I’ve seen colder. Minus 7 this morning and I wouldn’t want to be outside for long. Were I a mailman, I would be so bundled-up I would look like a toddler in two snowsuits and I can’t imagine putting my mittened-hands into the mail pouch. Well, for one thing, I wouldn’t be able to bend my arm.

Shane appears to like the cold and snow; he goes out and embraces the cold and snowflakes, flashing his big, big smile. Of course, he knows that he isn’t really on the high plains and all he has to do is turn around and trot back inside. Maybe there’s some Walter Mitty in that dog.

I am here, warm and snug, looking out at a night that is not at all dark because the ground and most other horizontal and somewhat horizontal surfaces are white. The sky is also white. It is also cold, soda pop-freezing cold, so we have had to take measures. There are always some measures to be taken: When we lived in Palatine, Illinois we would leave the cabinet doors under the sink open to prevent the pipes from freezing. Just that one little thing – so important.

That kitchen sink wall faced east and was elevated and big plate glass sliding doors were next to the sink.  Those glass doors, which opened onto a deck, have gone down in infamy as the site of the huge raccoon sighting during one of WGN’s late shows. So long ago, so well-remembered.

I think the raccoon memory was pushed out of its cubbyhole because I saw a headline today about a snake living in a sofa. I’m really glad I reminded myself about that this late in the day and as close to bedtime as it is. What dreams may come? Have you ever thought that  one  letter altered to another makes the difference between Shakespeare and snakespeare? Probably not, but there it is, just a little musing that breached the defenses of my mind.

I have earphones in (my ears) and am listening to Count Your Blessings because I am weaning myself off of Christmas songs, but am not quite ready to really rock and roll, so to speak.

The roads are slick and while I was stopped at an intersection, the car 90 degrees to my right was spinning its front wheels, trying hard to get a grip and go. Just as the light turned green for me, I saw the car get some purchase and nodded as the driver guided his now barely-moving car in front of me. It was the least I could have done . . . and probably in my own best interest. It’s a small town, after all.

Coming out of the Wal-Mart parking lot onto the curving drive that borders the retaining pond/ditch, I noticed the plowing people had left mounds between the edge of the road and the ditch and probably saved quite a few people grief.

It was a balancing act today with the slick roads: I made certain I had no holes in my underwear, but did wear the robin’s egg blue fur-lined trapper cap, which isn’t the most flattering head topping I have, but it is warm – especially with the ear flaps down and snapped.

I am just rambling here and suppose I will reach out and grab my Kindle and settle down to some good read. That reminds me that yesterday’s Daily Deal was a choice of 20 romance stories – nothing like starting the New Year with a shudder. Or maybe it was the day before and maybe yesterday was 20 inspiring stories; anyway, you can tell it was unsettling.

But I am supposed to be settling . . . so here I go.

I am up at five in the morning, and I have been up for about 30 minutes. I’m not sure what woke me and I don’t know why I didn’t snuggle in deeper, but I turned on the light and moseyed around and then looked at the news . . . and the weather. Of course, I already knew about the weather – even the vestibule was pretty d_____ cold, to use a meteorological term.

I glanced at the forecast for the weekend and although the high reaches 30 degrees, it quickly goes down to -2.  I think I know why people inevitably talk about the weather, despite other newsy events – it just keeps whacking you up side the head.

I’m thinking about putting the pillow back up side my head . . .

Although I wrote in the post just below that today and tomorrow are really just the same, I have to admit this year is going to be a challenge and each day is going to have to count for something. I don’t know what yet, or how much, but I’ve got to keep focused on at least an iota of some gumption every day. This is sounding intimidating, but we will see – maybe from somewhat farther away since I am already feeling myself back away from 364 days of “something” looming before me.

When I lost weight I walked every day to the theme from The Longest Day; I later would figure out that as I got more fit, the cadence held me back some and didn’t lend itself to sprint walking then regular walking and so forth. But, that was not much to pay for the constant reminder of the men on that day . . . and in other battles. The fact that I had interviewed men who had landed in the bloody water of Normandy – sat right next to them, heard their voices drift back to that days and the ones that followed.

I guess I can start thinking on Tom Brokaw’s Greatest Generation and get up every day thinking of all the years of The Great Depression and World War II and do something on the days of this year.

I have to use good sense, plan, be ready for setbacks and retain my determination. I know I can do that. Yes, I know it, not think it. Thinking it is a weaselly way to put it, leaving room for sniveling out; I know I can do it.

I know statements such as this are often the definite harbingers of failure. I acknowledge that and still say, I know I’m going to go at the days of this year. You can hold me to it.

The boughs of the shrubs just outside the walls of windows are bowed with heavy snow that is still coming down – I expect Shane will come in with his back covered in white. He’s picturesque until it melts and then we have a bit of “Wet Dog” smell, not to mention the cold moisture when he brushes against you.

Well, he just just came in like a rocket and went right past me – guess the wet dog is someone else’s problem this time. We do need to go over to the fairgrounds to see if the snowfall has dislodged the Wubba Der Bingle inadvertently launched into a tall tree overhanging the road. Perhaps it has come down already and another furry visitor – such as Bruno – has adopted it. That’s ok – it was the neon green bunny with the pink ears (that aren’t there anymore because they came off in a tug of war).

it didn’t dawn on me to note that this is my first post of 2014. The year slipped in and, wouldn’t you know it, yesterday seems amazingly like today.

Obviously, I must feel as if I have something to say before this year ends, but it seems I have no idea what it is and come here expecting some sort of Ouija board writing. And it is not working.

Could it be a paranormal thing that I, with my amazing AmeliaJake psychic power, am psyching before it happens? At midnight, will something fundamentally change and I will different? Oh, you hope . . . you hope. But, I must remind you, better the devil you know than the one you don’t.

I think it would be fun to have a shortbread party right now – shortbread made with real butter. Shortbread that melts in my mouth. Shortbread! Shortbread! Shortbread! Shortbread! Shortbread! Shortbread crumbs on my chin and shirt and lap . . .

It appears that the season’s cheer sort of held off on me until NOW and I feel like having fun . . . and shortbread.

My friends here at the PBC & R are getting a wee bit nervous . . . Who IS this smiling, cheerful person? They need to relax; chances are it won’t last. That’s a bummer of a thought, but stranger things, dontcha know?

It’s 12 degrees right now and we have an alert.

Local Weather Alert
Special Weather Statement for Noble, IN
Other affected areas:
…
La Porte, IN; St. Joseph, IN; Elkhart, IN; Lagrange, IN; Steuben, IN; Noble, IN; De Kalb, IN; Starke, IN; Marshall, IN; Kosciusko, IN; Whitley, IN; Allen, IN; Berrien, MI; Cass, MI; St. Joseph, MI; Branch, MI; Hillsdale, MI; Williams, OH; Fulton, OH; Defiance, OH; Henry, OH; Paulding, OH; Putnam, OH
More

… SIGNIFICANT SNOW POSSIBLE NEW YEARS EVE THROUGH THURSDAY…

A POTENT UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY ADVANCING INTO WESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND MAY LATER FOSTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM. THERE IS SOME INDICATION THAT THE SYSTEM MAY TAKE A PATH FAVORABLE FOR A LONG DURATION SNOWFALL EVENT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES NEW YEARS EVE INTO THURSDAY.

WHILE THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXACT TRACK OF THIS POTENTIAL WINTER STORM REMAIN UNCERTAIN… SNOW… MAINLY LIGHT TO MODERATE… IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE SOUTHWEST GREAT LAKES REGION AND INTO SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN AND NORTHERN INDIANA TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY.

THEN… A MORE POTENT SYSTEM COULD EXIT THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND INTENSIFY ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY REGION ON THURSDAY. AT PRESENT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DEGREE OF VARIABILITY BETWEEN MODEL SIGNALS WITH RESPECT TO THIS STORMS STRENGTH AND FORWARD SPEED. A SLOWER… MORE DEVELOPED SYSTEM WOULD FAVOR THE POTENTIAL FOR A SWATH OF HEAVY SNOW ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA… FAR NORTHWEST OHIO AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. GIVEN THE LONG DURATION OF THIS EVENT… 36 TO 48 HOURS… SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TOTALS IN THE 4 TO 8 INCH RANGE ARE CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. AT PRESENT THE LOCATION OF THE HEAVIEST SNOW APPEARS TO BE PRIMARILY ALONG AND NORTH OF ROUTE 24… AFFECTING NORTHERN INDIANA… FAR NORTHWEST OHIO… AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. SMALL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE TRACK AND INTENSITY OF THIS SYSTEM COULD SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER ACCUMULATIONS.

WHILE A SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT IS NOT A CERTAINTY AT THIS TIME… HOLIDAY TRAVELERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO LATER FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS… SHOULD WINTER STORM WATCHES… WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES BECOME NECESSARY. ALSO… TRAVELERS MAY WISH TO CONSIDER ALTERNATE SCHEDULES AND ROUTES.

Ah, right off the bat I think I’m going to have to get some compressed air and blow out the “n” key (did that) because it did not want to go down. So, first crisis of the morning taken care of. Well, it wasn’t the first crisis; the first one was not being able to easily put my hands on a pair of matching socks – but then I figured I’m wearing tall boots, so who cares. (I do not put mismatched socks in the same category as underwear with holes in socks when it comes to the ER.)

I have no good reason for the Gadzooks, other than although I know a day is a day and a year is a year, I just feel better about it going to be 2014. Of course, there’s still a few hours to go, but I’ll just pretend I’m really far east of here until midnight.

I have no celebratory New Year’s Eve planned. No resolutions. Not anything. I first typed “no nothing”, keeping with the vernacular, but it just rubbed too hard the wrong way on the nap. That’s kind of funny because I just had to shift off the option in post writing that highlights grammar questions. It was driving me crazy with its little suggestions that I might way to phrase things differently.

We have a light snow this morning, with the occasional flake still falling. I’m going to check the weather forecast now and perhaps you’ll hear another GADZOOKS!

I have written in past columns and blog posts about how Christmas has become like a door with a long path leading to it, full of bright colors and cheerful tunes and good cheer – and then you open the door and that is it, like lemmings over a cliff.

And actually that part about all the good cheer on the path, well, for many it’s fraught with tension and too much concern with what has to be done, with no thought for the enjoyment of the doing.

As I gather this year’s Christmas decorations, I am packing a couple of boxes labeled “2014” – my favorite ornaments, my bubble lights and a picture that says my intent better than those famous thousand words.

They tell me that when I was very little I would sit for long periods of time just watching the bubble lights do there thing. Hey, I was a little girl – little girls concentrate better than little boys. I watched them a little this year, but because the tree was located where it could be seen from many places in the house, it worked out that none of those places was a sitting area where the seats faced the tree. So most of my watching was a pause in my walk-bys. I need a little tree with about seven bubble lights on it just for me – maybe next year.

It’s still this year, though, and soon I will be taking the bubble lights off the lower and stronger branches of our Frazier fir and packing them away. The colored lights all come down, but the white ones I usually leave where I have placed them haphazardly on fake ficus trees and tumbling down from the crook of a goose-necked floor lamp.

I call these remaining white lights “Winter Lights” or “Northern Lights” and they usually last until the days start to lengthen and the sun itself shifts and begins to brighten the house with new angles.

And speaking of changing seasons, here comes Summer.