About those clementines… Bought another crate. They were so sweet and juicy around Christmas… I thought I’d try them one more time before the season ends. BIG mistake. The season is definitely over for the little juicy balls of citrus… They looked fine in the store… Got them home and began to unwrap the little box with the orange netting…!  Roto!!!  At least three of the orange orbs were long since past prime. Back to the store they went this morning.

“Would you like another  box?” the sweet girl at the service desk asked?

I don’t think so. Got my money and headed out to the office. It’s apples for me now… Or a mango? What’s in season in February anyway that you can trust?

Oh… Gotta run. Water boiled. Time for tea and crumpets.

I put on some silky brown kneehighs, perfect for my penny loafers… (I’m dressing classic today.) But the darn things don’t have the right kind of elastic at the top, or if they did, the latest washing and drying cycles killed it… so they are beginning to slip. And if I don’t change them now, I know I’ll be one of those people in front of you in the super market line, bending over and yanking on my socks. Embarassing.

So I’m giving in. I’m heading upstairs to change. And I’ll probably toss these out or recycle them at the salvation army box for someone with less svelt legs. You see, that is the root of my problem. I have such lovely calfs, of just the right proportion that I need sophisticated elastic at the top of my hose. Don’t you agree?

Do you ever have this problem?

I headed home and not a moment too soon. Car was covered with 5 inches of fast falling snow. I got out of the office parking lot, onto the main road and then inched my way home behind a very slow moving line of traffic. You could see the cars ahead slipping and sliding. In fact, I discovered a new gizmo on my dashboard. Every time my tires started to slide this weird little bright orange triangle with an exclamation point would flash in front of me. “Oh, oh!!! Danger, danger!!! Your tires are slipping! Watch out, Watch Out!” … and what was I supposed to do about it? I didn’t need some strange flashing graphic to warn me that I was losing traction… watching the landscape go by out the side window was warning enough!

Anyway, I got home, shoveled a path to the front door and then stayed in, away from the cold and falling snow. Now, it’s Sunday morning and everything is covered with crusty ice. What a joy! Probably will take me several hours to crack through… of course I could wait till the temp rises and it melts? Maybe by June?

Do you shovel as the snow falls? Or do you wait till you have to dig out?

What you need, according to Dr. Oz (guru of the TV airwaves), is an orange light. Yup. Orange. Put one in your bedside lamp, stare at it for a half hour before you shut your eyes, and your brain will believe it is sunset. You will fall right to sleep, guaranteed.

Hmmmmm. I sleep with my iPad! Maybe that’s my problem. I like to listen to stories as I fall asleep and there are a few radio channels I’ve found or programs like “This American Life” from PRI that are amusing and help me as I doze off. But I did not realize that the blue light  syndrome – watching TV or playing a game of Hearts on my iPad before my head hits the pillow, tricks my brain into staying awake rather than snoozing.

Of course, more often that not I am listening to some political station late at night. I find the current Republican party’s trek towards self-destruction to be fascinating. Love to listen to those blowhards go on and on about how fabu they are…. and of course, that just causes my brain to kick into gear, and it keeps me awake, thinking about politics.

I’ve got to change my channels. And of course, buy an orange bulb. Anyone have some left over Halloween lights I can borrow?

Are they nuts? Imagine driving down the highway at 65 miles a hour while trying to “swipe select” a new radio station! all the while keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel? Can’t happen. I have a hard enough time “swipe selecting” icons on my iPad while I’m sitting at my desk.

What could these guys be thinking? Cell phones are bad enough to distract drivers. What we don’t need are people playing Warcraft video games on their touch screens while they circumnavigate the highways! Call me an old stick in the mud back water Luddite, but if Cadillac thinks this is a good idea, what other brain-whacked plans have they got in mind to ensure our demise?