Thrills, no spills and sunshine

 I was determined to walk today, because my spirits get very low when I don't, and recently what with ice and Helen, it's been too risky.

Anyway, sunshine today 

What they call a moderate wind and I call a bitter blast, but I really needed to get out.

As soon as I stepped outside, the adventure began. My door locked itself behind me. I don't take my keys when I walk, no need. 

There's a snap lock for the cleaning family, they can lock without using a key, when they leave, and the other lock which needs a key. I never use the snap lock, but it evidently had got turned inside the door to the locking position. Oh.

Then I remembered my emergency keys in an undisclosed location. Requiring a climb up. I usually use the stepladder stored in there, but the last user had returned it with the steps facing the wall. I can't lift and turn it to get at the step I need to reach the keys. Oh, again. 

Then Carol Cane saved the day -- reached up, hooked the keys onto the handle, bingo. Managed to unlock the door, stiff, unused key, and then had to return them to the UL.

I couldn't reverse the hooking idea but found an unopened paint can to stand on, juuuuuust reached the hook. All fine now.

And when I finally made it out, it was beautiful. 

Bitter cold wind but I was insulated, remnants of light snow yesterday. 

Down there on the right I found a small cinder block in the trees which I carried home for yet another item to prop up the lavender container. Did I mention it's on a slope? Now there's an assortment of bricks, rocks and other items trying to keep it in place. We'll see. 

So I counted this as a series of successes. Small, but you take them where you find them.

And the landscape at home, speaking of fridge magnets,  here's the max stuff I have on my fridge, long past the days of Handsome Son's artwork!

Bits of art by friends, voting proof, librarian support sticker. On the left, my DNR form where EMTs would see it as soon as they come in the front door.

On the side where you don't see, unless you're working at the counter, various reminders, and a butterfly Chris will recognize.

You'll notice apples and potatoes feature here, I wonder why.

Here's a Portuguese take by cartoonist Zez Vaz, on our current situation. He's at zezvaz.com

Happy day everyone, small stuff is okay, life's made of small stuff.

Now more than ever.

Nothing to see here, folks

I was talking about the small change of life in Sandra's blog, how much more interesting those blogs are than the blogs full of a  curated life of traveling and taking pictures and setting up IG type scenes.

My own life had some small change last evening when I went to the kitchen and found what looked like a crime scene.

Red liquid dripping from the fridge. Opened the door and found red all over, shelves, everything. I was too verklempt to take pictures.  

Anyway I established that a small container of soy sauce had fallen over and run between door shelves and door, then everywhere.  So evidently when I had last shut the door it sent it all flying further.

So there was a sequence of emptying the shelves then trying endlessly to remove them. They seem to have been factory welded. YouTube videos were no help, they just said airily oh, lift them out. Right.

I did eventually find a button thing hidden under the middle and got them out to wash. Not easy, they're a lot bigger than the sink.

Anyway, here's the cleaned up version 

Shelves removed, washed, replaced -- much easier than removing them 

Contents waiting to go back, and I found a couple of items I'd forgotten about, so that was good. I have horseradish, which I need to make tartare sauce, and had forgotten.

Status quo now quoing again. Full disclosure: aside from an occasional swipe, my fridge only gets cleaned when something spills dramatically. Note the new safety feature: the remaining soy sauce now sits in an old yogurt container. 

Today I'm refraining from social media, even Spoutible, too many people doing misspelled outrage, so I need to use my time today better. It's so easy to find time has gone by and your mood isn't a happy one. The weather's milder, and Helen's not too noisy, so there will be walking.

Yesterday while I knitted I watched Hamish Macbeth, good old FreeVee, and noticed despite a lot of people saying they needed captions, had no difficulty at all with every word Hamish says. 

I looked up the actor and found out why. He's from Maryhill, Glasgow, the very neighborhood Handsome Partner was born and grew up. Ah, fifty years of exposure to a broad Glasgae accent will do it.

Tangential memory here: during our endless search for help during our son's younger years, one doctor, after talking with us both, asked about Handsome Partner's "severe speech impediment" full of glottal stops.  We explained that it was a standard Glasgow accent, and he looked a bit flustered.

Then yesterday I caught bits of Downton Abbey on YouTube and quickly searched for captions.. those Grantham people are nearly unintelligible..

Happy day everyone, from shelves to language, easy when you know how!