Portrait of Belle

My cousin's cat, Belle.

Beautiful, right? But looks can be deceiving.

Sometimes, she's jokingly called "Hell's Belle." And that nickname is well earned. Oh, she can be sweet, no doubt. But generally she is more salty than sweet. As I told an admirer who mistook her for a he, "She’d swat you for thinking she’s a boy. Come to think of it, she’d swat you for knowing she’s a girl. Or swat you for breathing air."

If she were human, she'd probably smoke unfiltered cigarettes and take book at cock fights.

She's an Alley Cat soul in a regal, Maine Coon body. And she sure does make life ...

Interesting.

Post-Fern Check-In, Day 6

Just yesterday, I was marveling at how well I'd prepared for Winter Storm Fern. Didn't really do a thorough job of the self-congratulation stuff; forgot to mention that the power was out at my house only once, briefly, for maybe an hour or so. Incomplete as my bragging might have been, though, I shoulda considered that I might be jinxing myself. I know better. I really do.

Jinx

Today being Thursday, Trash Day in my neighborhood, and given my disgust for stinky trash, I went outside for the first time since the snow and ice started piling up. I gingerly picked my way down the salted path and steps, and walked beside, rather than on, the obviously frozen driveway. I set the trash at the end of the driveway and turned around, retracing my steps back to the house. 

And then something happened. Not sure what, exactly. One second I was walking. The very next second I was seated on the ground. I sat there for a minute or so, kind of mentally assessing what damage may have been done. My right ankle was almost certainly sprained. (From playing sports, I have a not-inconsiderable amount of experience with foot/ankle sprains.) My right wrist hurt too; about the same degree of pain as the ankle, so that's probably sprained as well.

The wrist wasn't strong enough to raise me to standing position on the slippery ground, so I eased myself on to my knees and army-crawled back to the carport. Even on the dry gravel under the carport, though, I couldn't raise myself to standing position, so I crawled a bit further to pull myself up using the tire of my SUV. Great. Now three things are hurting: ankle, wrist, and now chest.

I won't be headed outside for a while, that's for sure! I can get by with my left hand; I can walk by planting my left foot and dragging my right; if I need to cough or sneeze, I can press on my sternum to ease the pain.

Little Miss Storm Prep will add crampons to the list for next time.

Oh, and the trash? Yeah, the story ends with a tragi-comic twist: They didn't pick up the trash. When the ground is covered in a blanket of snow and ice, and your trash bags are white ... I guess it's no surprise.

Post-Fern Check-In, Day 5

 

written while drinking a mug of Yorkshire Gold

Things are going pretty well here. My storm prep might've proved to have been a little bit of overkill ... but overprepared is ALWAYS better than underprepared.

Haven't had to use any of my emergency camping supplies. Yay!

I am sleeping under the down comforter at night and wearing a wool sweater during the day (because I don't like listening to the heater run All. The. Time.)

I used the Hot Hands Toe Warmers once, out of sheer curiosity. (They feel really good!)

Have eaten all the shrimp - due in equal part to their deliciousness and to food safety (3-4 days is considered maximum). Haven't eaten all the snacks, tempting as that may have been! 

Been checking back and forth with my next-door neighbors and other friends/family and that always helps. The only thing I'm really missing right now is going to the YMCA - and I don't feel safe going there because the drive leading to and from is full of hills and I don't have 4WD. Also, there's still some ice on my driveway - why risk that?

Going on a short outing with my cousin in a little bit, mostly just to get out of the house for a while, but I'm pretty well stocked to face the snow forecast for this weekend.

The PTSD thing ... yeah, hearing the windstorm and the sound of limbs/trees falling nearby was unnerving. As I'm sure it was for all of us here, post Helene.

But that aside, I'm doing fine!

Thanks so much to everybody who's been checking in! You've helped more than you know. 💕

(Curious about the art? Basket by Bridget VanRemortel; mug by Galen Sedberry; pictures under glass by Nancy DeWolf Minard)

Prepping for Winter Storm Fern

Reusing a picture from a couple of years ago. When I was prepping for Hurricane Helene. 

Well, here we go again. Different type of storm, a snow/ice event as opposed to a tropical event but ...

And I've still got a little PTSD thing going on from that last one. Kinda think we all do.

Anyway ...

Headlamp. Check.

Candles. Check. 

Water. Check.

Hot Hands. Check. (Yeah, this ain't hurricane prep.)

Steps salted, along with a path from the door to the steps.

Sleeping bag rated for sub-freezing weather. Check. Also, medium-weight down comforter. Check.

Wool sweaters, warm base layers, 700 down fill jacket. Check, check, check.

Two dozen spiced shrimp. Huh? If I lose power, I can't cook 'em. But if I cook 'em beforehand, I can eat 'em cold. 

I've got canned soups and jerky, and a rotomolded cooler that I can store cold food in. COLD is the word of the weekend. Whooo

I've got great neighbors next door, and another great one down the end of the street. Think I'm the right level of confident - no danger of me being over-confident in the face of an ice storm! But I think I'm ready.

Bring it. 

Now the Work of Christmas Begins

x

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with their flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

x

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.

x

May we be the compassionate ones, the healing ones, the loving ones, the peaceful ones now and into the new year.

x

~ Howard Thurman

Pieces of My Heart

 

Yesterday I had a conversation with a close friend back in Florida whom I dearly miss. All the years Greg and I spent on the road and I'm frequently homesick for Columbiana (OH), New Paltz (NY), Belfast (ME), West Springfield (MA), Swannanoa (NC) ... and sometimes, for the road itself. 

Add to that list my native state of Florida.

I feel very much "at home" living in North Carolina; after all, it's where my Irish ancestors settled six generations ago. But the meme is accurate: there are pieces of my heart scattered all over the place.

At The Lagoon

 

Daddy's favorite view of Biltmore. I have stood at this very spot many times, and in many seasons of my life. But today is the first day I've summoned the courage to visit post-Helene.

The nearby French Broad River, having carved new banks in the flood, is a little broader these days. And the trees are bare ... but aren't they always at this time of year? The ducks are quietly paddling around and the Canada Geese are noisily honking - as always.

Nature allows itself to heal itself.