If I thought Ed would breeze through Covid and be back on the couch soon -- well, that's not going to happen. If I thought I'd be clear of it, just because I'm currently not sick -- no such reassurance there either (CDC says you can first test positive even 10 days after exposure). My partner in nearly all aspects of daily life is still feverish and mostly sleeping. Plus he can't seam to talk much as his larynx is highly irritated. So calling him is a bust: either I wake him, or I don't, but he wont say much anyway, so why bother.
And it continues to be beastly cold outside. We have another couple of days of biting temperatures and a vicious wind.
All that sounds pretty grim, but actually I'm not feeling grim. Ed is microscopically better every hour so an end will soon be in sight (just not as quickly as I had first thought -- my own Covids had been resolved within a week). Too, there is that sunshine that once again brightened the landscape here at the farmette and beyond. The Arctic air does not have the last word! The sunshine makes me feel it's just another lovely winter day. Just without snow (which truly is unfortunate).
Breakfast? Still on the healthy side. Come on, we're only on day four of the new year!
Afterwards I do a triple whammy -- I have a carrot pickup at the farmers' drop off point downtown (carrots sweetened by the cold are the best! I buy mountains of them from Snug Haven Farms in the winter months). And so long as I am there, I decide to take my daily walk (so far it's daily, though again, we are just on day four!) in that neighborhood. The idea was to walk along the lesser lake, but one minute there and despite my warm clothing, my scarf, my cap, my hood, my mitts, I am chilled: my face feels like a brittle leaf about to be crumpled to pieces, the wind is that strong. I do not know how these ice fisher people do it!
So I turn into the more protected blocks of the lakeside neighborhood. I walk from the lesser lake to the shores of Lake Monona and here's a surprise: that larger lake is not yet frozen! True, it froze in December during that Arctic blast, but what ice cover there was, did not survive the warm temps over the holidays. And now it looks like this:
There is always much speculation as to when it will freeze. Last year was considered a late one -- January 15th. The average freeze date is December 20th. And now here we are -- waiting. Not for long, I'm sure. We have no temps above freezing in the next several weeks.
[While we're all staring at the icy lake waters, I have to insert this: Snowdrop had her kid birthday party today -- at a local pool/mini-water-park. I'm told that apart from surfacing for cake and presents, all the kids stayed in the water for a solid four hours. It was tough getting them out. Me, I cannot imagine getting excited about a pool today! Hot shower? Yes. Pool with slides and islands? Not a chance.]
My third stop is at the drugstore to restock and resupply. Again, I'm still thinking I may get Ed's Covid. Better be ready!
And in the afternoon? Well, I danced. My playlist lends itself to dance even at my age (and perhaps especially at my age) and I rarely do that when Ed is here -- not because I'm shy, but because Ed only tolerates my occasional bouts of noise from the radio or my play lists. I know he prefers quiet.
It was not quiet here this afternoon.
As I moved in ways that get my daughters laughing ("it's so 70s!"), I wondered why we -- us older types -- no longer dance with friends. (The last time I let it loose out there on the floor was at a Polish friend's wedding. In 2017. Before that? Can't even remember...) We eat, we drink, we talk. Last year in Poland, we played games -- that didn't go so well! Hurt feelings, misunderstandings ensued. So... why don't we just dance?
Maybe next time.
In the evening I reheat soup and watch a string of episodes of a sitcom. True, it makes me feel I'm on a long flight (that's when I usually binge watch TV sitcoms), but I just cannot take the seriousness of the movies we've pulled into our favorites folder. 2025 has to include laughter. Tonight I give a small chuckle here and there. It's a start!
with love...
