December 19

 Good morning. Well actually "good early afternoon."  Looking outside it is hard to believer we are almost at Christmas. Very little snow is left of what fell several days ago. It just doesn't feel like the end of December or nearly so. Talking to my brother a couple of days ago I told him that I brought out my snow boots but had only used the once when I shoveled a path from the patio door to the gate and around the trash tote so I could get it out to the street for pickup. That was the first time in three years. I also used the sidewalk deicer. I haven't had to restock that item for the last two years. If things continue I won't use all of it for another year.

It has been a morning for a number of small jobs: sifting the cat box and shaking out the rugs so I could sweep up the litter in the area. Finally, folded up clothes I had washed last weekend. I kept forgetting to take them out of the dryer. Out of sight, out of mind. Got the dishes washed. We don't have a dishwasher because we don't use enough dishes and such to use one effectively.

I noticed a yesterday, I think, that the Trump administration has decided to erase the National Center for Atmospheric Research on the grounds that it is a major source of "Climate alarmism" or "climate anxiety." I guess they are following the wisdom of Lazarus Long (character created by Robert Heinlein): In a government of the people, by the people and for the people--don't tell the people. Bill McKibben compares it to closing the fire station so no one will suffer from "fire alarmism." 

Ramona Grigg at CONSTANT COMMONER has a longish piece about growing older. She says a lot that strikes a chord or two. I am a decade and a couple of years younger but the feelings that sometimes my body just doesn't want to do what I want it to do are the same. I am not on any chemo, thankfully, but my sleep habits have changed. Sometime I snuggle down to sleep having spent the hour before yawning repeatedly and find I can't fall asleep. Or I wake up after four hours having to pee and can't go back to sleep. And then spend the next four hours napping before the cats insist on being fed. I can't vacuum the carpet in the living room and dining area without stopping three times to rest and am listless for the rest of the day. Some days I wonder where my "get up and go" went.