Old Man Winter Keeps Coming Back Like a Bad Zit

For Pete's sake, it's March 6 and cold as the leader of North Korea outside. Even my dogs think it's too cold. They go straight out, do their "Do" and come right back to the kitchen door to be let back inside, and THEY'RE wearing head to tail fur coats!

Ran my errands early and got back to the house by eleven this morning. It's been so crazy here this winter. Mid seventies one day and snow and ice the next. It's like I needed to wear flip flops on my feet inside of my snow boots. Suffering from hot flashes doesn't help much either. My little body is confused as to what season it really is, and so am I!

Unless they have large parties scheduled at work I've been getting two days off a week and has done wonders for my housekeeping skills. Heck, we can even let people in through the front door now! My sister has redone my entire kitchen from the baseboards to the ceiling and has really gotten me motivated to clean the rest of the Cotton compound. I'm sure all the Lost Boys noticed the kitchen (it would be hard not to) but none of them notice things like clean baseboards, clean ceiling fan blades, cob webs down from every corner and wall and light fixtures taken apart and cleaned, not to mention sparkling showers and more often than not, missed urination targets (better known as toilets to women.)

No worries, I point out every little thing I've done every time one of them comes home. Like good semi freeloaders, they act really impressed but would be just as content with dirty baseboards, fans, ceilings and urination targets. At least it makes ME  feel better and can now open our front door when somebody unexpectedly drops by. Before, I'd hide as if it were Hari Krishna's ringing our broken doorbell that only "Clonks" when you push it and just let my three barking mutts scare them away .

Tim has been telling me for two weeks all I needed to do to fix my ailing back was to stretch every morning and every night. I'm not used to him being right (in MY mind) but after a week of twenty four / seven constant pain finally listened.

When Jane Fonda's workout first came out in the eighties I borrowed the album (yes an actual vinyl record) from a friend.
She had lost the booklet with pictures but  faked what I didn't understand. I finally bought the VHS tape ( an antique cousin of the even more antique eight track tape) and discovered the step I thought was "pulling knees" was actually "pulling weeds" and made much more sense. The first twenty minutes are all stretching exercises and still remember them...in order. (just ask my sister, I have an excellent memory.) That's why she sits next to me at funerals, so I can tell her who is walking up to say hello to us after forty years.

I've been stretching at least four times a day the past few and it's like my body has experienced nothing short of a miracle.

It clears my sinuses,  makes my neck pain crack, crackle and disappear, loosens my always stiff lower back and simply makes me feel pain free.

Talk about a cheap fix!

I now call Tim , Dr. Cotton and bonus is I'm sleeping with my doctor so there's not even a co-pay required!

After work out number two today, my older son had a meeting at work. My younger son works there too but was off and offered to take me to lunch while TJ had his meeting. Neither currently has a vehicle but who am I to talk? I don't own one either. I'd much rather them save their money to move on and out so took them up there in MY borrowed car. I'm hoping we've kept it so long my sister and her husband will forget they own it.

Zach treated me to an awesome lunch while TJ attended his meeting. Had an awesome Angus burger with homemade pimento cheese, bacon jam, lettuce, tomato and onion. The home made fries tasted just like The Varsity's and anyone from Atlanta will know what I'm talking about.

 He even bought us dessert, homemade
pecan bar (kinda like pie) with vanilla ice cream.

We got home around four and made a vow not to walk outside again until I work tomorrow at three. I washed sheets and comforters, played on Facebook, did some more vacuuming, stretched again and even took a nap during the evening news. (It's always just bad news anyway)

I roused myself around seven and threw a pork loin in the oven. Made my pretty yummy baked beans with brown sugar, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire and bacon and even peeled a ton of taters for creamed potatoes. I HATE peeling potatoes and don't know why, it's not like it's hard to do. Maybe it's just because I grew up watching Gomer Pyle always being assigned to KP duty and peeling taters.


Fed the one Lost Boy left here (Zach dipped with a friend) and the other is in the process of moving out.  Put the food up for the others and started laundry again. I am now the proud owner of a house pretty stinking clean with four empty laundry baskets, three urine free toilet rims, and only Two Lost Boys.

Dr. Cotton will be home soon  and the cycle will begin again. Late night dinner while we talk about our day. Go to bed grateful for what we have not for what we want.

Hopefully waking up tomorrow with  3 kids,  3 pups, work, stretching, loving, sometimes arguing but always fighting the good fight.

If what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...somebody needs to buy me a cape.

Til next time, a pretty confident COTTON (Backed up by a posse of men)

PS May have typos but lap top was acting funky.