Tacoma weather for the next few days in a single word: ARCTIC!
It’s going to be in the 20’s (F) for the next few days with wind chill bringing it into single digits.
My goats will be fine. They’re in an enclosed shed in lots of warm straw, and their water trough has a heater in it to keep it from freezing solid.
The cats will be fine. They are pretty much staying in now (their choice) although Bobby occasionally ventures out to see what, if anything, is happening outside.
Jackie is keeping the hummingbird feeder thawed so they have water and nectar to drink.
The other birds have two feeders full of seeds and nuts and suet to keep them fed.
I’m throwing peanuts and popcorn and leftover meals to the crows and any squirrels nutty enough to still be out in this weather (if there are any out).
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION POSTPONED
Our Christmas celebration (Lisa’s, Ben’s, Edward’s and Hazel’s), scheduled for yesterday, was postponed because of the snow. Edward and Ben live 30 miles from us (one in Yelm, one in Olympia) and we didn’t want them risking life or limb getting to Tacoma. We’re hoping to have it on Thursday, the warmest forecasted day this week, if the roads are clear, dry and warm enough to ensure safe travel for them both ways. I have the Christmas ham in my fridge, which is good until January 15th, when I will either have to cook or freeze it if we don’t use it by then.
On Christmas Day, I had dinner with Jackie and her family (son Phil, his wife Wendy, and their two kids Jamie and Casey) on her side of this duplex-like home. Everything Jackie cooked and baked was double yummy.
She tried two new recipes and they were mouth-wateringly great. The prime rib was cooked to perfection, too. Not a missed beat anywhere. (Customary for Jackie’s cooking.)
I don’t cook or bake. I was a short order cook one summer at a railroad station, so if I can’t cook something in ten minutes, I’m generally not interested, Living alone (as I always have), I don’t need to be a serious cook: I have only myself to please, and that’s easy. Sometimes it’s a simple sandwich! But I do make a mean vegetable beef soup in a crockpot from scratch. Everybody loves it.
EXERCISE? WHAT’S THAT?
Needless to say, I haven’t been walking the past several days, and won’t be for the next week or so, until the temperature rises considerably. So my new Fitbit is giving me encouragement to walk more. I manage about 3500 steps a day indoors here, but that’s just “fair” under Fitbit rules. Yeah, I know. I’ll start rowing and treadmilling again today in my critter corral to the mesmerizing, ethereal tunes of Beverly Glenn Copeland. That should make my Fitbit Big Brother happier.
My resting heart rate is 60 when I sleep at night. That’s perfect for me. I have perfect blood pressure usually (sometimes even a tad low, but not appreciably low) and perfect (or low) cholesterol.
The only meds I’m taking (at age 70!) are levothyroxine (for hypothyroidism), Warfarin (to mitigate against blood clots), and an over-the-counter calcium/vitamin D chew to keep my bones strong and healthy. Last time my bone density was checked, I was on the cusp of having osteopenia, so the doctor recommended the calcium/Vitamin D supplement to bring my bone structure back to robust.
That’s IT! I’m in good condition — maybe even excellent condition. Riding bikes nearly all summer certainly helped, and my indoor exercise equipment is helping, too. “Use it or lose it!” That’s my motto!
Most importantly, perhaps, is that I have two of the four blogs in the bag for January
for my client, so I can actually relax all this week. YAY!
All is calm, all is bright. Hope you’re enjoying this brief interlude between Christmas and New Year, too. If not, there is still time to “Make It So!” and I hope you will!
