10 Things Wednesday (because it’s a snow day)

1. I hate having to make up snow days that come during our school’s intercession. It’s like trading a vacation day for a work day, and it’s wholly unjust.

2. My intercession group is roleplaying in the Old West. They’ve been exploring the frontier and what life was like post-Civil War until about 1890. They’ve learned a little about what drove people to settle the prairie and the heretofore savage and untamed frontier, and the conflicts that inevitably arose as a result of this expansion. Of course, they’re also killing zombies (it just wouldn’t be roleplaying without zombies), but I love that they decided to put their game into the “real world”.

3. The snowblower is up and running just in time to use it today. We’re expecting 8”- 12” of snow and sleet over the course of the day, and I would not relish having to shovel it all by hand. It will challenging enough just to handle the snowblower: There’s still a great deal of ice on the driveway, which makes it treacherous to walk around on.

4. I replaced the monitor on my laptop yesterday. It started flickering and losing its contrast about a month ago, and the problem just kept getting worse. It figures that it would die only months after the warranty ran out. It wasn’t a big deal, though. I could by a replacement on eBay for about $125 (including shipping), and the installation was a relative breeze. That’s one of the reasons I will continue to by from Dell®. Their stuff is built with an eye toward easy repair. I can look now forward to being able to use my laptop for a long time to come, which is good because there’s no way I can afford to buy a new one.

5. Now that I have a fully functional laptop, I can go upstairs tonight to ride my bike. My road bike is hooked up to a trainer, and I set my computer up in front of it so I can watch movies and stuff while I ride. It’s the only way to make a 45-minute stationary bike ride tolerable.

6. The house pipes are leaking from, like, everywhere, and it’s bugging the hell out of me. One of the supply pipes to the radiators needs to have a whole section replaced (that’s work I can’t do myself), but there’s stuff I need to do to prep the work for the plumber that I’m not looking forward to doing. Then there’s the sink drain that is leaking in the basement. I can do this work, but it’ll take all damn day, and I’ll be working with my hands over my head the entire time. The kitchen shutoff valves need to be replaced, too, and that’s another day of work and headaches. It’s giving me a headache thinking about all this plumbing, which is in addition to the other work that needs to be done to the house. Sigh. Home ownership can be a pain.

7. I’m meditating today on the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear (from Frank Herbert's Dune novels). I first read these books when I was 12, and these words really resonated with me. They came back to me recently when I was thinking about how to talk to someone I know who is wrestling with her own inner demons. I have no idea if Herbert, himself, wrote these words, or if they are adapted from something else, but they offer good advice about how to face and overcome one’s fears:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

8. I’m making crab cakes for dinner tonight, accompanied by creamy savory grits. I make crab cakes occasionally, but I’ve never done the grits before. I’m excited to see how it comes out!

9. I owe newsy emails to several people. That’s another of the things that didn’t get done over the last two weeks. Perhaps the kids will leave me alone long enough today to get some written…

10. Speaking of kids, they’re going stir crazy. They’re just not used to being home all day. I’m going to give them a snack in a sec and send them outside to play. They need it. *I* need it.

Happy snow day!