Forty Degrees and Rain---Must Be Global Warming

Evie's Back, At The Rod and Gun

8:00

Why I Wake Early

by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety—

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light—
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

Up at 6:45 to an unusual sound, at least for January, rain on the roof, water dripping from the gutters, as the arctic weather disappears, April weather surfaces, at least for a day or two.  A dreary morning though the ice fishermen are not discouraged, out there early on a Saturday morning.

Yesterday was the first day in a couple of weeks in which Evie almost felt back to normal.  How did I know?  She has started reorganizing our downstairs closet, our pantry as well, so it's now easier to find a can of beans, and we can get in without having to move a vacuum cleaner.  And where was I?  At yoga with a new teacher, Jen Raines, a decent size class and yes, one other hardy guy, Steve Nystrom, a fellow retiree whom I met last year at yoga.  I liked the class, worked up quite a sweat on a couple of asanas, surprising me.  Either I am really out of shape or they were difficult to hold.  I like new teachers because they always do things differently, bring some variety to a class, this time an interesting breathing exercise, which warms you up immediately.  I also stopped at Wegman's so we will not have to go shopping this weekend.  We are set with food for the next three days or more if we wish.

Getting Started

It Takes A Village

Around 5:30, both of us were excited---we were getting out of the house, the first time for Evie in over a week except for a doctor's office.  We drove to the Rod and Gun, packed as usual, sat at the bar for a couple of beers, lost some money quickly by gambling, and had the fish fry, best deal in town.  We love the busyness of the place, the fact that of all these people, hundreds, we know or recognize maybe one or two.  Who are they and where do they live?  All seem to have been fortunate to have had decent paying jobs, enough to buy a home, raise a family, give them some retirement, so that they could go out to a Rod and Gun on a Friday night for a change, like us.  We always feel like one of the younger couples there which gives you an idea of the age of the crowd.

We watched the next episode of Parenthood, taped from Thursday night, for us a compelling show about families and their children.  And we watched the first episode of Banshee, a series on Cinemax that was advertised as better than Homeland.  It's not but I kind of liked it though Evie didn't...too much gratuitous violence and sex.  Maybe that's why I liked it!