Warming Up

Picture taken from my back deck yesterday afternoon

The temperature now is twenty-two degrees. The forecast for today is a "high" of thirty-seven degrees. This is a regular heat wave here folks! Maybe this frozen snow will finally begin to melt.

One good thing about living in the southern most county in Delaware (yes, I officially live in "the South"), it that on those rare occasions that it does snow, the snow is usually gone in a day or two. Not this time folks, our rock free sandy loam soil has been covered with frozen snow for two weeks now. This is the longest I can remember since I've been living here (twenty years). 

Right about now I should be packing for my annual trip to Palm Springs and Modernism Week. No trip this year. As I said neither Pat nor I can afford that luxury this year. And talk about cold, whatever cold temperatures I'm having down here in Delaware, Pat's having at least ten to fifteen degrees colder. This is a winter both of us will remember well.

Next year, Palm Springs. If I'm able to that is. We're planning on driving out. Yes, across the United States. Something I've always wanted to do. Now is the time to do it because I'm running out of time. I remember years ago a woman who I used to work with at the bank said she was visiting Ireland, where her ancestors came from. She was older and she said "Ron, I want to visit while I can still walk." I thought that was an exaggeration on her part but now I know what she meant. I'm barely able to walk. Another reason I don't want to be running through airports trying to make a connection. 

Have a great day everyone!

Mortality Discussion With An Old Friend

 

Me and Stuart, I'm in the back right with my hand to my  mouth and Stuart is standing straight up in front of me. The year was 1951 in our third grade elementary school class.

Just got off my weekly Zoom call with my former classmate (from first grade in 1947) and friend Stuart. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida. We've been Zooming weekly on Sunday for about the last four years now. This week he's undergoing surgery for a pacemaker implant. Of course we're both the same age (84) so there is a possibility that he may not survive this surgery. 

At our age we often talk about our impending date with the Grim Reaper. We don't know the exact date but one thing we're sure of is that it will happen. We're both comfortable with that knowledge. As I've said many times before in this medium, I'm not afraid of dying just how I get there. I don't want a long, lingering, painful death where I am a burden to anybody. I also don't want a slow death in a warehouse also known as a "facility" for a nursing home. It ain't happening with us folks. And now that Delaware has a right to die law, if I get a termination date of my death say due to the return of my prostate cancer, I'm choosing the date I make my departure from this earthly existence. Both of us are very comfortable with our decisions.

In the meantime, we mean to live each day to its fullest. No more taking anything for granted.

The Cold Continues

 

Here I am, still trapped in my house by the unrelenting cold outside.

Oh how I would love to take a walk outside. Exercise these legs that are swelling up again from lack of activity. 

Yesterday, more of the Epstein files were released. They reveal horrible accusations that I don't want to even think about. Here's my question: Why didn't the Merrick Garland Justice Department release these files? I think I know why, the government always lies to us. Whether Democrat of Republican, they always lie. Always. Depressing isn't it? Sometimes I feel as if I can wait to get out of this world fast enough. I've had enough.

Neighbor Emergency

My frozen front walkway just now. Looks innocent and safe but it's not. All frozen solid. Dangerous.

Today, for the first time in a week I ventured out of the house.

The temperatures are still in the high teens. 

The snow and subsequent rain of the winter storm last week is still on the ground except for the roadways.

I could stay in my house for another week, I have enough food to sustain me but mentally I have to get out of this house. 

Cabin fever. 

I have to get out.

I'm telling your folks, I wouldn't do well in an assisted living facility. Living in one of those old age warehouses is like a glorified prison. 

I was taking my chances of course of slipping and falling on the frozen snow by going out. Thank goodness my local supermarket had their lot cleaned out. I didn't have to walk on any frozen snow.

While I was at Food Lion (my local supermarket of choice) I received a phone call from my eighty-six year old widower neighbor. My MAGA neighbor (we don't discuss politics, we know better). He was locked out of his house. His garage door wasn't opening and he didn't have an extra set of keys hidden outside of his house.

He was in a panic. He said "Ron, I'm in big trouble!" He wanted to know if I had a set of keys to his house (I don't). I have the code to his garage door (I walk his dog when he's on one of his frequent fishing day trips). He said he tried to break the glass next to his front door. He said it wasn't breaking. Well, that was good news because if the glass broke that easy, any criminal could easily break into our cookie cutter development Ryan homes houses. He wanted to know if I had a big hammer so he could break his glass. I told him of course Bill has all kinds of hammers. I told him I was almost finished shopping and would be home in about fifteen minutes.

When I arrived home I saw him sitting in his car in his driveway with his motor on to keep him warm in his car in this 18 degree cold.

I went into my house to get one of Bill's hammers and when I very carefully walked over to his driveway over the frozen snow (yes, here I am risking falling walking on frozen snow) he was on his phone calling a locksmith. A locksmith! Of course! Why didn't I think of that? 

I could see he was having trouble getting a live locksmith on the phone but he finally left a message. He asked if he could stay at my house until the locksmith called him back. When he got to my place I decided to call another locksmith. I did and got hold of one right away. The locksmith said he would be here in twenty minutes or so. That was more like it. WTF? You should be able to get hold of a locksmith right away not leave a message. 

While my neighbor was here I told him about how Bill sends me signs and messages of the Afterlife. My neighbor also his wife about a year before Bill died. His wife and Bill were very good friends as I was with her also. "Bob" (I'll stop calling him "my neighbor", his name is "Bob") listened to me patiently but I could tell the more I talked about the different ways Bill has been keeping in contact with me, that he thought I cuckoo beans for Cocoa Puffs. Oh well, I don't care. I know what Bill is doing. As he was leaving, following him I said "I hope I didn't spook you Bob." He said "Oh, I'm spooked Ron. I'm spooked" as he carefully walked over the frozen ice back to his driveway, getting away from me as fast as he could before I further spooked him.

He called me about a half hour later and told me he got in his house. He thanked me for my help.

Thus my little drama today.

Poor Pat, he's been stuck in the Quebec area the past two days in the cold and snow with his Go Valet job. As I type this I see on my iPhone GPS tracker he's still driving those snow covered roads in Quebec environs in cold, cold Canada.

 

Cold, Cold, Cold

 

View out of my front door yesterday, January 27, 2026

This is a view of the cul de sac from my front door.

Fortunately we here in southern coastal Delaware didn't receive a lot of snow (about three inches) but we did receive and continue to have a lot of cold.

The temperature right now as I type this blog posting is nineteen degrees. While not as cold as Alaska, Minnesota or even Quebec Canada (where Pat was working at his Go Valet job today), nineteen degrees is cold for us Delawareans. 

This cold is expected to continue for the next seven days with another winter storm watch this weekend.

I have enough food to last me a month, thanks to my unfortunate lifelong habit of over shopping and two refrigerators and one freezer chest for storage. However, I am getting cabin fever. Just another reason why I'll never put myself into an assisted living facility. 

I feel like I am in a prison now. 

I feel like I am being smothered. 

January and February of each year for me are always the worst months of the year. To me these months are the "just get through" months.

However, I have much to continue to be thankful for.

I have my independence. I have a comfortable and warm home. I have friends that I can talk to on FaceTime and Zoom. I have my social network on Threads. 

Normally, this time of year I would be getting ready for my annual trip to Palm Springs for Modernism Week. A two week celebration of the glorious days of the Fifties. Oh for those calm filled days. I remember being bored by the Eisenhower Years. Hey, I'll take that boredom of those years over the danger and chaos of the Trump Years now. 

In the future, long after I am gone, school kids will read about these years and wonder "How did they manage to survive?" One day at a time folks, one day at a time.

Truth Posting For Today

 Dress up Barbie. 

Thought For The Day