Tuesday, January 4, 2011

In the Wee Hours

Sleep is not usually a problem for me, provided I can draw heavy drapes and shades against the street lights.  I go to bed promptly at 9:00, read for an hour, and it's lights out.

About once a month, I am hit with insomnia, something I seem to have inherited from my mother, who suffered greatly from it.  When I can't sleep, I simply get up and spend the night working on the computer.  This is fine during the months from spring to autumn, but in the winter cold, I am not happy with this solution.  We have an automatic thermostat that turns down the heat down to 57 degrees F. (14 degrees C.)  at 10:00 pm and so it stays until 6:00 am.  I am all in favor of this as our own little antidote for global warming.  I refuse to change the dial for a little discomfort.

So when I woke up at 3:00 am today, I stayed in bed reading until 4:30 when Rascal Cat and I decreed that it was morning.  I put on long underwear, a robe, woolen socks, mukluks, a warm coat and a knit hat and set to work, a cup of hot tea to keep my hands and stomach warm. Because it was too cold to sit in front of the computer screen, I decided to make my favorite vegetable soup, pulling leftovers from the refrigerator, cupboard and stove.  With the soup bubbling away, I started the oven and made muffins.  At 7:30, the house is warm with delectable smells wafting through.  

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  When nature gives you freezing temperatures, cook.

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