Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Listening to the music

I envy people who can listen to music on a radio or device all day long.  I love various kinds of music, but if I listen to it an hour or so, even my favorite music drives me crazy and I have to have silence.  I used to listen to songs as I cooked, but at this age I need to concentrate on what I'm making.  Every time I try listening to my favorite podcast or CD while cooking, I will mis-measure something or leave an ingredient out.  Dementia?  If that's what it is, I hope it helps me forget the past year, because I've been depressed so often this winter, some days.  If I let myself think too much, it takes all the strength I have not to cry, although there's no reason I should feel that way.  

Enough of that!  

Spring is only a month away; I'll be fine then.  I'll probably be OK once it gets up to 40 degrees, to be honest, because when I can walk around freely outside out in the sunshine, I'm happy.  I saw stars in the sky when I took Gabe out this morning and wondered whether we'd have sunshine today.  Weather.com says it will be sunny this morning in Wellington, then turn to partly cloudy.  I get most of my weather reports on weather.com; that way, I can check the forecast any time of day without having to listen to 500 commercials before I find out what the weather is!  I can also type in other towns anywhere in the world and see how they are faring.  Yesterday I checked the temperature in Mission, Texas, where my sister and her husband went every winter to escape the cold of Kansas City.  After he died, she still drove down there alone until she was around 87... over 1,000 miles from Kansas City; then she sold the place.  It was 27 there yesterday, so I suppose the grapefruit crop is ruined for the year.  

2021 is saying to 2020, "Hold my beer and watch this!"

I don't know if poor Mama Kitty would have lived through these brutal temperatures without her converted ice chest to sleep in, although I imagine she would have survived.  She spends 24 hours a day in her igloo cooler keeping warm as possible, only getting out to drink, eat, and relieve herself in the snow.  Her condo is right outside the front door, so if I open our inside door to check on her, she comes out and lets me know if she wants to eat and drink.  Yesterday I tried my best to get her to come inside to eat.  She's having none of that!  She doesn't want to be trapped anywhere; that's why I'm surprised she uses her little house on the porch.  Of course for at least six hours through the night, she has Blue snuggling with her, which probably doubles the heat her body is getting.  Blue is in the house all day while it's so cold, except when he needs to go outside.  He and Gabe have been my salvation during this hard winter; between the two of them, they lighten my mood and make me laugh, even on the worst days.  A couple of days ago, Blue stayed out long enough to kill a woodpecker, play with the carcass for a half-hour or so, and then leave it on the porch as a gift for me when he was done. 

Evergy is doing that thing where they say they will shut off electricity for 30 to 60 minutes for everybody at different times.  The grandson said he didn't think they are doing it in the country.  I hope he's right, because we have a well with an electric pump.  We are without water when we don't have power:  No flushing, no dish-washing, no showers, no coffee for Cliff or tea for me.  However, we'll deal with it if it happens.

Here is what keeps me laughing:  The escapades of Blue and Gabe.  We get to watch these wrestling matches several times a day; the cat is always the one to attack first.  He slinks and stalks Gabe, then surprises him by jumping on top of him... and the wrestling begins!

16 comments:

  1. I mostly listen to talk radio these days if needing a distraction. Occasionally I will get in a music mood and listen to my favorite songs but like you, I tire of that after awhile.

    We once had a farm cat named Scar because he lost an eye as a kitten due to distemper. Later as an adult, he didn't make it home for awhile during a really bad cold snap. We thought he was dead but when the temperatures climbed back up in the spring, he returned sans ears and tails which much have frozen off. It definitely was a sight seeing a cat without a tail, ears and one eye ball but he lived for quite a few years after that before he disappeared for good.

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    1. That's a great story! I know my chickens' combs will end up black on the top part from this cold. I've seen that happen lots of times, and who knows, with so many below-zero nights, they may lose their combs entirely. Or just have black combs. Or be dead. We'll know soon.

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  2. I hope you folks stay safe, Donna. Yes-yes-yes... I'm the same way about music. I love music but when I choose to listen to it and only for a little while & then I want my silence back. I would have made a great librarian rather than a nurse, for sure. I love my peace & quiet!! I've been down these days too. I think it's the weather also. Meteorological spring is in 13 days. Hang on... winter is almost over. ~Andrea xoxo

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  3. Interesting about music. I use to listen all the time and I have a computer full of music but rarely listen any more. Glad to know I am not alone. Your pets are really evenly matched. I didn't know Gabe was that small or Blue was that big.
    Stay warm--it is brutal out there.

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    1. It's below zero, but Blue-the-cat has been outside for 2 hours and so has Mama Kitty. The sun is shining, and that does make everything better.

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  4. I also find myself distracted by music, TV or any noise. If I have to concentrate, I keep things quiet. I'm glad that the kitties are staying warm(ish?). Hope you don't have to deal with the rolling blackouts. It sounds like it would be miserable! So many states are dealing with power issues.

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  5. I have to have silence while I am on the computer working. I can listen to the radio while I am driving, and I can listen to the music Richard plays at night for about an hour but anything more than that makes me crazy. If I think about a song I want to hear than I will go on YouTube and listen to that song, but that's it. The video is fun. I noticed that the cat apparently has his claws sheathed so he is not doing Gabe any damage. It was -8 here this morning (south central Missouri).

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    1. Once in awhile if Gabe gets too rough, Blue will use claws or teeth to straighten him out. When we hear him yelp, we know he is getting his just deserts.

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  6. I enjoy having my radio going for noise, cause I don't have enough with 5-8 daycare children here daily. haha! We are going stir crazy not being able to get outside. Hopefully next week we can. this morning it was -32 below again. but this afternoon we have 7 above and bright sunshine which makes it all better.
    I hope you don't get those rolling black outs. We are ok here in MN. Maybe fill a couple jugs of water and set on your counter in case your power goes out. At least you could drink water and brush your teeth if need be Wendy

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    1. We've had many power outages before. That's why I always have a propane gas stove. It's amazing how much heat you can get out of the two front burners of a stove. If it appears an ice storm is starting, we do fill up buckets and jars in case it happens. Truthfully, even with the cold temps, we'd be OK with a one-hour outage. We might get uncomfortable and have to put on our outside winter clothes, but we've done it before... once for 3 days, although it wasn't so cold that time.

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  7. It's so easy to get depressed in the winter. Today I'm thankful for some sunshine although it was only 1 degree when I woke up. The car battery his died and I need groceries, but that will not happen right away. I do belong to AAA road service so they will come and get me started. Maybe tomorrow I'll get out. Take care and enjoy those animals they do make you happy!

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  8. cats are resilent creatures. glad its staying warm with your help. loved the video. seems they are doing that on off energy bit around the country. thats terrible you'll lose your water too. i live on tap water with ice drinking it all day. woke up here to 3 degrees and 10 inches of snow. bundle up. keep warm. take care.

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  9. Hi Donna & anyone else here,

    Found you through an old post searching for this quote:

    "If the world was perfect... if everybody had money, nobody was homeless, nobody got sick, everything was wonderful, everybody was smart and happy all the time... you'd have to go a long way out of your way to make a difference in this world. You'd have to do a lot to improve the way it was. But in a world that sucks like this one, you don't have to do very much at all! There was never a time in the history of the world where you could do so little and get so much done! You could do more with a smile, just hold somebody, say hello to somebody, or just feel good all by yourself when you don't FEEL like feeling good!"

    https://donna-justme.blogspot.com/2016/10/thoughts-from-arlo-guthrie.html

    Funny how people could be 'brought' together these days.

    Let's continue to do our best to bring happiness to each other.

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    1. Welcome back to my blog. Please come back and tell me what part of the country you live in. Keep on coming back. I mostly post a lot of drivel, but the more the merrier, I say.

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  10. https://youtu.be/sSF89swJ9IU

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    1. This made my day. I like Arlo, but never considered him a great singer. This video is the best he ever sounded to me. Thank you.

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