These two loverly hats saved my sanity* throughout the Polar Vortex, along with various other layers and accessories, including my long gray wool skirt, YakTrax and my REI hiking pole. Bomber hat on the left, balaclava on the right. I kept a little shambling mound on the Green Chair throughout the vortex. These hats plus my purple ski band, ski jacket, polartech vest and jacket, scarf, glubs. I could pick and choose appropriate layers as needed. The wool skirt was draped over a chair in the Monster Bedroom, easy to grab in the dark if needed without any rummaging around in the closet disturbing people who sleep a wee bit longer than KW (and I mean a *wee* bit because the GG is out and gone before KW gets home from her walk). Knock on wood, I don’t need that stuff any more. Shambling mound begone! It’s not too far away though, easily accessible should the Vortex make an encore appearance. After all, there is *still* ice in Gitchee Gumee…

Odd rhythm for a Saturday. Stayed up late last night (after midnight) to have a nightcap with Lizard Breath, who spent the night. I was thinking I shouldda been in bed a couple hours ago but it isn’t often I see my Lizard *alone* and actually get to talk to her about, oh I dunno, her job, etc. Not that this was some big kvetching session — her job is fine! It was just that I can see similarities in how she and I approach our work — and some differences too. I couldn’t verbalize this stuff if I tried and if I could, I wouldn’t talk about it on my blahg. Suffice it to say that I appreciated a bit of “quality time” with my [adult] kid and so sacrificed some sleep. Well worth it.

So, up early and taaarrred (but no overhang!) so the first question I asked the GG after I got out of the shower was, “How much coffee do you put in the coffee maker?” Because I don’t usually run the coffee maker. I usually launch full-tilt-boogie out of bed, into the shower, and off on a 3-mile hike. I do not think about coffee! This morning I drank two cups, cleaned out the refrigerator and then, when all the chaos cleared, I text-messaged the heck out of Mouse to get up and meet me at the farmer’s market! And so we did. I walked down but caught a ride back here with her in Daisy. She spent the next few hours in her gardens and I spent them picking at various things inside and out. You know that a walk over to the Plum Market occurred.

All in all, it was one of those days when small goals were accomplished if not larger ones. Those days can frustrate me but they are necessary and I tried to roll with it today. I was grateful for Mouse’s presence. I had felt a bit melancholy all morning. I am okay now (I was *okay* then, really). When I get “down”, I make myself get up and get moving! Ten minutes of walking and I am seeing things in a different light. But I am a social enough person that I like somebody else around at least part of most days even though I may not always be very talkative. Therefore, it was nice to have my Mouse around for a while.

Chores? Oh, boring stuff like cleaning the *smelly* garbage cart plus “J”‘s bucket to take up to the moominbeach and a little weeding / raking. (I can see PI in the woods but it is not coming through the fence into my back yard — yet!) “Processing” veggies from the farmer’s market, laundry, setting Roooomba off on a mission to vacuum the half of the Monster Bedroom that can actually be vacuumed by a robot (don’t ask). A mission to buy toilet paper (which I found) and a flexible hose (which I didn’t, so I had to order one). And then I pruned my RSS feed and a few other computer type things and even sent a small exploratory probe into downsizing the 30K photos I have in iPhoto. That didn’t last long but “Rome” wasn’t built in a day and it’ll take a while to downsize it.

Walk in the woods to end the afternoon, now I’m baking most (or maybe all) of a dinner that I expect will last a few days. Or a couple days and some lunches. Or whatever. Salmon (Copper River! shoutout to AgateGal for the tip a few years ago — I just about “died” when I saw it at my fave Plum Market), Yukon Gold potatoes, corn (no corn in the Great Lake State yet, Fla will have to do for now), green salad, and Veggie Saute. What’s in my saute? Lemme see, “baby” zucchini and patty-pan squashes, scallions, baby beets from the farmer’s market and whatever herbs I decide to use. Alas, dried for tonight.

What else? I don’t remember and you do not probably care and that’s okay! I’m sitting here in the very green Landfill back yard. As the GG has been known to say, “The Planet Ann Arbor is a garden.” True, except during the PV.

Love y’all,
Kayak Woman

* Hats saving my sanity? Because they allowed me to go outside and WALK!

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