baby it's cold out there

In spite of me owning awesome new long underwear, the dog will not go outside for more than 37 seconds, which means I haven't worn it outside for more than five minutes. In fact, he won't even join us for school in the sunroom unless he can be held by someone. Likewise the cat, who normally arranges herself all over the school books, stalked up to me as I sat shouting at Elphine that 'took' is NOT spelled t o e k e or whatever she was writing on her paper as if the English Language can be subject to her every lazy whim or fancy, "English," I thundered, "is difficult and beautiful and you! will rise to meet its standards!"...where was I?...oh yes, the cat jumped on my book and hit me with her vicious claw and then stalked away and I realized that I had done something wrong.

What was it? you ask. 

I had left the curtain in my bedroom closed during the five minutes of sunshine that graced our polar vortexed tundra yesterday. She stared at me with deep deep rage and meowed threateningly as I tied it back lest she smack me again.

Someone posted on Facebook yesterday a list of old words that describe very particular things--like, there's a word for the moment of sun in the middle of winter that provides momentary mental health and physical warmth. I didn't save the post so for three days have been troubled by knowing that there is such a word out there but I don't remember what it is. It's the knowing that's so painful. If I had never seen that there was this word, I would be perfectly comfortable.

Actually I'd just be irritated by something else.

These pictures were all taken by me last night. After sleeping for an entire day, they rearranged themselves and went back to sleep here.

In the morning I had to make the bed with the dog in it.

He would not budge. He bared his ridiculous underbite at me and growled. 

I should have just chucked him out. But I controlled myself as best I could. 

I am not a brute beast. I can rise above the weather and my circumstances to live in beauty and self control. I don't have to stay in bed all day just because it's really cold.

Do I want to? Yes of course. It seems the best and most natural thing to do. But I can cope. I can get up. I can do something useful. Anyway, tomorrow it's supposed to be like 29 degrees so that should better. With snow. More snow. And then rain. And then snow. And then rain. Until baseball starts in April and then it will just be very very very cold rain. So much to look forward to in the days ahead. Maybe I will just stay here and see if I can find that list on Facebook.