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Friday, January 24, 2014

Meanderings of the Mind and other Daily Issues

Desert Sunrise - 1 January 2014

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m really a weather freak and like it nice, so bad weather affects me a lot.  I guess it’s okay to say something about the incredible weather we’re having since January is almost over this year.  Usually as soon as you get something out of your mouth, it changes.

This is the nicest January we’ve had since we’ve lived here in the desert.  This time of year, we’re lucky to be in the thirties during the day.  We’ve had temperatures in the high fifties and low sixties with lots of sunshine and not many dreary days.  Much of the “lower forty-eight,” as it’s called in Alaska, has been colder than the last frontier itself, including where my poor sister lives in NY, so now I feel lucky.  Even today, where most of my family lives south of Houston, it was only 36 for a high.

This year is different weather wise for much of the country, but I don’t think its global warming; only a natural trend we get back to after a number of years.  We had bitterly cold weather when I growing up, but it’s been real mild since that time.  Many days it’s in the seventies in south Texas in January and will be that way starting again on Sunday.  There’s a bigger danger for colds and the flu with this yo-yo type weather.  I hope everyone’s taking precautions to stay well.  Heaven knows I remind them all the time, being the big believer in vitamin C and hand washing that I am.



 Desert Sunset - 6 January 2014

The weather is a big issue when considering where I’ll live next; hence, I’ve been keeping my eye on several places as the last couple of months have gone by.  But weather can’t be the only issue because there are many things to consider, such as cost of living.  However, I feel I don’t have to put up with the cold winters, if I can help it.  Someday, one of these moves will be my last move and I want that to be somewhere warm where I never have to worry about protecting plants from the frost and digging ice out of the birdbath.



 Birds enjoying the pool.  I thaw it out with boiling water from my teapot.
 
I keep wondering if February will be God-awful this year to make up for January.  Usually it rains a lot here in February and stays in the forties.  I’ve always wondered why they have the Parade of Homes here during that month because the weather is always windy and muddy, and plastic and other things have to be taped down on the floors of the new homes to protect them from the hundreds who will file through to get ideas for decorating.  I doubt they get many buyers at this affair because the homes are overpriced and so extravagant that it isn’t practical to think of living there.

Of course, we were hoping to have our house on the market in the next two weeks.  We’re moving in that direction, but we still have too much to do.  I’m sill deciding what to sell or donate, and what to keep, as I organize things to pack.  This is a slow process when I also sew, craft, draw, and read, as well as write.  I have a ton of stuff I’m not ready to part with yet, especially when I think about the replacement costs at today’s prices.

I’m still working on the rewrites of my mystery novel.  A stomach bug that kept me in bed a couple of days has put me further behind schedule.  I also had eye issues and found out I have beginning macular degeneration, so that was a shock.  I may post more about this later.  It’s hard to keep this blog up at the moment, but I’m trying my best.

Things are getting difficult for my sisters in Texas as they deal with our mother who has mild cognitive impairment, or so the doctor said in November after extensive testing.  I’m beginning to wonder if he got this right because she seems to be further advanced than that in her dementia.  Unbeknownst to her, she is slowly alienated her caregivers with her outbursts.  I want them to keep me in the loop here, so I get regular updates on her condition and all the episodes of the day that I pass on to my little sister in NY.

It’s hard to think of my mother turning into such a little devil at times because she’s such a sweet person and has sacrificed so much for us growing up.  However, I’ve seen a lot of this behavior from the days I was a bookkeeper in a nursing facility years ago.  My advice to my sisters is to grow a thick skin; the same thing writer’s have to do, in order to manage the situation.  Everyone has a breaking point, but you can’t let it get to you.  As far as I know, that’s the only way to keep going and come out the other end.  I’ll post more about this later.

I wish the best to all of you and hope you’re on track to meet your goals for 2014.

4 comments:

  1. Hello Sunni! I think you would love Florida. January has been beautiful with warm sunny days and cool nights. We've only had a few very cold nights (for us anyway) in the upper forties, but mostly the nights have been in the mid to upper sixties. I hope the new year continues to be good for you.

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  2. Hi Vashti,

    I know I would love Florida. I thought you were only visiting there and lived in NY. I guess it's my misunderstanding. A close friend moved back there a couple of months ago. He lived there years ago and always wanted to go back. That is one place in the US that stays halfway decent temp-wise in the winter. I'm all for it but not sure my husband can deal with the humidity.

    Plus I have health issues with my mother and I need to move to TX if I can. My sisters have their hands full dealing with everything - not that I want to get involved with that but I feel I probably should.

    Right now, life is a situation for all.

    Thank you so much for reading and commenting. It means a lot.

    Sunni

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  3. I don't mind bad weather if I don't have to be out in it and actually I don't mind driving in bad weather if the highways are free of crazy drivers. The weather in L.A. has been beautiful to start off the year, but we sure could use rain--a lot of it.

    Good luck with the move. That's something I don't look forward to very much.

    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out

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  4. Hi Lee,

    I detest cold weather. We've had it very nice this Jan though, so I can't complain. It's the warmest Jan we've had in my ten years here. Yes, I was in southern CA about three weeks ago. It was beautiful! I know you need rain though. I lived there twenty five years and it hardly rained at all.

    Thanks for stopping by. I'm hoping to have enough time to do the A to Z. It was fun last year.

    Sunni

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Sunni