A few days ago, I took some selfies to illustrate how to make an older person look good in a portrait. I’m not sure if the pictures qualify as real selfies since I didn’t hold the camera backwards and shoot towards myself. Instead, I used a mirror. Then I processed the hell out of the photos. Everyone says I look beautiful.

What does it mean? My pictures look lots better than I do. I’m afraid to meet anyone because they will be terribly disappointed when they see me in person. Wherein lie the perils of post processing.

It’s closing on the end of January. Usually, by this point in the winter, we’re buried. In ice and snow. Someone has pneumonia. Or is scheduled for major surgery. Spring seems a million years in the future. Looking out on the Siberian landscape in front of our house, we wonder if the snow will melt or will turn glacial and start to move until it consumes the house and everything in its path.

This year is different. We aren’t buried. The snow which started falling last night is the first significant snow of the season. Everyone is suffering from “the thing-that’s-going-around” which means Garry isn’t the only member of the family who can’t hear. But no one has pneumonia (at least I don’t think so). No one is scheduled for surgery.

It was warm until yesterday. Above freezing. The falling snow changed to light rain before it changed to snow again late at night. It was magical first thing in the morning. About five inches, the perfect amount to look beautiful without being a serious inconvenience.

The cortisone shots I got in my hips are working. I can go up and down the stairs almost like a normal person. It’s a temporary fix, but it’s a welcome relief. If only it would stay this way. So, aside from The Cold From Hell which has my ears clogged and my bronchial tubes begging for mercy, so far so good. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than last year.

We need something to look forward to. Garry and I have birthdays in March and April, so I booked us a few days in April at a nice motel in Cooperstown. The last time we were there, we were celebrating Garry’s 50th birthday. This time, we are celebrating his 73rd. Time flew.

You know you’re getting old when don’t stay at the historic inn (it looks like Hill House from The Haunting) in favor of Comfort Inn. Comfort Inn has elevators and we don’t want to haul our tired old bodies and our stuff up the stairs, even though it looks like a classic haunted house.

So, as we round the corner towards February (go Pats!), we are doing reasonably well. Who’d have thunk it?

SNOW, WIND, AND THE END OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT?

If forecasts are correct, we are about to get hit by a blizzard. Depending on who you believe, it could rival the blizzard of 1978, which was a doozy. Here in south central Massachusetts, we have an odd weather pattern. For example, we didn’t get hit by Hurricane Sandy, yet we often get buried when everyone else merely gets flurries. It’s a bit of a crap shoot and I can hope we will be spared the worst of the weather.

Wishful thinking aside, it’s a very large storm. We will get snow. At least a foot, hopefully not more than two. It won’t be the end of the world, but it is going to be difficult for a while. I’m more worried about wind, than snow. As usual, I’m worried about losing power. If the power goes out, we don’t have water (no pump) or heat. In a nutshell, without power, we ain’t got nothin’ much.

National Grid is run by a bunch of morons who believe we can report outages on their website. What is it about “power outage” that eludes their understanding?

If you don’t hear from me … well … we’ve been weathered.

Categories: #Photography, Anecdote, Home, Humor, snow, Winter, Woods

Tags: #Photography, Home, humor, snow, winter, woodland