I'm concerned about the coming snow.

 

This is an image of children sledding at nearby Croton Gorge Park.  Not much has changed here since this picture was taken, save that tree growth has shortened the area where kids can sled down the hill.  Every time we get a "good" snow storm, my mind is drawn back to my childhood, where I had access to one run where I could sled down a hill for a distance of 1/4 mile.  Today's kids have no idea how much fun a long sled ride can be.  But then, if I were going to excel at a sport with the interests I had when young, it would have likely been the luge or skeleton.  Obviously, my life took a very different path since then.

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Sometime this weekend, we will get the first truly heavy snow of the season.  And I dread having to clean 12 inches (or more) of the white stuff off my car.  It will get in the way of me going outside as Marian.  It will make it impossible for me to consider going to church this Sunday.  It is just as well.  RQS and I will likely spend another weekend relaxing at home, something we both need to do.  (It's more so that RQS needs to relax.  But that's another story.)

I may end up placing another Amazon order, buying things that I can use, but don't absolutely need.  Most recently, I bought a set of 4 mouse pads, even though I needed only one.  This mouse pad fits perfectly into my armrest tray, an area which is perfect for mouse use while my laptop sits on my lap.  But I think I may do some apartment decluttering, some laundry, and make a new batch of onion soup to keep us warm on a cold winter's day.

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Given that I am getting older, there are just so many days left for me to be able to clear off my car and drive safely in inclement weather.  I felt that my father lost his ability to drive safely while he was in his 80's.  Considering that I am one of his two offspring, I'll have to keep this in mind as each year passes.  Further and further away is the time where I could safely sled down a hill, only stopping when the effects of gravitational acceleration are negated by friction.  Now, I have to be concerned about unplanned falls, and other situations where I may not be able to get back up as I did when I was younger.

A day at home, a dinner with Vicki

 

Last night, I was playing around with ChatGPT and asked it to generate a picture of me (face previously altered to look more feminine) standing in San Francisco on a nice summer's day.  I wish I could have been that woman in the picture in real life.  The AI version of me exudes happiness in her smile, and she projects a form of confidence that can't be ignored.

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This morning, I got up at my usual time and decided to cook breakfast - eggs and corned beef hash.    It's one of my quick go-to meals, as all I do is open up a can of hash, heat it up, then scramble in a couple of eggs.  It's a one skillet meal that I can make with a minimum of fuss.

After breakfast, I decided to relax, as I was not in the mood to do any type of decluttering.  Instead, I waited for an Amazon delivery that put 2 packages by my door.  The first package contained a set of mouse pads - the thing I needed most for using my mouse while sitting on my sofa.  The other package contained a watch "repair" kit, with spring pins that could be used to connect a watch strap to the base of the watch.  (The kit didn't contain all I needed to make fixing the watch band I had an easy job.  But it had just enough stuff for me to reattach one end of the watch band to the other.)  At least I learned a little something new by doing this task myself.

Around 5 pm, I left for dinner at the local Japanese restaurant.  Vicki was there on time - I was 10 minutes late.  Today's conversation was not as intense as it could have been.  Instead, it was relaxed, in part because Vicki had just had a facial and was already relaxed.  We talked about my latest cruise, and her husband's truck.  But very little talk of a serious nature.  And that was a big relief.  Yet, the issue of how I dressed on the cruise came up.  I mentioned that I dressed as Mario, as I didn't want any possible contact with Federal Government employees while presenting as Marian, as I don't want to be hassled by the Orange Snowflake's Gestapo.

Once done with dinner, I found out that Game Night was cancelled.  So I drove to Walmart to pick up a few items, and then to the supermarket to pick up ingredients for another batch of onion soup.  By the time I got home, I wouldn't wait to take off my bra and falsies, my wig, and most of my clothes to get into something comfortable.  

Tomorrow, RQS comes here again, and I start work on another batch of onion soup....

Neither of us wanted to brave the cold.

 

Senator John Blutarsky.  The fictional character had more to say for him than the excuse for a man running this country now.  The current president reeks of corruption, ineptitude, narcissism, and treason; while the future Senator Blutarsky dealt a blow to corruption at his college before moving on to politics. 

But why do I reference a great bit of comedic fiction in today's post?

This weekend, I picked RQS up at the station, had dinner out, and then spent the rest of the weekend (for the most part) relaxing inside.  Although we took a drive on Saturday to pick up ingredients to cook some French Onion Soup (with a slight variant or two from Julia Child's recipe), we stayed comfortably warm inside my apartment.

What does one do when one stays inside?  For the most part, it was watch TV and read books.  I've learned that I have to avoid over-watching the news as of late, as I'm getting sick each time I see President Musk and his lackey, Trump, destroy my nation from within.  I've read the outline of what they're doing in history books, and I don't like how the story ends up.  So, I've had to remind RQS that we need to watch more videos of people clearing up the mess around abandoned houses.  (We tend to enjoy videos from Midlife Stockman, as they tend to be the most relaxing.)  

Sunday came, and I could have gone to church.  I was conscious early enough to have done so.  Instead, I decided to drift back to sleep for another 3 hours.  By the time noon came, we had a decision to make.  Do we go outside in the cold, or do I make the warm, filling and tasty onion soup.  The soup won out, of course.  So, I sliced up 6 onions, then cooked them in my new Dutch Oven.  (I bought a cheap one, just for the onion soup.  If I like cooking with one, I may buy one of a better quality later on.)  Although I burnt some of the onions while cooking and scraped out the residue before continuing with the preparation, the soup came out OK.  This was the highlight of the weekend - something which allowed us to relax, and not fall prey to the fear the snowflake wants us to feel.

Why do I mention fear?

Supposedly, the snowflake has been intimidating GOP congressmen and senators with death threats.  (This was reported in a YouTube video, where one Democratic congressperson mentioned this to their constituents.)  If this is true, and I have no evidence of this, it's another step towards authoritarianism.  We have to counter this by first remembering FDR's great words (from another context): "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  By refusing to surrender any of our rights, and having others do the same, we can defeat this monster.  If not, we might as well remember the fictional Rick Blaine's dilemma in regard to the "Letters of Transit", and make appropriate choices.