Snowdrifts and Safaris...

 

There's no getting around it; 

I got the Chicago Winter Blues...  

It always happens about this time 

 when February nears its end...  

In some parts of the country, 

March would signal spring, 

but in Chicago warm days don't show up 

with any regularity until June...  

Hey, I'm not exaggerating!  

Snow is not out of the question until May 

and you can keep your shorts in storage 

for at least a month past then...

  

I remember we threw my sister in law's graduation party 

in our back yard one afternoon in mid May 

and we had to break out the outdoor space heaters...  

It snowed last night and, yes, 

it was pretty to look at this morning, 

but I had to shovel all that heavy prettiness...  

It's especially fun to scrape and shovel the sidewalks 

that have been packed down 

by early morning commuters 

trudging past my house...  

Oh, and then we will be treated to frozen sleet and drizzle 

this afternoon, just to spice things up...  

It's true, the older you get, the less you like the cold...  

Yesterday I bought a heating pad, because, 

A: we needed one and 

B: my back was sore... 

The real reason I bought it was 

because I am COLD!  

I wedged that heating pad behind my back 

as I read in bed last night 

and it almost replaced T$ for warmth...  

Look out, Honey, there's a new heat source in town...  

Ha!  

So, while I am slogging around in the slush, ice and snow, 

bundling up kids, kicking dirty sludge from my boots, 

T$ is quaffing Guinness and picnicking 

on the African version of the Champs du marche...   

For the past week, he has been trekking across the UAE and into Kenya, 

working on important deals for our company, 

HEAT Armor...  

I want him to be there.... 

I want him to be successful...  

It's just at this moment 

while I contemplate the pile of painting supplies 

and endless walls of this house 

that beckon for a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore Navajo White, 

 I wish I was in a land 

with lions, giraffes and camels instead...  

It is 80 degrees over there...  

It is 20 degrees here...  

I think I'll make soup...  

I have made all of these and they are tasty...

Veggie Laksa

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Avgolemono Soup