Easing into the evening...

It's raining hard outside and I'm glad I'm not out there. I was out there earlier walking Tyke when it was drizzling and windy and that was bad enough. I didn't wear a hat, because it makes my hair look so funny, and my head got cold, but I can handle a little bit of cold. It's not freezing outside anymore and the temperatures are much kinder now compared to what they have been. Anything seems balmy now, even if the wind is blowing hard. 

It's going to be raining and 'balmy' for the next couple of days, so I guess we're very lucky. Anything that doesn't include freezing temperatures is good. A couple of days ago, people had to scrape the frost off their windshields and the grass was covered with it. There were even icy patches on the roads and the sidewalks, but we have none of that now, thank goodness. I never liked rain as much as I do now, although there have been other seasons that I liked it well enough also.

My personal helper was here this morning and we hung up the laundry and changed the sheets on the bed. I have to have jobs to do while she is here, otherwise we just sit here and talk and this particular helper, who comes on Wednesdays, is not so very good at that. She likes to have something to do. I must think of more chores to do while she is here. 

I sent her away a little bit early, because I really wanted to take a short nap on the sofa. It seemed that I didn't get enough sleep during the night, although I slept for seven hours. I thought that was enough when I got up this morning, but I never did stop yawning and the walk with Tyke that I took at dawn didn't refresh me properly. I wasn't ready to conquer the world. 

I'm so glad that there are clean sheets on my bed. I'm looking forward to going to sleep tonight. Something very interesting will have to be on television to prevent me from going prematurely. It's ridiculous. I act like a farmer from the Dark Ages who goes to bed when his chickens roost. It's like I have no life after it gets dark and it gets dark early. No. it's not like I really mind. I have no problem with it really. I do like my schedule and am quite comfortable with it. It fits me and that's the main concern.

I must remember that the days are getting longer now and if I try very hard, I can imagine that and tell myself that I notice the difference. It does give you something to be hopeful about. You do have to look at it optimistically. January is already almost halfway over. It is going by quickly. And the days really do seem a bit longer. I must always look at the glass half full and not half empty. It's a better attitude. You must never think that things are as dire as the night is dark. Besides, the night is no enemy of mine.

God awful Sesame Street is on. I suppose that when you're a kid, it's a wonderful program to watch, but when you're an adult it's maddening. It's always on before the six o'clock news, so I always catch a glimpse of it. I can't believe I used to watch it when my kids were little. I must have been brain dead then. I think all mothers of small children are, or simple minded. I sure am glad I survived that stage in my life and that my brain started functioning again afterwards. It seems it survived undamaged, although emotionally it took me some time to get over it. It did teach me to have infinite amounts of patience with a lot of things. I don't know if that's a good character trait, however. 

I've already been watching the news during the day, so there's probably not much news there for me to watch. I may as well wait for the eight o'clock news, which will be more comprehensive. Today is the commemorative of the earthquake in Haiti and there are a lot of questions about where all the money went that was donated. Different explanations are given, but it seems that country is difficult to help back on its feet, because it wasn't on its feet before. There was an enormous amount of poverty and corruption and there is even more now. 

I won't get bogged down in a discussion about that. I could have many similar discussions. There's injustice all over the world. 

There are rivers in the Netherlands overflowing their banks. It is not the disaster it could be, because we're well prepared. Where it is possible, temporary walls are built to hold back the water. In other places, land is being allowed to flood. The situation is much worse in Queensland where they really have problems. We watch what is happening in Brisbane with bated breath. 

Well, so much for my thoughts this evening, They did go all over the place. I must have had a lot on my mind. That's what happens if you watch the news a lot. 

I hope you all have a good evening.

Ciao,

Nora