when there's nothin' going on and life is still good

Yesterday, it didn't get above zero in Minnesota. The high, the low, and the current were negative numbers all day. This morning, when I put my zip code into the weather channel search bar, it keeps giving me this: Hmmm, the page you are looking for can't be found. There's a message for you.

Regis goes out in this frigid weather without a hat on, in tennis shoes. It makes me crazy. He's been in Minnesota long enough to know the drill. Even my oncologist wears a hat in the winter. I know this because his hair is always sticking straight up when I see him. Nothing like hat hair in the winter. One advantage to being bald...no worries about hat hair.

Yesterday when I saw the doctor, it took me ten minutes to get the many layers of clothes off so I could get into the blue gown. The rash, if you are interested, goes undiagnosed. It has spread to my arms and legs but it doesn't itch and it hasn't blistered. The doctor told the nurse to document it thoroughly in my chart. Like Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Did anybody check out google images for rash? Aren't you sorry if you did? That shit will give you nightmares.

I am so grateful that my sleeping seems better. I take a short nap in the afternoon and I sleep all night, maybe waking once briefly but going right back to sleep. It's bliss.

We're meeting Peter and April at the Taj Mahal, a new Indian restaurant in Mankato on Friday. I have never eaten Indian food so I'm studying the menu. If you have a recommendation for me after looking at the menu, feel free to leave a comment. I'm Norwegian so I tend to like white food...potatoes, lefse, bread, fish. I have branched out and like a lot of hot peppers now but I have little experience with curry and such.

I see there is no parade scheduled for the Winterfest celebration. Harrumph. Marie, I think we should plan a parade, spread the word, make it performance art. What do you think? I love a Winterfest Parade!

Richie, thanks for the soup. It was wonderful to enjoy my glass of wine in front of the fireplace and have a bowl of chicken soup with no work! Bless your heart.

Anita, a special ed teacher friend of mine, stopped by for a visit yesterday. She talked about school for a while using terms like IEP, present levels of performance, and self-monitoring. Wait, wait...what? I stared into space. It's like that was in another lifetime and I have completely wiped clean the slate.

It's eight o'clock and school is starting somewhere, everywhere. I am sitting in my flannel nightgown and slippers, sipping coffee and eating an English muffin with butter and honey. I can go back to my warm bed and read for a while. I can spend the afternoon making Scotch broth from Meat Mike's soup bones. I don't have to leave the house or I can go to Pinot and Pizza at Chankaska Creek in the middle of the afternoon. Life could not be better today.