I confess that although I empathize with those threatened by the coming blizzard, my main feeling about this news is one of gratitude that mid coast Maine is not in the storm's path. The first year we lived here, we had a storm that dumped 32 inches:
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| David's car post-blizzard! |
I figure, we've done blizzard.
It is interesting to me that the storm coverage states that governors are advising people to lay in supplies for 72 hours or even a week, expecting that people may lose power that long. I am recalling the storm from a few years ago, not Hurricane Sandy, before that, that came on October 31st when the trees still bore leaves. We were living in Connecticut and lost power for 11 days. 11 days! Luckily we had a gas stove, so we could heat water, cook food. We took showers at a gym downtown (where the power lines were underground so they didn't lose power) and at work. And at home, we were cold!
Speaking of cold, I bought a new winter coat this year. I wasn't satisfied with my old one from LL Bean. Most of the time it was warm enough, but on truly bitterly cold days, even with layers, I felt cold in it. I really looked around for a replacement, and finally settled on a coat from Lands End, the insulated Squall Parka. Here it is:
Its only shortcoming may be that it is too warm, and possibly too heavy. I do wonder whether I will be able to actually lift the jacket in order to put it on as I get older and presumably weaker. The coat is so warm, that I find I can't wear it all that often, even up here, even in winter (at least, this winter). I wear it on my morning walks with Ella, and if I take her out at night, I usually wear it then. Otherwise I'm back to my aging LL Bean parka.
What I like about the new coat are the pockets. There are 5 of them. An inside one where I put my phone. 4 outside pockets where I store the following:
1) Kleenex - I can't leave the house in the winter without a large supply of tissues; the alternative would be neither polite nor pretty.
2) Dog biscuits - I can't leave the house with Ella EVER without a supply of dog biscuits.
3) Tennis ball - this is a requirement only for long morning walks when we stop down at the Ohara's Bait yard by the water to toss the ball for 5-10 minutes - yes, even in the bitter cold (although not in the pouring rain; even Ella doesn't insist on that).
4) Poop bags - this is a requirement for every walk with Ella, and it is sound practice to carry 2 poop bags; you never know when it might be a 2 bag day!
So you can see, I need 4 pockets - and the inside pocket for the cell phone is a nice perk (although the jacket is badly designed in this area; the pocket is between the outside fabric of the coat and the inside insulation; that means the phone gets cold; the insulation should be on the outside of the pocket, between its contents and the cold).
In other news... the right wing nut jobs are still illegally occupying the wildlife refuge in Oregon... the Republican candidates are still whipping up division and hatred... Bernie Sanders creeps up in the Iowa polls... I hope to attend a workshop on participating in Maine's Democratic caucuses (actually enrolled as a Democrat - was a non-enrolled Independent) so I can vote for Bernie in the primary)... I miss my grandsons, must visit before too long...
The sky is clear and so blue. 5 planets are aligning each night, visible just before dawn. One night this week, I'll get up extra early to see them:
Peace, peace, far and near, soon, in our lifetimes, and forever.
