Saturday, January 29, 2011

What Happened to January?

As I sit here the sun began rising in the eastern sky less than an hour ago. I have been awake for several hours and face a to-do list so long I doubt I will be able to cross off even one item. That is just the way life is out here. If I do manage to complete a task, there are many more waiting to be done. Maybe that is why a month has passed since I last posted, though it feels like only a week ago.

Today began like most mornings. I usually wake up around 5am. Sometimes earlier and then after breakfast I fall back to sleep, but 5 is typical. Since I still live alone I turn the heater off at night. If it is expected to be a chilly night I turn a space heater on in my bedroom and shut the door. Last night was not cold, so no space heater. Upon waking (and after a short struggle) I haul myself out from under my warm covers and go turn the heater on. As soon as possible I am back under those covers.

Once it is warm enough I once again haul myself out of bed to make breakfast. I rarely eat much first thing in the morning, but my body needs something. One of my favorite breakfasts is a breakfast sandwich. I make my own. I like to buy those mini bagels, which I toast. I have a microwave poacher for my egg. I make my own breakfast sausage and just reheat one patty. Put them all together and I have a breakfast sandwich. One sandwich with a cup of tea or orange juice and I have just the right amount of food. Depending on how warm it is in the house, I usually eat at my computer, where I check email, or back to the warmer bedroom to enjoy breakfast.

Since it is winter outside and therefore cold, I usually return to bed after breakfast. I like to snuggle under the covers as I read my Bible. Today I read the first three chapters of Amos.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the sunrise for Rocksprings occurred at 7:33am. Shortly before that I did what I do every day. I put on my shoes and coat and opened my front door. Tiger is usually on the porch to greet me and often her sister, Little Bit, is nearby. They know it is feeding time. Today they ran ahead of me into the cabin where I feed them and have their bed. They jump on the counter eagerly waiting for me to dump some dry cat food in their bowls. Sometimes I give them a quick pet, but today I just hurried into the warm house. I will go outside later today and spend some time petting both kitties and in return they will lick my hands and fingers. (Little Bit-red collar/Tiger-blue collar)

That is how I spend most mornings. In the summer I am out the door as soon as it is light enough to do gardening and other tasks before it gets too hot. But in winter it is hard to motivate myself to get out of bed and do anything. I much prefer to lie in bed under those warm covers, reading a book and praying, and occasionally falling back to sleep.

Even though I am anxious for spring to arrive, it seems like winter is passing by way to fast. There is so much I need to do inside this house and I had planned to get it all done during the winter months. I still need to get that office organized, bookkeeping completed, other rooms organized, etc. From the way this house looks it doesn’t look like I have done a thing.

I have been busy. Right before Christmas I accompanied a friend to San Antonio. She had to take her husband to the airport and really did not want to drive around that city alone. Since I know the city I did most of the city driving. It was a there and back trip, making only a couple stops for shopping.

On January 12 I returned to San Antonio with a different friend. This neighbor is elderly and I had promised to take her to the Sams Club in San Antonio. I buy a lot of stuff for her at Sams Club and this was a chance for her to see what the store had for sale so on future trips she could just hand me some money and a grocery list. It was a very fruitful, but exhausting trip.

I have had to make several trips to Kerrville. Both times I took a third neighbor with me. Over a year ago J lost her house in a fire and then a few weeks later a tire blew and she rolled her truck, breaking her back, but fortunately not suffering any spinal injury. Because of his job, her husband is gone all week, leaving her all alone and isolated on her very rural land. She always welcomes any excuse to get out and go anywhere. Both trips she was very thankful that I had invited her and I was thankful for the company.

This past week it has been warm enough to go outside for an hour or two so I have enjoyed doing some outdoor chores. On those very cold days I often find myself sitting in my rocking chair under a throw reading and trying to stay warm. I have gotten a lot read this past month. The rest of the time I work on the computer of find some other task that needs doing.

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