Coffee is Made and the Fire is Going

January 20, 2019 Sunday

To start with here are the basics.  It is a clear day.  The air temperature is -1F.  I am on my second cup of decaf espresso.  A fire is in the wood stove. I have taken my wife her espresso and her regular coffee each with some cream in them.  My breakfast is gone.  At the store yesterday they were out of Wheat Chex and I had to settle for the store brand.  My breakfast today with thus Wheat Squares with a 1/4 cup of milk, 3/4 banana and a handful of walnuts.  There were 3 ounces of orange juice consumed. To quote Paul Simon, “There’s all that weight to be lost”.

As I headed downstairs it was clear to me I had gotten up during the golden hour.  Often my writing talks about the golden hour. This is because I am visually so intrigued by it.  On a cold winter day, in the early morning just after the sun has broken across the horizon, the light does some wonderful things on fresh snow.  With the bright intensity of the light present in those precious minutes between when the dawn breaks and when the fires orb is fully up, new snow is just alive with thousands of tiny little reflections of the sun’s winter rays.  They sparkle like glitter on a parade float.  And when you turn you head you see some other refractory game this transition from dark to light provokes.

No fancy camera here, so I can never quite catch the light I love so much.  This morning I hung my upper torso out the front door and with my iPhone 7 I snapped a couple of shots.  Later I will try and massage them to sort of, kind of, demonstrate what I am talking about. The results will be a pale reflection of what I saw.  Reminiscent of Plato’s cave perhaps?  Mere shadows to the reality of nature’s beautiful moments.

Ah, and what is the kitten doing.  Today was the first time since we have had the beast there has been a fire in the wood stove.  As I set about getting the flames to going she was dashing the length of the house on both floors from end to end.  Our circular stairwell was being used much like a high banked turn at a NASCAR track, her front paws clutching the road ahead and her rump dragging the outer wall at speed.  When she saw the fire the laps stopped.  She sat in front of the firebox for a couple of minutes and just starred at the flickering flames.  She walked around circling the unit trying in her cat brain to figure out what this new thing was.  Flames and heat wrapped in metal, how do my large overloads manage this?

I will go to WW today.  I went midweek but I think I am okay to go today.  WW at the meetings is very organized.  WW on the phone is very organized.  WW talking between the meetings and the central office (the phone) not so good. Thus because of a kaffufle of matching up my old account with my new account I don’t know what I weighed in at last week.  I will try and get a base line weight to work from today.

I note that since joining up last Tuesday at lunch I have had two good days and two meh days. One day I am unsure of because I didn’t calculate the dinner meal.  May not sound like much but keeping track of my food intake four out of five days is pretty good. (Oh Well, this plan to hit a meeting has gone out the window. Wife and youngest son have just headed out for “their” breakfast).

The youngest and my wife have a on again/ off again ritual of going to breakfast at one of those places where they serve you two strips of bacon, two sausages, a piece of ham., three eggs and rye toast for $7.99.  The lad scarfs it all down.  The wife eats 1/3 or 1/2 and brings the other part home for the older son.  The Moose sleeps until midday on the weekends.  

The get together is a good time for them.  They talk.  They discuss world affairs.  They throw puns back and forth.  The puns are nonstop and fast, really fast.  Sitting there is like watching a couple of chess grandmasters go at it. The snark is set to eleven.  Me, I would just rather avoid it.  Too much food and I can’t keep up.

As I was starting the fire this morning I was crumpling up newspaper to act as kindling.  I had to stop when I found two articles I decided I needed to read.  One was on the topic of medication and Aspergers and the other on eye strain after long hours of computer use.  Given I live with both these items in my life I guess that after I finish typing this out I will sit by the fire with my cuppa and read both of ‘em.

Well that is Sunday morning for you.