Improving!

The temperature is improving - finally. I know we sound like real wimps down here, but we just doin't build our houses for several days of below freezing temperatures. We have been lucky in that we got all the pipes insulated and nothing broke. That's great.

My tropical and subtropical plants look like cooked spinach now. I think they will come back, but my flower beds are really pathetic right now. My 30+ year old split leaf philodendrons that were four feet tall not are a pathetic glob of goo. I haven't had the nerve to venture out back to the deck yet. I think this will be a year to replant things.

We finally have sunlight streaming through our windows. Partially because there IS sunlight, and partially because I don't have the blinds closed and the drapes pulled tight to try to keep the cold out and the warm in. There is a good five degree temperature difference between the living areas and the bedrooms. This happens in summer too, but we can crank up the fans to get the air moving. With the cold, we have to have a fire going and all the north rooms closed off. It still is cooler in the living areas, but the fire makes it seem warmer. Perhaps I should just not watch programs on cable and turn to "Yule Log" in the on-demand section. It would be easier than tending a fire.

Even my spirits are somewhat lifted. I have been puttering to de-clutter. That also energizes me somewhat. I do love a clean house, but so often I just feel overwhelmed. If I just had a little help . . . (from someone who lives here) But I am slowly getting it together. My deadline is the 26th. I work better under pressure!

Friday I went for the spot compression mammogram. I know the doctor looked at it then because the technician took the thing (not a film because it is all digital now) for him to be sure that they got the proper view. In my way of thinking, he could have told me good or bad right then. Hopefully I will know something by Tuesday. Perhaps there won't be a knee replacement on the 27th. Or then, perhaps the breast surgeon can just scrub in with the Ortho doc and do it all at once.

Hope you are warm and comfortable. Hope you didn't have pipes break or a power outage to make you huddle in the dark.

Peace.