Tuesday Ramble

Old and new put their stamp on everything in nature. The snowflake
that is now falling is marked by both; the present gives the motion
and color to the flakes; antiquity its form and properties. All things wear
a luster which is the gift of the present and a tarnish of time.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

When listened to the weather forecast yesterday morn, it was all I could do not to cry. More snow was on its way. (Sigh) This won't be a bad storm, but it is enough to make for some slippery walking, especially since there are so many who didn't shovel properly...as you can see by the picture below.  This is where I catch the bus, and it  is nothing but a sheet of ice.  No one seems to care about it.  The furniture store 'really' should be fined, but the city has so many other things to do, they just don't seem to care.  (Personally, I think the MTA should be responsible for keeping its bus stops clean.) And people just can't get hold of the salt they need.  First year I remember there being a shortage.

I've always loved the winter, but, I have to admit that this winter is really getting me down. So many endless dark, dreary days, one runs into another.   And it seems that just when I finally do look forward to getting out, another snowstorm comes our way.  Day after day, I find myself stuck in the house and becoming more and more depressed. Sunlight exposure can affect your emotional well-being, and the sun's rays have been far and few between. SADD has always been a part of my life, but I cannot remember it as being as pronounced as it was this year.  My life appears to have come to a standstill.

Yesterday I took advantage of a sunny day to get out to the store.  Never mind that it was cold.  I can deal with that. The sun was shining brightly, and that was exactly what I needed. It was discouraging, though, to step out of the house and look about. Dirty gray icy snow piled sky high...garbage piled on top of that. 

This is what greeted me when I stepped out the front door.  But, at  least the garbage is finally being picked up.  Notice the guy across the street? He stopped in his tracks when he saw me taking pictures and just stared at me, all the while holding that garbage bag.  I thought it was kind of funny.  He probably thought I was snapping pictures to register a complaint.

Heading in one direction, the walkway looked pretty  clear, but that man walking blocked the view.  Actually, there is a church and a parking lot on the other side, and none of them shovel...ever.

I only picked up a few things at the fruit stand. I love my broccoli and those black grapes are so sweet. Each morning I have a multi-grain cereal bar along with a banana and my coffee each morning. Those candies are outrageously good, and I picked them up as a treat for myself.  Besides, after seeing the nutritionist on Friday, I probably won't be eating them very much anymore.  Might as well enjoy while I can.

I stopped at one of the little Chinese shops while I was out and bought a wonderfully scented Magnolia and Cherry Blossom spray.  What a phenomenal springlike scent.  I always find something nice in these shops.  I absolutely fell in love their perfumes and colognes. And, two years ago I had bought a shampoo for $20.  It just ran out not too long ago.

Just checked up front and from the look of things, I'll not be going anywhere today.  It's just not worth taking that chance.  Tomorrow will be a better day.  Think positive.

We have today to learn to get back into accord with the wisdom of nature and realize again our kinship with the animals and the water and the sea. To say that the divinity informs all things is condemned as pantheism. But pantheism is a misleading word. It suggests that a personal god is supposed to inhabit the world, but that is not the idea at all. The idea is of an indefinable, inconceivable mystery, thought of as power, that is the source and end and supporting ground of all life and being.

Joseph Campbell