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Saturday, November 10, 2018

Winter is back!


Winter has set in now. It was 5F this morning when I went out to feed the horses, but at least yesterday’s howling wind subsided. It blew away the 7 inches of snow we got here so there is just enough left to act as filler between the blades of frozen brown grass. I try to take a short walk on these mornings just to get the circulation going and see what’s what around the farm. Lots of fox tracks and a few deer tracks, although it is hunting season so I suspect most of the deer are in hiding from the Pumpkin People (orange covered hunters) wandering around the forest. 

My garage has been converted back into a place to park cars again after a summer of alternative uses. This is handy as it usually stays above freezing in there, except during a long cold snap. It fools the vehicles into thinking that it isn’t winter until the doors open and we back out into another climate. At least there is no scraping of ice and snow from the windshield and the block heaters don’t need to be plugged in.

Now for the potential TMI part of this week’s entry. I have had an ongoing battle with a little bit of skin cancer. Back in July of 2016 I had a chunk of my scalp removed to get rid of the basal cell carcinoma that was making a home there. The treatment wasn’t terrible and most of the offending cells were removed, but these things are not always completely fixed. A little has come back so I have been treating a larger area around the original chunk. After three weeks I get to stop putting on the fluorouracil  5%  which is sort of a topical chemotherapy. Now the healing begins. It has been covered and will remain so as it is kind of unsightly red burn looking thing. In a few weeks or months I will be beautiful again!

Next week is the Winterer’s Gathering (based on all those who have decided to winter here) at North House Folk School which is sort of an early winter celebration with activities, films, a winter gear swap, and a dance for which Over The Waterfall, including yours truly, will be playing the music. I really will post a song at some point when someone records one and I figure out how to embed it. I have been saying that I will do this for some time now and I really will. Maybe this will be the time I can pull it off. Keep your fingers crossed.

30 comments:

  1. you are ALWAYS beautiful! snow already? you can keep it!

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    1. Awww shucks! Yeah, it is noticeably winter now.

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  2. I can't even imagine snow in November. I'm in a bit of a warmer clime.

    Hope your healing goes well and quickly. If you're not beautiful now, well, you have some time to experience how the other half lives!

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    1. Yes you are. Do you even get snow down there?. As the Beatles once sang, "How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people."

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    2. Haha. Yeah, we get snow about once every 3 years.

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  3. I don't envy you your snow, especially as I know it's an early warning sign that ours is on the way, too. The wind is howling here today, the trees are bare, and the temperature is going to drop tomorrow and all next week. Blech.

    I hope your self-chemo has been effective in wiping out the invaders. Maybe a little blush and lipstick will make you feel even MORE beautiful, eh? :) (We'll need pictures.)

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    1. Yes, I am a harbinger! A warm up is coming, but not until later next week.
      If I wear makeup someone else will have to apply it, but if that happens I will post pictures. The shock value alone would be priceless!

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    2. I feel the shock value would double or maybe even triple if you did it yourself :D

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  4. I hope your chemo works. Himself recently had some more basal cell carcinomas burnt off, and I think he needs to go back again.
    I also hope your winter is gentle.

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    1. I hope it does, too. I did it in another spot last spring and it had very good results. We vikings are tough, but some of us need to stay where it's cold and dark. The sun has an effect on some of us not unlike Vlad the Impaler.
      Happy spring to you down under!

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  6. We are just getting into Fall and all of us Desert People are enjoying the cooler weather.
    I hope your chemo is working and the Viking that you are can yell into the snow storm again.

    cheers, parsnip and badger

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    1. Cooler is a relative term, isn't it? Your cool is probably my sweltering.
      The wind would drown my screams, I'm afraid.

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  7. Ditto to Anne Marie’s comment! Stay beautiful!
    (Cold and dark is good for us and our skin.)

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  8. It's terrific to be able to park a car in the relatively warm and dry through the winter. The shock comes when you have to go somewhere and park outside, then have to get into a freezing cold snow covered car. Keep an eye on that cancer, oh I forgot. you can't. it's on the top of your head. I had a small nasty on my leg, had it removed, fingers crossed that it's gone for good.
    I don't want to talk about snow. We had some over the past 3 days, some has melted but there is more to come, unfortunately.

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    1. The end of a cold work day in January is the worst. Hoping the car starts is something you never get used to.

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  9. Winter is here in Maine also; but not quite as cold and not quite as much snow - but the winds do chill. I love it.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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    1. It's not that different where you are, but I am jealous that you are so much closer to fresh seafood.

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  10. I don't envy you the snow or the skin cancer - here's hoping the former is tolerable and the latter is gone, never to return.

    Cold and dark is my skin's preferred environment, too. Every now and then the doc zaps a spot or two with liquid nitrogen, but so far that's been enough to do the trick. Needless to say, I wear sunscreen every day, even in the mid-winter murk.

    I hope you manage to get your recording done this time - I'd love to see/hear it! :-)

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  11. I get the nitrogen zap now and again. At least I've lived long enough for stuff to happen, so it's not all bad.
    After practice earlier today, I wouldn't be embarrassed about the music. We weren't too bad!

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  12. Jono--Last year we got no snow days. I need an occasional break from my students this school year. Could you send some of your snow to me?

    I'm sorry about the cancer, but soon you'll be beautiful again? If only that was all I had to do to get to that state... ;)

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  13. Sioux, they rarely close school for too much snow,but extreme cold is a more likely reason.
    Beauty is really just a state of mind. Of course, my mind is often in a state!

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  14. I was going to suggest a one word answer to your first two paragraphs: Florida! Then I read the rest of the post and have to expand my advice: No, stay north! I don't know your exact situation, but for the past ten years or so as I've been losing hair, I've been developing those precancerous growths on the sensitive skin on my scalp. I go for a skin check every year and get them frozen off ... and so far, so good. Anyway, best of luck with the top of your head. And don't forget ... always wear a hat!

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    1. I first "discovered" that I was follically challenged when I was 27, a mere pup. I have been wearing a hat most of the last 30 years, but it was a little too late for damage already done. My dermatologist makes sure that I do. I just thought of an old Janis Joplin (with Big Brother and the Holding Company) song, Piece of my Heart. I could alter the lyrics slightly and call it Piece of my Head and have some fun!

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  15. Take care of yourself, jono, do everything the docs say, and--yes--wear your hat!

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    1. I have to wear a hat so my little bald head doesn't freeze! That's most of the year in this part of the world!😁

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    2. I also really need to read Mormon Erotica. I still miss your regular writing.

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  16. Here's to this treatment working and getting rid of the skin cancer for good. FIVE degrees??? My co-workers and I were all excited about the chill in the air today - it was in the high 60's. From what I understand, we do get the occasional snow flurry around here. They call it "angel dandruff." Ha!

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    1. High 60's would feel great! I think there are about 4 or 5 months I would be comfortable down there.

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