the ocean always dreamed blue dreams

OK, so the last day won't really be until Sunday, but it's the last day of the work week. I felt really aimless all day. I cleaned the kitchen and made the beans. I went for a walk, listening to the snow crunch under my feet, and sniffing at the frosty tang in the air that you only feel and smell when it has snowed. Some kids were playing in the snow. They had made wall out of blocks of snow and I do believe they were working on making some snowballs. Good times.

I haven't seen snow like this since I've lived in Texas. It really brought back memories of my childhood, in Oklahoma. It made me think of my dad. We always had a fire on the weekend and we helped him arrange the wood in the fire place just so. By help I mean we helped him carry the logs in, then we stood and watched him arrange them. I would sit in front of the fire for hours reading or watching really bad television. Sometimes my sister and I would wrestle. I loved to take the poker and turn the logs and watch the sparks fly up. I haven't had a fire this week. I didn't want to leave the flu open; also, there is a crack in the chimney which I need to have fixed. I might make one this weekend. It's not winter unless you have a fire, and I love fires, almost as much as I love snow.

Around six o'clock my cat, Chet, wanted out. Chet used to belong to our neighbors. They moved about five yeas ago and several days after they left Chet showed up. We thought they left him behind, but they told someone that they took him with them, and he ran away. He made his way back home, about a two mile trip for him. We've had him since then. He is gorgeous; I think he's a Maine coon. He looks just like one, anyway. He looks like autumn, all brown and orange and gold. Someday when I can figure it out, I'll post his picture. He sleeps most of the day, then he wants out at night. Usually that's OK.

Tonight he ran to the door. "Do you want to watch Chet go outside?" I called to my son. "Sure." He came over and we opened the door. Chet ran out and around the corner of the house. Rats. Of course we wanted to watch him interact with the snow. I shut the door. About five minutes later I opened it again, sure he would be waiting. No one there. "He's not there," I called to my son. "That's because he's at the back door," he said and opened it. Chet came running in, his tail high, as though he were escaping the hounds of hell. I guess in his world he kind of was.

I told you that I went for a walk last night. This is what happened. It was after one o'clock, but no matter. First I had to find a coat. I have a blue one that I usually wear, but I couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't on my dresser, or in my closet, or in the back seat of my car. Drat! I had another one in the trunk of my car, so I got my keys and trudged out to get it. It was a bit of a struggle to get the trunk open, but I did it and finally set out. Whereupon I promptly fell. The snow was very wet and the ground was very slippery. This was going to be harder than I thought, but I was determined. I headed up the street and around the corner, staying on the grass. I walked about two blocks, then turned around and went back the way I came, pausing periodically to admire the sight of the snow falling under the street lights. The sky was white.

When I got home I shook off all the snow. My sons, young men, really, came running down the stairs, looking for gloves and something to wear outside. They had not believed me when I said it had snowed. They ran in and out, like Rikki Tikki, or the elephant's child, full of 'satiable curiosity. They couldn't get over how light it was outside-after midnight. I went to bed, they were still at it, running in and back out, their clothes covered with snow.

I watched "Eat Pray Love" tonight. I had read the book and enjoyed it, but I swore I would not see the movie. Actually, it wasn't as bad as the reviews made it out to be, except they did not show Liz, the main character sitting in the hand of God, and that was the best part of the book.

I must go to bed. I'm becoming a zombie, a snow zombie. Have you ever noticed that they never show zombies in the snow or rain? Why is that I wonder?

Zombies in the snow

red poppies grow,
impure with memory
look at me with your fuliginous gaze
and walk away
I'm waiting for the one
who will love my pain
and stay

Qimissung
January 2011