Day 6 and Feeding the Soul

Home from work and there was mail in the mailbox. It was all junk mail. Into the recycling can it goes. I find that refreshing. I tossed in a load of wash and made myself some English Breakfast tea. Once the tea was ready, I ensconced myself in the settee to stitch. I love it when my stitching gets interrupted by the need to scratch ears and a chin. Once Pilchard settled down, I got more done today.

I had to get up to hang up the wash and to make dinner but we sat for a good hour and a half, her and I. This was peace.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

The link to 153 photos.

One of my friends asked me to post the link to the Flickr collection of blizzard photos.

I'm happy to oblige. Click here.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

Sometimes Life Makes Me Cry

Yesterday was a day for lists. There was the list of things I needed to get my taxes done. There was the small, but growing list of things I didn't get at the store or things I've run out of. There's the small list of people I should buy Valentine cards for. But the best list, and it was short, was of things that made me really happy.

Of course #1 on the list is shoveling out the drive and up to the mailbox. To start with this on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m....

 and awaken to this on Wednesday morning...

to finally arriving at this on Sunday, is #1 on the good things list.

But there are two more things that were so good yesterday. One of them involved the mystery box mentioned in yesterday's post.

I took the soggy box inside and set it on the floor. Instantly, it was surrounded and sniffed. There was a noise, best described as a "tinkle" as I shifted the box. I thought something inside had broken.

Now, I don't remember ordering anything lately, not a thing. I'm getting a tax refund this year so I'm going to indulge myself and get a collector's edition of "Nightmare Before Christmas", unless someone gives it to me for Valentine's Day. It's a great movie to cross-stitch to. But that has to wait until my refunds are direct deposited and, if you have tried to file you know the IRS is holding all filings until the 14th so they can verify that you didn't claim Fluffy or Fido, among other things. Plus, that's a fairly large box. So I was very curious as to what was inside of it.

Wouldn't you know it, I opened it upside down.

This was no help in figuring out what this was. I removed the item from the box and discovered it was a tea gift set. Here, Pilchard inspects it.

Now I'm really, really confused. I looked at the box label. That's my correct name and address but the return address is some company in Pennsylvania. Did I win a basket in a contest I don't remember entering?

In checking the label more closely, there was a phone number and I vaguely recognized the number. But, at my age, there are so many phone numbers of so many people stored in the great Rolodex that is your brain that your first cousin's phone number they had when they were 15 is, quite possibly, mixed up with your grandfather's phone number or maybe that's the phone number for the library. Who knows.

Digging further into the box, I came upon the packing slip. There, on the "Memo" line was the note, "Dear Deb. It's been a rough end of the year 2010 for you and not the greatest start to 2011. Here's hoping 2011 shapes up to be wonderful. Have a cup on us. Love Mary." That's when I recognized the phone number.

I sat down in the chair in the living room and looked at Mija chewing on the ribbon and burst into tears. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Of all the times I NEEDED a reminder that there are people who genuinely care, it was Sunday afternoon, after almost 2 hours of shoveling.

The basket contains a tea pot and the bag holder (That's what was making the noise as the holder hit the pot.), English Breakfast and Earl Grey teas and Honey Sticks. Now the Honey Sticks are something completely new to me. It's clover honey packages in plastic tubes you break open (getting some on your fingers in the process) and add to your tea. It's just the right amount.

There isn't a word for the warmth that I felt looking at this basket. Mary said it just seemed like the right thing to do for me right now. She was concerned about the tea choices as she drinks coffee or Lipton Iced in the summer. I love English Breakfast and Earl Grey is the perfect kind to go with reading. I took a shower, tossed those clothes down the chute and made myself a cup of tea with a pot for later. I pulled out my bone china cup, a Christmas present from Tonia some years ago. It seemed like the perfect cup to go with hot, fresh English Breakfast tea.

Thank you, Tom and Mary. What a wonderful gift to be discovered at the exact time I needed it.

Oh, item #3 on the good list? Gauss is resuming his For the Horde runs soon. I can't wait to be killed spectacularly over and over again as I defend Alliance cities. You bet I'll have a mug of hot tea sitting next to the computer.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

Free at last!

Sunday morning and I'm seriously thinking the gods or Mother Nature hate me. It snowed overnight.

Pretty much any other time, I'd be ooh-ing and ahh-ing. Today, I was cursing. 

It wasn't just a light dusting either. It was 3 friggin' inches. To say I was a bit disheartened is something of an understatement. 

But, I pulled on my socks, my pants, my sweater, grabbed my shovels, which I've left on the deck, and trudged out to the street, after sweeping off the Jeep. The task at hand was to widen the entry so it would be easy for anyone to get into and out of my drive. 

Add a three inch coating of fresh, fluffy snow and the plow having gone by and this wasn't going to be a quick 30 minute task. 

Slice off a bit and break it into chunks while around me came the whirr of snowblowers being fired up yet again. Nope. No one came to blow out what had fallen overnight and I knew they certainly weren't going to come help finish off this last little bit. Sorry if I don't acknowledge you when you drive by and wave. Actually, I'm not sorry. I'm too tired to acknowledge you. 

It took roughly 40 minutes to reduce this wedge to something reasonable. I stood in the street shoveling and forced people to slow down and to look. Yes, I'm feeling a mite peckish but this was quite ridiculous that no one, not one neighbor, offered to help, even for an hour. The best I got was an "I hope I can get my blower working, but my back won't let me help." 

Once this was done, I aimed for the mailbox. I knew I had to get this shoveled or the mailman wasn't going to deliver. "Neither snow, nor rain, nor dark of night" doesn't work after a blizzard. If they can't get to your mailbox, they don't deliver. That took another 45 minutes because this was through the 4 foot drift that went into a 3 foot drift. 

The path is wide enough for one person to walk easily. I got over to the front walk, but I was fast running out of energy. I cleared around the mailbox and removed mail from Thursday. It was all junk mail. I simply tossed all of it in the recycling can as I came inside. 

Then, I opened the front door and shoveled off the top of the steps and the first step. While shoveling, I heard the snow hit something odd. Looking north of the steps, I found this in the snow up against the house. 

I have no clue how long it's been in the snow, no clue on when it was delivered. I haven't gone anywhere since getting home on Tuesday. Only once was the doorbell rung and that was Thursday evening when that neighbor wanted to charge me $80 to shovel my drive. I found it here.

The box was rather soggy and there was a slight rattle to it. I'll post tomorrow (Monday) what was inside. 

After one hour and 45 minutes, the drive was opened, a path carved to the mailbox and the top and first step of the front steps shoveled. I was beat.

The best part of all of this, tossing those clothes down the laundry chute.

It has snowed off and on all day now. The plow has gone by a dozen times tonight. I haven't looked to see how much more we got. Part of me is a bit scared to find out it might be more than 4 inches. But, 6 or under, I'm just driving through. 

I'm taking a day off from shoveling. Then, on Tuesday, I will go out the front and liberate the last 2 steps on the front and start the slow process of shoveling the sidewalk. I'm only going to work for a half hour every day. I missed 2 days of work so I have to work overtime to get things done. 

It has been quite the adventure. I'd rather not repeat it this year. 

The view from the street. Today's paper was delivered, much to my surprise.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb