The "cyclone bomb"

We had our first big winter storm a couple of days ago. The media made a huge deal of it. They described this one as a weird combo of winter storm and cyclone.



I got to the house yesterday late afternoon, I wanted to give it a couple of days for the LIE to get cleared up. It was bright and sunny so I thought it would be a good day to travel. But it's still bitterly cold. Supposedly last night it felt like -10 to -20 degrees with the wind chill factor. Really?? Yikes, I didn't go out. I made a nice roaring fire and watched one of my favorite new obsessions, "Somerset Murders", a British TV series where there's always a murder in a little country village. It's very Miss Marple. The perfect thing to curl up with on your laptop while the fire is crackling. :)



I went for a walk into town today to get groceries. Here's a pic of the house. Lots of snow but I can remember times when we've had MUCH more snow. This feels just average.

Moby Dick

As I stated in my last post, I'm reading Moby Dick. At 56 it's high time I read this literary classic. I'm about 2/3 of the way thru and the word is "dense". It's not as hard as I thought it would be, but it's not a page turner either. When Melville actually focuses on the story of Ahab and the whale (as told by the narrator, Ishmael), it's accessible. But so much of the book is a dry explanation of whaling and the biology of whales. I'm glad I'm reading it though. I'm using an old paperback copy of it that I've had for probably 30 years. I think I got it when I worked at Waldenbooks in college. The cover is brittle and the edges of the pages are yellowed.



One thing I do like is all the Moby Dick related information and artwork on the web, like the character studies of Ahab, Queequeg, and Ishamael.







I'm also following an online website that's like the old Cliffs Notes we used to use in high school. It makes it easy to keep up with the story and helps explain some of the themes and symbolism.

Resolutions

Here it is already the 3rd of January and I haven't posted my New Year's Resolutions yet, but it's just as well as I've already been tacking them for weeks now.



Here they go in no particular order:



1. CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT: I've been on this since last Spring and as I've noted in earlier posts I've done pretty well...at last count I was at a total loss of 33 pounds. I gained a couple back over the Christmas holiday but I've been working that off ever since I got back on the 27th. My goal is to lose at least 10 more pounds, hopefully 12, by the end of May (swimsuit season). I think I can do it. Besides regular exercise I think the key will be proportion control in my eating which I'm working on. As I told my friend Dean, I'm gonna look good in a Speedo when I go to his pool. Stay tuned for that!

2. READ MORE CLASSIC LITERATURE: I've gotten a head start on this one too. Back in November I read "Jane Eyre' and now I'm reading "Moby Dick". It's slow going, very dense. But not as hard as I feared. I'm going to alternate my reading pattern with one classic, then something for fun, and repeat that throughout the year. I've got a list of the 100 great books of which I've only read 28, so a long way to go...

3. ONLY SPEND MONEY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY: Again, this is a continuation of last year but I'm going to try to be even more stringent about it. I want to keep expenses down to just food, utilities, and taxes. No clothes. Zero restaurants unless it's someplace cheap-o. No vacations. And try to keep plays, books, and music to a low roar.

4. START UP THE JOB SEARCH AGAIN: This one is tough as I really, REALLY love not working. But I would love some extra spending money. So my goal here is to apply for at least one or two jobs a day, put it out there and see if anything sticks. You don't catch a fish unless there's a hook in the water, right?



I know I can do all this, I've been successful at it already, it's just a matter of perseverance.

Christmas decor

I got all the Christmas decorations up just a few days after Thanksgiving so that I can enjoy them while I'm here at the house before I leave for the city and Texas.
The tree with my handmade Christmas card ornaments...



The new wooden angel star tree topper I made this year from a weathered piece of plywood I found in the basement...



My wooden handmade nativity...




The 'trinket tree' in the dining room...





The mantel with my Santa stocking and leftover tree boughs...



My 'still raccoon' ornament...



The wreath on the front door...



Jingle bells on the French doors...



A mini wreath in the living room...



And a bowl of glass ornaments on the dining room table...





MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SAG HARBOR!

The seashell lamp

Years ago someone gave me a small lamp shaped like a seashell. It's a little "twee" for my taste but it does fit the beachy theme of the house. For a time, I kept it in the bathroom. but the cord on it was incredibly long. One day I decided to cut the cord and re-wire the thing. Bad idea. I screwed up something and it no longer worked. Into the basement it went to collect dust for years.
The other day I thought I'd take another crack at wiring it. I bought a new six dollar electrical cord and plug at the hardware store and attached it to the socket. It worked! New lamp!
I thought it would look cute on top of the wardrobe in my bedroom to add a little more light to that corner of the room, especially at night when I would be on my computer lounging in bed.
I love re-purposing old things and getting new life out of them.