Icemaggedon

Well, that's what daughter-in-law Melanie called it, though I may have the spelling wrong. But there's something about North Texas ice storms that leaves us in anticipatory tension long before they're due. Maybe it's modern forecasting techniques that warn us so far in advance. Or maybe it's just the bone-chilling cold outside. But I've already felt ice-bound today though the bad weather isn't supposed to hit until tomorrow night.
What I thought was to be a day at home alone, brightened by dinner guests, turned out to be quite a sociable day. Moksha, who has taken care of my pets for several years, came today to check out his key to the front door and get an update on Sophie's needs, and we talked for a long time about all kinds of issues, mostly political. And then neighbor Jill came to pick up packages UPS had left here--I gave her all the extra diapers I had left for her year-old son. And we visited briefly A nice conversation with my brother, and it was lunchtime before I knew it--or got any work done.
I mentally prepared for housebound days, so I slept late and lazed through the day. Ashamed that I served my guests prepared food--I always cook for company--but it turned out well. I did tiny bits of work but somehow things like emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, making ham salad for lunch took up most of the day.
Tonight, newly discovered good friends came for supper--I've known the husband for years in a professional relationship but we only recently discovered each other socially, and they are both a delight. Della, the wife, is a dog whisperer and Sophie was entranced. A fire in the fireplace to ward off the chill, talk of old times and people we'd known--he's a physician and she's in health care and we had lots of friends in common and lots of memories--made for a delightful evening. Watch for the dinner menu tomorrow night on Potluck with Judy.
Life is good, and I am blessed.

Inertia

Inertia, I've decided, breeds inertia. I stayed home alone all day. Not deliberately, but I had nothing I needed to do outside the house--no lunch date, no grocery shopping. If I went out mindlessly, I'd end up spending money. And I did have things to do at my desk. So I stayed home. But I felt sluggish, tentative, etc. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised to see that I looked normal.
Jordan and Jacob came by at noon--a slight break--and then about five Jacob arrived to spend the night, and my day has brightened a great deal. We watched the news together--who knew a six-year-old is that interested in what goes on in the world? But at the end he clasped his hand to his forehead and said, "A bomb, a fire, and now a flood. This has been a bad violent week!" I agreed. It's been a hard week on all of us.
After the news, we had happy hour in the backyard--sparkling cider in a flute for him, chardonnay for me, and lots of love for the dog. Jacob ran out to get a small decorative pail or metal basket by Elizabeth's door, filled it with ice, and put my wine and his in it to carry outside (I really should have gotten a picture). Sophie discovered some kind of buzzing bug in the grass and carried on, nosing up to it, then jumping back in alarm. Jacob declared it was a bee, but I suspect a wasp of some sort--the sort I'm allergic to.
Jacob is watering Elizabeth's plants while she's away. He watered this morning and started to do it again this evening, but I warned him about the dangers of over-watering. So he carefully felt the soil in each pot and discussed which one was moist--most--and which dry. He can discuss minutiae endlessly.
We finally came in for a dinner of leftovers--barbecue, which last night he said was sloppy Joe and tonight he refused to eat, beans, carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli. He ate medium well and has just, at 7:45, announced that he's hungry. Endless.
Tomorrow we'll go to church and a friend is coming for dinner, so I can banish inertia. But it's an insidious disease.