March 8, 2008
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OMG! Snow….and it’s still here!
I went to bed after writing my update this morning. Slept for maybe an hour and woke up with a taste for some hot coffee and something to eat. Came out of the bedroom, walked into the kitchen and, as I was pouring coffee into my mug, glanced out the kitchen window and almost fell over. It was snowing! Not just a light snow but a LOT of snow. It covered the roof of the small barn out back, our deck, the stairs, and the lawn was literally COVERED with the fluffy white stuff. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to open the back door and sit at the table (we have storm doors) to watch it. I have to admit I was entranced.
It’s not that I like snow. One of the reasons I didn’t object to moving to Alabama was because snow is relatively unknown here. Oh, it’s seen on occasion but seldom lasts longer than an hour or so. But I had forgotten how lovely snow can look when it’s fresh, white and fluffy while you are indoors all warm and cozy. It snowed for a couple hours and then stopped. That was two hours ago and now it is finally starting to melt. The ground was first and then the rooftops. The table on my deck finally melted and there is only the deck and stairs themselves left to melt off. You can still see where the dog (reluctantly) made paw prints when he finally HAD to *do his business* and went down the slippery stairs. When he was heading back up the stairs, he paused and was sniffing at the snow. It was about an inch-and-a-half deep. He took a deep sniff of it and then sneezed because he got some up his nose. It really was funny to watch. He then started to eat the snow. Small little bites at first then he took big bites as if it were ice cream. He almost cleared a whole stair doing that when he gave a little shudder and then bolted up the rest of the stairs to the door to come in. I think he hit that point we all do when eating something cold. Either his teeth hurt or his tummy was full of the cold water and he got chilled. I don’t think they get that sudden hurt between the eyes we experience when eating ice cream too fast but who knows. If he ever learns to talk, perhaps he’ll share that with me.
Have you ever had a day when you suddenly notice smells more than usual? Well, today is like that for me. I have several different herbal teas in the cabinet where I keep the coffee, coffee filters, tea bags and creamers. I have cranberry/pomegranate green tea, wild berry tea, spiced chai tea (which smells yummy but I haven’t tried yet. The Beast likes it.) and an apple-cinnamon tea. I normally don’t notice anything when I go into the cabinet until I open the containers to take one of the various teabags out for a night time cup of tea. Today, when I opened the cabinet to set up the coffee for tomorrow morning, the aroma hit me like a hammer. It was so intense that I felt assaulted by the smells. I could smell oranges, nutmeg, cinnamon and some other spices that I couldn’t even name but have tasted in various forms. That’s what really amazed me. I could almost identify the spices by the smell when I had only tasted them. I mean, how do you do that? What would you call that? You identify the SMELL by the taste experience.
I have a strange habit. Now, to me, it’s not strange but I have seen other people’s reactions to it so you might think it strange, too. I can tell more about food by the smell than by tasting it. I mean, I can smell it and know whether or not it’s good and if I am going to like it. One woman saw me do that (smell food before putting it in my mouth) and she said to me, “Did you just smell that?” I said, “Yes”. She shook her head like I had committed some crime or other. It was MY food, on MY fork. I can’t smell it before I eat it? What’s with that? Is it a faux pas of some sort or other that I don’t know about? I was at a picnic for crying out loud. Sheesh.
If the food smells bad to me or if it smells of something strange, I might ask what spices or meat or veggies are in whatever it is that I was preparing to eat. If it is seasoned with something I haven’t tried before, I will go ahead and give it a try. If my taste buds object to it (or my stomach), I will not eat any more than politeness dictates but I will remember the smell of it forever and avoid it in the future. It won’t even get a spot on my plate for politeness’ sake.
So, when I am having one of *these* days, I make the tour of my home to detect any aromas that are NOT pleasant. It tells me when I need to give a little something extra in an area (if any) and I worry about that *old peoples* smell that you can detect in peoples homes from time-to-time. You know what I mean, I am sure. I do NOT want that smell in MY house, no matter how old the Beast or I get. So I made my rounds and the only place that smells bad to me is Baron’s kennel. I sat down next to Baron and realized he desperately needs a bath. I don’t think he developed that smell overnight but I hadn’t been smelling it before this morning. I hate that old, nasty doggy oil/sweat aroma. So right now his rug is being washed and I have already done the Lysol wipedown of his kennel. I put down some rug freshener designed for pet owners all around the kennel and the areas he uses for resting or chewing on his rawhide bones. I will be vacuuming that up in a half hour or so. THEN I will tackle the bath for Baron. I have some wonderful smelling shampoo and rinse for him. The challenge is going to be getting him INTO the tub. He’s usually okay once that occurs but he sure doesn’t like water. I will let you know how that comes out. I will probably have to shower myself once I take care of him. I already kicked up the heat a bit because I don’t want Baron to get chilled after his bath. It’s no problem during the spring or summer because we usually choose a warm day and he will stretch himself out on the warm deck after he’s shaken himself off enough to suit him. When the grass is soft and supple, he will roll in it before he stretches out but even the grass smell is better than *doggy* odor.
After I do THOSE chores, I am going to spend a couple hours shredding old records and checks that I have kept for approximately 20 years. I am only keeping what is absolutely necessary and everything else goes. I have been a packrat about that stuff since we started our business and I still have paperwork from our very first house in California. That was 1978. I think I can let those go now, don’t you? I will keep the purchase papers and selling papers for shits and giggles. I will do that for all the homes we’ve owned but, good lord, I can’t believe I saved all the damn checks we wrote for over 20 years. It was easier to just pack them away (and then move the boxes from house to house) than to go through them. My one and only new year’s resolution this year was that I would go through those and shred them up. That was my promise to myself and I intend to keep that one. I need to be able to find something when I need it without having to go through a ton of paperwork.
Well, time to do the vacuuming. I will let you know how the bath goes.
Love you all.
