Redundant Comfort

The wind chill hit fifteen below, pragmatically closing the area schools with a quiet, frigid air system solemn as Marley's ghost.  Being on an upper floor of the building, I gain the mostly pleasant heat rising from the floors below, and have no need to turn on the steam radiators, only on the coldest of nights.  Even then, I'd rather just toss on another wool blanket.

But on a day like today, you can do three to five things at once, for there is no hope of getting me outside unless a friend needs a trip to the emergency room, which is unlikely to happen.  Predicted cold got me to the grocery yesterday to get the elixirs of life, namely cat food, milk, and white popcorn kernels.  There are several types of popcorn, the mostly decorative blue, black jewel, red, yellow and white.  The usual, sanely priced popcorn comes in yellow; it pops larger, fluffier and has a cornier flavor than the white, which I currently am fond of...smaller, sweeter and full of good things for your eyes.  Like lutein.

There are even divisions of types within the colors; corn that is meant to be covered in caramel pops in a rounder shape; movie popcorn is meant to pop large and sturdy; the home brands are engineered to pop fluffier, with more jagged edges to catch butter.  There I go again.  Too much information.

But this morning after coffee, what does one do when it's this cold and you want some background warmth?  One of the more forbidden of sins these days, bake bread.  When did bread become an enemy?  I have many friends doing the gluten free business and they are meowing about how their health has improved, they feel better, and so forth.  I haven't tried it yet, even though I gave up carbs for a damned good long time as well as butter; no, the brain didn't work any quicker nor did the weight disappear.  And what else is there in life, if there is no bread nor butter?  Just a bit.  Maybe another.  Look at me daintily dabbing on a modicum of butter.  Eensy.  Did you know that butter contains more
Vitamin A and selenium than most foods?

Well, there is now a loaf of bread rising to bake, and let me say that on a very cold day, the aroma of bread filling the apartment makes it brighter, cozier, and Marley's ghost has sat down in anticipation of one slice, buttered.  The teakettle has shrieked accomplishment in boiling water, and tea is steeping.  I am sanding a bed rail to fit a D-ring from 1871, and have plans to paint canvas.  Want to get this bed together first; pay no attention to the sawing noises, cussing out of cats who want to see what's going on, or any number of colorful swears.  These animals have no concept of handsaws, kerfs, or miter boxes.

A cold night coming again; be warm, be safe, pull up the covers.  Toss out a handful of seed for the birds, and if you can, put out a dish of warm water.  They will eat snow as a last resort for hydration,  but the amount that it lowers their tiny body temperature does not outweigh the necessary intake of food to produce warming energy.  And food is scarce.  So it helps.  Sleep deep, sleep well.  Goodnight.