Good Morning Readers and Friends!

I hope you’re all enjoying the weather, whether you’re in warmer climes or getting hit with frigid temperatures, colder wind chills and snow.  Yesterday when I stopped at the veterinary clinic to pick up Alex the Cat’s special dietary food, I had a chat with the new Receptionist who was trying to make small talk while apologizing for the new credit card processing software they installed that takes longer.  I wasn’t in a rush and so I chuckled telling her it was no big deal.  While we waited, she was talking about the weather, and asked if I was a cold, snow, both or neither person.  I didn’t recall every being asked that question before, but I gave a whirl to the mental crankshaft and got my mind working (quickly, as more clients came through the door) on the question.

I decided that I am a “snow” person.  The cold… eh.  Down into the 30’s is fine, even the 20’s can be okay if it’s not blowing frigid wind at the same time, but I do enjoy the snow.  I like to watch it fall.  I like seeing the individual flakes and even the large clumped-together clusters that we sometimes get.  The first snow of the late fall/winter is magical.  It begs me to stand and admire it’s wonderfulness for at least a full five minutes.  Even now, our big blizzard, Winter Storm Draco from early January fell, melted almost completely away and now we have a fresh blanket of very light and fluffy snow, about 10-12 inches worth.

As I sit here and type and ponder all of things, I am amused over how I really enjoy temperatures in the 70’s.  That’s the sweet spot.  The 60’s are okay, 80’s can be too hot, and here in Wisconsin, we have some stifling humidity to deal with (not like the Southern Tier of the USA).  I’m not a fan of humidity.  I will bask in the glory of the Air Conditioning to avoid having to deal with humidity.  It wipes me out, draining from me every ounce of motivation with which I may have awaken.  I can hear people thinking, “but what about the desert?”

I actually love the desert.  The hot, dry, dusty desert.  I’m very “at home” there.  I’ve hiked in Southern California and Nevada during 100 degree days, my Camelbak backpack strapped to me, laden with a bladder filled with ice and water.  The thing about the desert is that even though it’s hot and you sweat, it’s not uncomfortable like heat and humidity.  When the wind in the desert blows as you rest your tired legs in the shade of a Joshua Tree, you’re cooled as your sweat evaporates from your skin.  Sure, water is hard to come by, but there is a beautiful desolation to the desert.  Mr. Muse and I have discussed how chances are we’ll retire someplace warm when the time comes.  If we can’t get our private island situation worked out, the American Southwest is the top choice for retirement destinations.

Speaking of dry destinations, last night Mr. Muse and I watched Australia, a 2.75 hour long film starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.  It was a fantastic movie.  The cinematography was fantastic and the story line held our attention.  We laughed, I cried (Mr. Muse is not what you would call…. “emotive”), I jumped, I felt emotionally drained by the end.  All signs of a great movie.  Go watch it!

I also watched Coraline and The Duchess this past week.  LOVED Coraline, as stop-action fascinates me and the story was great.  The Duchess had me in tears (I cry so easily for movies), and I empathized with the characters.  I gave all three movies five stars – a rare occurance!

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was a book that I’ve been reading for the last month, finally wrapping up on Friday night.  I didn’t expect to take so long reading it as I did, it was more difficult than I expected, but ultimately I loved the novel.  I didn’t see the end coming; I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it, but I was doing the “lip quiver” toward the end.  If I had been made to read it in High School, I don’t think I would have fully grasped the meaning of the book like I feel I have at my age now.  It’s a must read.

So what’s up for me this week?  Finishing up A Short History of Wisconsin by Erika Janik and hopefully finishing up a “pamphlet” I began reading, “The Parliamentarian: A Manual of Parliamentary Procedure, Extemporaneous Speaking and The Art of Debate” by Cora Wells Trow.  Ms. Janik’s book has piqued my interest in quite a few historical figures and events in Wisconsin that I’m certain my list of books is going to grow!

Movies I’ve got coming are: Elizabeth:  The Golden Age, Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now and disc 1 of Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Oh, go ahead and cock a brow – a dear friend recommended it to me, and yes, I cocked a brow at the recommendation as well, but – what the heck.  So I’m going to give it a try.

That’s pretty much my week other than my “usual” and packing for my trip!  Mr. Muse will have to dress a little nicer for some of the events, not so much “suit and tie” (he does fine with that), so I get to be his Stylist for a few outfits.  I think he’s concerned – I’ve never told him to wear or not wear something.  This could be an eggshell situation – wish me luck!

Have a great week!!