her there with his arm.  "I give you a gift and you leave?"  A red flush washed up his neck.  "No," she said, "oh no, I just... I got cold and I want a robe."  She squirmed but he didn't release her.

I think I'm going to cook up some nice piping hot oatmeal for breakfast with a few dried cherries in it because it's so cold and that's a real stick-to-your-ribs breakfast.  Also cherries.  What's not to like?  I have to work today.  I never work on Tuesdays.  And then I have tomorrow off.  I always work on Wednesdays.  This is very confusing.  Good thing it only lasts a week.  Sayonara.

--Barbara Sue