Walter Mitty Reimagined...

Well, it's now -16°F - and that's warming up from overnight. With a wind chill of -20-30°. Schools opened two hours late all over the area - just too dangerous to put busloads of kids out there.

On the bright side, January is almost over. On the down side, we have February yet to contend with.

February, to me, is the straw-that-breaks-the-camel's-back month. It's like, why do we even have February? It's the shortest month, but by the time it rolls around, winter has gone from "this is an ordeal we will get through" to "why the fuck is it still winter?!". And knowing that March - and thus spring - is only a few weeks away doesn't help. Why do we have to suffer through four more weeks of monotony and cold and snow? What's Your purpose here, God? Pulling a little Job thing, are You?

One has to wonder, frankly, why areas like mine are even inhabited. I mean, why did ancient man migrate from the warm regions to this cold and crap? Were they nuts? Masochists? Figure they had to so they could use the fur from the animals they killed?

In other news...

My son has a new job! FINALLY! After six years in the same place, now managing it in all but title (and salary), he was called by another company and asked if he was interested in coming to work for them. Yeah - they recruited him. And not some little neighborhood shop, either - world-wide company. So... cool. :D He has to buy a car now, which is freaking him out a bit (and my son does tend to freak out at things like that) but I'm just so glad he's finally moving on. Hopefully, being around the people and customers he will be, he'll get back some of his dreams (which, unfortunately, have gotten a bit battered by the negativity of his previous job).

As to my job... sigh. I've noticed more and more that the managers are talking to me instead of the other guys in the department about what's going on, what they want to see get done, etc etc. So - dumping the responsibility on me but not giving me the authority to act on it. But then, most of the guys I work with don't like making the decisions anyway - they all call me "Boss Lady" (affectionately, thank God) - so it's not all that bad. Sometimes I just don't like me very much when I have to do things/say things in order to get everything done. Which was the main reason I didn't want any supervisory jobs any more - just wanted to be another 'flunky'. But whatever. Hope springs eternal that *next* winter I'll be laying on the beaches of the Gulf...

14 inches of snow overnight, drifting in winds of 30-35 mph, gusts up to 45 mph (ie, blizzard). Today it's gone down to 20-25 mph. Actually had thunder and lightning last night, too.

My brother's finishing up a path where the sidewalks usually are (may have blown away overnight - not sure yet). We got the driveway dug out so we can get the car in and out of the barn, and dug a path from the house to the barn, and an area cleared so Petey can pee without freezing his dick off in the snow... I'll be working on clearing some more again tomorrow and Tuesday but my brother has to be up in the Cities for lawyering stuff.

Have I mentioned I hate winters?

I got three more pages written on my contest story, and some notes for a couple holiday shorts that are "due"; nothing today on Covenant, but...

But I have to figure out some way of concentrating for longer periods of time. I have taken the adage "Write 15 minutes every day" to new heights - because I write for 15-20 minutes and then all thoughts disappear in a fog and I'm off and wandering about the house or the internet or just mindlessly sitting. And then an hour or so later, BANG! I have to start writing because it's just suddenly there waiting to hit the 'paper'.

It's really starting to bug me. I've always had a short attention span but it seems like it just gets worse all the time. Or my reaction to it is. The more I try to force myself to stay focused, the more jittery and blank-minded I go. I mean, it seems to be "working" - these short frenzied periods of productivity - but it does nothing for my peace of mind. I'm hoping it's just another symptom of cabin fever and once I'm more mobile vis a vis the weather, I'll be able to settle down with more determination. At least once it's nice out, I can grab a notebook and pen and go out in the garden to write.

So maybe that's it - now that it's warming up, what miniscule bit of patience with winter that I had has just flown out the coop. Gawd...

Went out and did some shoveling - it wasn't as bad as I expected. The snow was dry, versus the wet kind, so it was very easy to shovel, even in the areas where I couldn't use my electric shovel. Even the "hard pack" from the plows wasn't too bad. I was out for not quite 2 hours, got the path shoveled from the front door to the road, and around to the back door (including an area for the dogs, which is a relief to them LOL). Then I walked down to the store and got my smokes - and after all that, only a few little thumps from the heart, so... I'm feeling GOOD! :D

Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be even warmer (almost hitting the freezing mark on Sunday) so I'm going to try and get the rest of the sidewalk out front done (about 100 feet) and get my truck dug out so I can make a trip up to the city and lay in some more provisions for the next big storm, whenever that comes.

So now I have the rest of the day to either continue my productivity or just be lazy. But considering all I have left to do in the house, and job hunting, and writing stuff - probably going for more productivity.

After a slow cigar and a hot cup of coffee... :D

I spent more time out in the yard this weekend, taking advantage of a few last, unexpected days of relative warmth to finish preparing the yard and outbuildings for the oncoming winter. As the last remnants of leaves are cleaned up and the summer's equipment cleaned and stored away, the yard is looking neat and tidy - and barren. I look around now and see all that lay hidden in the summer flowers - the gardens that need defining, the stumps that need removing, shrubs whose branches need trimming. Items added to the winter To-Do list, more added to next year's spring and summer chores. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to see the yard tidy, though. At the same time, I'm starting to look forward to the snow. Bleak and boring as the flat Midwestern landscape is during the winter, there is nothing worse than that same landscape sans snow. It doesn't seem natural. Even more barren, if that's possible. And then we face the dichotomy of hopeless fantasy that spring is not so far off and the dire expectation of waking to the Mother of All Blizzards. So I hope for snow soon, so the fantasy is laid to rest, and I can move into the cocoon of a normal Minnesota winter. At least then I can trek outside to clear the walks and drive and feed the birds and squirrels, proud of that hearty Norwegian heritage that allows me to feel invigorated through the freezing cold.

And hope, yet again, that next year I'll be parking this Norwegian ass on the beaches of the Gulf...

Couldn't think of a better word to describe my mood right now. In a little over a half hour I'll have to go start up the truck and let it warm up before I go to work. -25 degrees windchill is all... My brother called and said not to go if the roads were bad, but the road report said the driving's good down here, just COLD!  I spent almost 40 minutes in the hot hot shower - first time I thawed out today. Certainly discover where the leaks are that I missed - can feel the cold blowing in here and there. More "patching" tomorrow.

I hate winter.

I hate winter.

You know what?

I hate winter.