Walking Away Unscathed

So it appears that we’ll sneak out of January with not a single day’s high temperature dipping below the freezing mark of 32 degrees. That must be a record. But because I watch little television, and virtually no news programming, I’m not certain if they’re making much ado of this or not. Regardless, I am! Moreover, that means that the entire winter has yet to net a single day under the freezing mark. I did hear that we’re tracking to be the second warmest January on record. The record was in 1880 something. We haven’t spent 24 hours in the freezer since December 21st, which now seems like eons ago. I’ve already raved about all the green lawns and the dozen or so that could use a haircut in January, but now we’ve got swimming pools opening up, garden centers selling their annuals, and outdoor concerts kicking in to high gear! The average high temperature for the month of January will be about is 47.4 degrees (assuming the predicted high for today is reached – 38 degrees). And we’ll have had 15 days hit 50 degrees or higher, while having only 7 below 40 degrees. Again, that must be a record. The normal average high temperature for January is 36 degrees. I’m thinking I’ll get my tomatoes in early this year. J Well that’s much better! I woke Tuesday morning feeling much better than I did Monday morning but still could feel myself slipping in an out of a slight tired funk. I fell asleep before 11:00pm the night prior and woke at 5:40am. Not the preferred amount of sleep but not bad either. Although I think that I need about 7.33 hours to feel completely rested. Of course that’s a bit problematic in that by decisively having a rise time of 5:30am I would have to be asleep by 10:10pm each night. And while that used to happen with regularity, it doesn’t happen much anymore. My morning routine started routinely. Go figure! But just as I was readying to head up for my shower at approximately 7:05am, my dad knocked at the door. He hasn’t paid me one of his famous morning visits in quite some time. In lieu of hurrying him out and going about getting a shower, I decided to spend a few quality minutes catching up with his recent antics. We talked about a number of things including whether he’d be willing to watch my house and Ykraps while Mindy and I are in Oregon. He agreed to do so as long as he’s home. It sounds like he’s planning a trip to visit his brother (my uncle) in Ft Myers, Florida, but the date is yet to be determined. He promised to close the loop fast so that other arrangements could be made if necessary. Too, he shred that both Sheila and Aunt Margie are considering career changes involving working for Nationwide Insurance as Customer Claims Reps. While this might prove a good move for them, cousin Connie might forever regret it!! J Dad left sometime around 7:40am, and I picked up right where I left off with my morning routine. I was about ready to depart for work around 8:06am. I arrived to work at 8:25am. My work day went about like any other normal work day. Nothing major but nothing too boring either. I left for my run sometime around 12:15pm. It has been quite a while since I last got to the gym that early. I listened to WOSU FM on my MP3 player today. The music was moving and invigorating. I finished my run, showered, and was back in my office by 1:35pm. Today’s lunch included tuna fish. I always look forward to my tuna fish days! The afternoon was busier than the morning hours. I lost track of time and could hardly believe it when I looked at the clock and saw that it was time to head home. I had a fairly aggressive evening agenda as usual. It seems I am always trying to squeeze too much into too little of time. My first stop was JC Penney’s to check out some bedding that I had seen online over the weekend. You know, my bed project is completed so now I need new bedding! What I went to look at was not in stock. I did, however, see another that would suffice, especially given the price. I was out of there by 5:25pm and home by 5:40pm. I quickly went about my routine stuff and was done by 6:10pm. I still intended to pay bills and get my bedroom back in order, so I went right to work. I finished both sometime around 7:25pm or so. Next I phoned Mindy to let her know that I wouldn’t be there at 7:00pm as originally thought, and she ripped me a new one! (not really). I told her I’d be there with 30 or 40 minutes. I spent the next handful of minutes trying to relax a little. Next, I placed a call to Courtney Jump, a friend of ours from Barleys who I had learned earlier in the day had had a heart attack last Wednesday. She was still in the hospital but would likely be going home tomorrow. She’s young, seemingly fit, and very active. You just never know. And as I understand it, they have no real explanation for the cause. Every possible test under the sun has revealed nothing. She seemed in good spirits. I am glad I called her. I arrived at Mindy’s just before 8:00pm. The kids had just gone to bed and were beckoning my presence as soon as I entered. I am not so used to that, and I’m honored that they want to see me. But… who wouldn’t? J After some hugs and kisses I was back downstairs with Mindy. She made us ham salad sandwiches and put in a Charlotte Church CD (opera). I guess she’s somewhat of a prodigy given that she did her first opera at twelve years of age. Mindy also rounded up the Tchaikovsky CD that held his Violin Concerto in D- major that I had been hoping to find. This is the one that was originally deemed unplayable and eaten alive by the music critics of its time. They commented, “the violin is no longer being played but beaten black and blue.” I took to a pillow on the family room floor where I enjoyed the music and went into a relaxing trance. Mindy joined me. After about ten minutes relaxing, Mindy and I took to the PC to look at some more bedding. It just amazes me how ugly most bedding ensembles are. 99 out of every 100 are just nasty, and the prices vary wildly. It’s not uncommon to see one for $99 dollars and the next for $500, but then there are some much more. Who would spend a $1000 or more for a complete comforter set including comforter, shams, skirt, draperies, pillows, sheets, etc.? Not me!!! After an exhaustive search we went and laid in her bed for a while where we both fell asleep. I woke at 10:30pm and left for home. Once at home I woofed down a bowl of knock off Cocoa Puffs, read about two full pages of my book, and then fell asleep.