The Winter Blues Of Dusk And Dawn

Dusk: 5:12 PM

Dawn: 7:17 AM

7:29 AM

Darkness and quiet reign still outdoors at 7:00.  I have been up since before 6:00, enjoying coffee, listening to some TED talks since there's nothing on the major news channels.  I am just beginning to make out the shape of a tree trunk in our front yard.  It looks like the snow has stopped for a day and it may get up to the 30's later in the day. 

A Surprise Visit From A Mourning Dove

Yesterday was another stuck in our home kind of day, not that we minded.  It was kind of nice knowing we did not have to go anywhere, that our pantry and freezer and refrigerator were full. ready for a weekend spent at home.  Because we got a good eight inches of snow overnight, we knew we had some work to do clearing our driveway.  I went out to shovel around 9:00 and took it easy, literally taking the top six inches off of the drifts, making it easier to clear.  Evie soon joined me and between the two of us, we cleared the area in about a half hour.  Evie, I have to admit, did much of the shoveling, winter fun like the cutting of our lawn in the summer.  Once we were done with the driveway, cleaned off the car, I gathered our trash, put it in the Outback and drove to the Transfer Station, still busy at 11:00 in the morning.  For whatever reason, when I get there, five to ten cars are parked, getting rid of their trash.  By the time I leave, I am the only car left.  Rarely have I been able to drive up to the truck and be the only car there. 

Finch on the Windowsill

We did something different in the afternoon.  After my lunch of leftover chicken and mashed potatoes, we watched an Australian psychological thriller, DEAD CALM (1989), Nicole Kidman's first film.  Except for the ridiculous reappearance of the thug/kidnapper at the end of the film, it was pretty good.  We both relaxed after the film, as I took a nap and Evie watched some more TV before putting together her Mom's classic Slovenian dinner, beans and potato soup, with pork chops and sauerkraut.  Once the soup was made, the pork chops browned and put in the oven with the sauerkraut, dinner was done so we could relax in the living room as the day waned, with a glass of wine or two.

We ate around 6:30, dinner was great, especially the soup with sauerkraut, my favorite.  Fortunately, we remembered that the second season of THE CROWN was now on Netflix, so we watched the first three episodes, none of which were as compelling of last year's series.  It spent much of the time with Phillip, his six-month travel abroad, and the widening gap between the Queen and her husband.  I then watched some of the NCAA women's volleyball final, going up to bed after Nebraska had easily won the first two games.  I saw in the news that they won in four games, beating Florida as I expected.