Tuesday, February 3

If today's windy-cold weather is any indication, I'm betting that the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, was absolutely accurate yesterday in his prediction that we'll have six more weeks of winter.

I started the morning with a treadmill session and weights workout. After I was ready for the day, I put together a memo and artist-in-education photography course description, explaining how my program would fit into science curriculum frameworks for a local middle school. This was at the request of a teacher from that school, and the local arts council director.

After that, it was just a normal day of household chores. Mother came over around 2 p.m., and we went to the beauty shop to get haircuts. There, we learned that the hairdresser who cuts Mother's hair was without power at her home until last Saturday.

And then the power went out again today, but she got a call while we were there telling her that it came back on this afternoon. She also said that her yard is littered with broken trees..."It looks like a war zone," she said. This normally upbeat, cheerful lady looked positively worn out today. My heart went out to her.

I didn't do much after we got back from the beauty shop. Mother went home, preferring not to join us for supper tonight. So, I fixed fajitas for Hubbie's and my supper, using leftover beans and leftover beef roast sauteed with green onions, bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, and salsa. I spooned this mixture onto tortillas, sprinkled shredded Quesadilla cheese over the top, rolled them into foil and put them in the oven to heat. At the table, we spooned salsa and sour cream over the tops of the fajitas. With these, we had potato pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes, and the rest of the leftover beans. I added a leftover piece of corn on the cob to Hubbie's plate, and a small helping of leftover greens to mine.

Later, Hubbie called his daughter and son. Daughter said her power was restored late this afternoon, and his son's and sister's electricity finally came on around 7 p.m. It's been a long, long week for family following the awful ice storm of last Tuesday. But TV reports this evening say that other communities are not as lucky...one may not have power restored for four to six weeks! What kind of personal courage and fortitude must it take to cope such adversity?