You may have noticed I’ve been absent for awhile. Why? I’ve been gone, off to the States to provide some love and assistance to my sister who has medical problems to deal with. My sister, through good fortune, good planning or both, is well taken care of, has the insurance needed and the wherewithal to provide a comfortable retirement home in which to spend her remaining years. But should you happen to be less fortunate... well, I suspect you would be in serious trouble. No pay, no service. All those folks up here that are clamoring to privatize portions of our health care system should first go somewhere and experience what privatization is all about - profits, big profits. Enough said. I’m glad I am a Canadian. It’s odd though, you can’t talk to an American about one payer government sponsored health care. They are convinced they would suffer under such a system. Their minds are made up and there’s no changing them. Mind you, I’ve never had the opportunity to chat with an American who couldn’t afford insurance.
While gone the weather up here was lovely, hovering around the freezing point, even melting some of our snow pack. With the exception of one surprise 6” snow dump which was melted off the roads by afternoon, weather down south of the border was much the same but folks there thought it was terribly cold. I got home just in time for a “severe weather warning”, another heavy layer of snow, -30C temperatures and a husband with a deep cough wracking his body far too frequently. That same man is now out plowing snow. It’s warmed up to -28C!
And here I am, sitting next to our warm wood stove, rising bread in a basket above my head, warm and toasty, feeling just a bit guilty. I do have one important job though - keeping the fire stoked, a frequent chore in this weather. I don’t have the science behind it but I do have nearly 50 years of experience which has convinced me - wood burns faster when it’s cold out, even when all the dampers are closed. If it’s around freezing I can stoke it up before bed and still have coals in the morning. If it’s cold like it is now I need to stoke it a couple of times in the night. There’s something to be said for that old person problem of having to get up to pee, it provides a fire stoking opportunity and ensures a warm kitchen in the morning.
In weather like this I’m glad I’m one of those people who makes sure to have another one of everything in my pantry, cellar or freezer. We don’t have to go anywhere. I can read, watch Netflix, blog, make cinnamon buns (yum), stoke the fire. There’s a few outdoor chores that must be done. The hay feeders must be full, the birds and guardian dogs must be fed, kindling chopped, wood to the house, snow shoveled and plowed - most of which my husband does, but we don’t have to get a vehicle going and head down the road to go to work. So we feel privileged.
The sun is coming out and despite the cold it’s positively beautiful outside!
Maybe I will do those exercises, I always put off. I highly recommend a DVD by Scott Cole called Discover TaiChi for Balance and Mobility (available on Amazon). Being a farm wife I thought I’d not need to do anything over and above my normal fairly busy routine of life, but I was wrong. Especially in Winter our recliner is far too alluring. It’s an eye opener to realize just how much a person’s body can seize-up when you let daily work be its only form of movement.
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