halt stop forget relax

We are one third of the way through Winter. It is no longer dark at 5:00 PM. However, it IS dark at 5:00 AM.  That's when I have been going to bed lately. Don't judge me. We have inherited a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis. It is not without its  problems. Like a leaky Landau roof which needs new vinyl. And ... and... and... But it has lower miles than our Oldsmobile [114,000 vs. 179,000], and the engine runs more quietly. It's transmission was rebuilt in 2004. It's heater core has been replaced. It does have AC. It doesn't have power seats, but the windows zip up and down easily. The interior is nice, except for the worn leather on the steering wheel. It's bigger.   We just put $830 on our credit card repairing an electrical/computer  problem with the Olds. It has a cracked windshield. It needs a new radiator, and likely a new heater core. It's AC is disconnected because we can't afford to fix it. I want a Kia Soul. The one with the gang...

My sister-in-law died last night. She was in hospice. When we saw her on Christmas she was on antibiotics and steroids, so we had a really nice visit. We were able to talk with her for almost two hours before she "hit the wall,"  couldn't breathe easily any more, and asked us to leave. The nurses were going to give her the same meds she got the night before which worked so well that she slept right through being turned twice (to avoid getting a bedsore). She had lost so much weight and was so thin that her skin was like tissue paper covering her bones. It was hard seeing her so emaciated, but it was good having those two hours with her. Now she suffers no more. And though I didn't see her very often, I miss her all the more knowing I will never see her again. I didn't know going in that this Winter was going to be such a season of loss; but, there it is. Good Night, TTYL, Be Well,

Because it is somewhere between 35 and 22 degrees outside, I am going to bake cookies. I can't seem to get warm, and since I can't sit in a tub of hot water any  more (well, I can, but I just can't get up and out of one, the best way to get warmed up IMO), I will turn the oven on and get to work baking cookies. Be back later. I'm back. Finished baking peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, having a latte, and dinner, and two four cookies, and now I am stuffed to the gills. I got the kitchen all warmed up then DH comes in and keeps opening up the window to call the cat that lives outside, thinking it's too cold for her; but she doesn't come to his calls so I'm thinking she's cuddled up on the patio chair snug as only a cat can get on a cold night like this. DH says our thermometer says it's 19℉ out there tonight, which is friggin' cold. She'll be in later, no doubt. But I digress, my point was that I got it all warmed up in here, and th...