A View From My Back Porch

On the wind in February 
Snowflakes float still, 
Half inclined to turn to rain, 
Nipping, dripping, chill. 
–Christina Rossetti

My view from my back porch confirms that winter is still here!

I’m trying to take advantage of these snowy days working on things inside before the spring bustle of activity takes me outside but February has been a month of slow progress followed by minor annoying set backs.

I set out to tackle family history in January; however, the process was significantly hindered by reprints of photos that were lost in the mail. After two weeks of waiting and demanding a refund, I reordered the reprints, which arrived in a timely manner. This, of course, put me two weeks behind my originally self-imposed deadline.

The water softener and the water heater failed unexpectedly, leaving us with only a trickle of water for what felt like a seemingly long period, causing significant inconvenience with the daily tasks of bathing, laundry, washing dishes, etc. I’m happy to report that we can now flush a toilet, run the dishwasher, and do laundry all at once again!

I’ve had a strange bout of insomnia this month, preventing me from my usual restful sleep. No problem falling asleep, but when awakened by needing to go to the bathroom, I find myself wide awake into the wee hours, with a whirlwind of thoughts swirling in my mind – all the things I want to get done inside before spring!

Jury duty was not anywhere on my top 100 things to do this month. Last week, however, I received my summons in which my service starts the last week of February. So, painting the dinning room next week will now have to wait.

So much for the best-laid plans for this snowy month. Spring is right on track to bring with it a plethora of activities that I can add to my ever-growing list of things to do.

Meanwhile, I’ll sit with a cup of tea, looking out over the sea of white, knowing that this time next month my view will be a sea of green.