Ah, The Days of SUMMER!!!

What happens when you mix three girls, costumes, whiskey, and one very compliant gentleman horse?



No, just the picture we put on our housewarming party invite. We took something like 50 photos, all of which I wish I could put up here, there are good ones, bad ones, VERY bad ones... well. I'll see if I can get them from my roommie's camera.

I love looking at them because I can remember getting sweaty in my cowboy shirt and chaps, back when the grass was green in the pastures and there wasn't so much MUD and MUCK to trample through everywhere... the skies were full of big white puffies, we played music a lot in the kitchen -

And now my old bones are bitten from the cold, the grey skies go on forever... I don't even want to get up to feed myself let alone the horses, the cat... I actually sit and think, how long can the litter box go between changes? And is there a way I can unnaturally prolong it? Cat refuses to use the oh-I-wish-I-had-this bed I made for her, an overstuffed-undersized cloud of a bed lined with a heating pad, whose controls I just push, and five minutes later she could be snoozing in her own steamy comfort... but no! she continues to crawl under MY new comforter, the down-alternative 300-thread-count, no-I-don't-wanna-wash-this-each-week comforter. Thusly, I have cat fur EVERYWHERE. Shiaat.

Well, sometimes I get smart (see! it can happen to anyone!) and recently here are some of my smarter ideas: I bought a desk lamp, brushed nickel finish with a 120-watt bulb, for $5 from the Goodwill, and the bright light helps banish my gray days (see, Windy? I don't know what the diff is either so I used one of each for good measure). The heat from the incandescent bulb too keeps my little bedroom from growing icicles. And if I put it next to me, sometimes even resting it on my legs... well, it gives off some heat to these cramping, cold muscles. Also literally shines heat onto my frozen toe-cubes.

I also went shopping at a discount store for some bubble bath, some GREAT smelling soap (I now have enough to last a small army 'til next summer) and the softest, cuddliest two-dollar socks I've ever held in my little hands! Putting one pair on last night, I turned them inside out, and my feet were so happy they spread the joy right up to the corners of my mouth!

After twenty minutes of lolling around in tropical olive-oil and basil-scented heaven that is my steam bath (for which I intentionally do NOT turn on the exhaust fan), closing my eyes to the bright heat lamps shining like an island sun down on me, and opening them again to see streams of their light through the steamy mist... putting my fuzzy socks on, and blow-drying my hair (a treat I hardly ever give myself), I feel the cockles warming up enough - even the sub-cockles - to motivate me to make some stew, or hashed browns, or some other lovely comfort food, and put my blankets and (down-alternative!) comforter in the dryer for a while to de-fur them for the next night's sleep.

I am watching the hurricane, and hope soon our Floridian sisters and brothers will be able to enjoy some peace soon!