Wild Winter Wonderings

 Blather that insulates you from the cold.

1.
Currently this is what it looks like outside my front door.

Actually, this is pretty good compared to what is has been today and what it might yet be. There was a bit of time when the snow was swirling so thickly that I couldn’t see the trees very well.

Oh the joys of Winter in Cleveland. And by tomorrow morning……

It will be around –5F.

HHBL and I are going out for an early dinner/late lunch before church. The restaurant is actually a 4 minute drive or a 6 minute walk from Chez Knit. We will be driving it. We were then going to go on to church as we go to a Saturday night service at Christ Community Chapel. I am not sure that church is in the offing tonight.

2.
I love audiobooks. I know I have mentioned that before. My current “listen” is Gone With the Wind. It has been quite a long time since I read the book and almost instantly after beginning the audiobook I was reminded how much of a dislikeable character Scarlett O’Hara is. If you have only seen the movie, one of my favorites I might add, you might think that you know how utterly unlikeable that she is….but you really have no idea. She is utterly unlikeable.

And yet, the book is an absolute masterpiece.

On the subject of Gone With the Wind (the movie version), I have to confess…..Clark Gable is SO not my favorite actor and is the one fly in my movie ointment when I watch GWTW. I know, HERESY!!! I have never really liked Clark Gable as an actor, I can’t tell you why I just know that it is. Don’t ask me who I would have put in his place because I am not sure. If Laurence Olivier could have done a creditable Southern accent then I might have picked him, he is SO dishy. Wouldn’t Vivien Leigh have loved that! They were involved in a flamingly heavy affair about the time that she filmed GWTW. Oh well, I will just have to survive.

3.
I have managed, in the last 10 days, to spend down MOST of my credits on Paperback Book Swap.

Patting myself on the back.

I decided to leave a few credits in the bank as there are several books in my wish list that if they became available I would want.

The postman has been furiously delivering books to my door every day. I am sure that he thinks I am either starting my own library or that perhaps I have nothing else to do but read….now wouldn’t THAT be nice.

There has only been one problem. One of the books that arrived, a sweater pattern book, had loose pages. I was not happy and the shipper has returned my credit. Other than that little snafu it has been all smooth sailing.

Now to go and read a bit.

4.
Oh yes, on the subject of books. I can tell you that my obsessive compulsive super duper “Books I have read in my life” spreadsheet has come in handy when looking at books to order on PBS. If you are a reader it is a VERY upsetting thing to sit down with a book and realize that you have read it before. You get a few pages or maybe a chapter in and you just know that this is ground you have covered before. I read enough books that I cannot always remember what I read 10 or 15 years ago, that is why I maintain the spreadsheet.

Oh FINE! I like the neatness of recording each book that I read. SO sue me.

But it has still saved my literary bacon on more than one occasion.

5.
This feels like such a strangely discombobulated week. It always does if we travel mid-week to mid-week. I don’t know if I am coming or going. I will say that the traveling went smoothly. I would expect no less from Southwest Airlines…..but then I might be a bit biased on that score. HHBL and I agreed that it was definitely worth it to spend the bit of extra money in order to be about to have an assured spot in group “A”. Since we travel with only carry on, no matter how long the trip, it assures us both an aisle seat and overhead bin space. The flight back didn’t have yipping dogs, thank goodness, but it did have a screaming child. 4 hours of screaming by the by. It didn’t bother me but I certainly felt very bad for the parents. We were also serenaded by the ramp agent before the cabin doors were closed and again by one of the flight attendants just before landing.

Dang I love SWA.

6.
My Valentine sent me a special video this morning. I thought I might share it. For some reason it will not embed so you will just have to click on the link to see.

My Valentine

7.
As always, Instagram. Because when I get to #7 I just plain run out of ideas.