Cold Temperatures

I came across a family group photo taken at our grandmother's funeral in 1994. It reminded me that it was especially cold that day, and I wondered what the temperature was. According to this site, the low on the day of her funeral, January 15, was -14. I remember all of us mourners were huddled together at the cemetery then made a quick exit to our vehicles when the committal prayers were finished.

Furthermore, the coldest temperature in ALL of 1994 was -25 on January 19.

I also remember a string of minus temperatures during January 1977. 

There was one particular day in this January when Dad drove me to work at the public library (start time was 2 p.m.). We got to downtown, and there was a train stopped on the tracks, and the library was located on the other side. It was not unusual for trains to block intersections for many minutes (MANY minutes), and Dad needed to get back to work following his lunch break. So I got out and stood on the sidewalk waiting for the train to pass. I do not recall, but I guess it did not occur to me to walk into one of the stores in that downtown area where I could escape the extreme cold. Duh.

I could probably find other remembered extreme temperatures of my life on this internet site if I wanted to.

Old Person's Oops

Yesterday at my doctor's appointment, I was asked the usual old person's questions including "Have you fallen during the past year?"

I think my question should have been "Have you spilled your tea in the past week?"

To which I would reply "Why, yes. Twice. In one week."

The first time, I set my tea mug down on the end table without paying much attention to where it would land. It tipped, and a bunch of papers got wet. Most of the wet papers were just pitched -- they should have been tossed long ago. However, there was a packet that included a detailed billing from surgery in 2022. Any time I noticed this packet I would think, I should move that. I finally did ..... after the tipped-over tea flowed through the papers.

The second time I spilled my tea, I bumped the mug against the arm of my recliner and it sloshed onto the chair. Not too terribly much, but enough to dampen a corner of the chair.

Oy vey.

New Years 2025

When I was in college, I learned from friends who were twin sisters that one should eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. It is supposed to bring good fortune in the coming year.

I have made an easy Hoppin' John Soup for our New Year's meal:

This year I did not have all the ingredients so I made-do with what I had. The soup turned out very tasty.