Howdy do Everybody,
The coffee pot is nice and hot rite now and it is a soft grey day of cold temperatures. The heating has been struggling to warm the house all morning and I still have on my beloved’s thermal hoodie and athletic socks.  I just turned the heat down; if I’m going to be cold I might as well save money doing it.  Once again Raleigh and her surrounding lower Cities have dodged the snow bullet.  My sister who is blond, skinny, and successful in her Gov. job got over two feet dumped on her near DC and this is the closest revenge I can get on her for being so near to perfect.  Her wonderfully wholesome husband shovels out the driveway constantly so there is still no just revenge on them because he is building up muscles, cardio, and the “My Honey is Wonderful” points. Their dog is even adorable.

I am going over my plant and seed list in my head and am almost looking forward to the Bengay that will follow putting in our garden come spring.  Better than any American lineament cream are sticking plasters from Yunnan Baiyao, a Chinese company. My acupuncturist has slapped these on me at different times and they are unbelievable.  They even work after being in the shower and they slip like a piece of paper under your clothes.  I have no idea what is in these little wonders as I do not read Chinese and after getting some of my Chinese herbs translated I don’t want to.  Traditional Chinese medicine has some mighty odd stuff like any ancient herbal tradition but it works and I love my Doctor for it.  Lets be honest, unicorn horn was not taken off of the must have list for Apothecary shops until the late 1800’s; being replaced by sulfa drugs and the forward march of science.   And now science is reaching back in history and discovering that there is something to all those old roots and seeds.  As long as they don’t research unicorn horn beyond the placebo effect I will be happy.

Love is in the air along with all the Debeer’s ads for diamonds. After all you don’t really love her if you don’t shell out tons of money on diamonds and flowers and eat beans and rice for months afterward.   Do not get me wrong, I adore jewelry and find this so very romantic but I know I am loved without us going broke.   Creativity can be more seductive than roses.  Does your beloved actually enjoy cooking?  Basil symbolizes love and good wishes, fennel flattery, marjoram joy,and rosemary remembrance: tell your beloved you want the best of love and happiness to be remembered forever.  Does your sweet heart like massages and foot soaks? Lavender is for Devotion and virtue, roses are love, pine is humility, sweet pea is pleasures: tell your beloved that it is your pleasure to give them humble devotion and love.   Now if the dog house is where you are headed without the dozen roses and box of chocolates, do it.   If the classic duo still will not get you out of trouble then off to diamond and gold land you go.  Should your wallet weep uncontrollably just driving by a jewelry store: Today’s economy has reliable pawn shops swimming with certified sparklies at lower prices, many local gem and mineral clubs have wire wrappers and metal smiths who would only be too willing to sell you an original work of art for a decent price, and some auction houses have distinct heirloom or antique pieces that are for purchase at reasonable prices.   Do all my suggestions require leg work?  Why, Yes they do. If this year is already got you frustrated, stymied, or finds you finished then you can start on next year.

Today is my first day without a six hour or more migraine in five days!!!   I have done the Happy Dance many times already.  I used to get the M word on average four times a week lasting twelve hours or more.  The first official onset of this private hell was on 9/11/01.  I remember sitting in my dark apartment with a pillow over my head while my mother yelled at me about planes crashing into the Twin Towers.  Mom was not actually yelling but I still cannot get over the eerie coincidence that while my head was fracturing under an invisible vice, thousands of souls were arriving at the Pearly Gates at one time.  This was also three to four months after a car wreck on a drizzly road that, without the Grace of God, I should have gone over the guard rail and been a gory puddle in traffic below. (WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT!!!!)  It took five years for a chiropractor who specializes in the atlas area of the neck to find that my head was sitting crooked.  Now I can say that five days of Migraines is not normal for me and is an inconvenience as well as pain in my life.  Please, if you have been in a car wreck, severe fall, or nasty tumble and are now starting to have migraines: Go see a chiropractor that specializes in fixing the atlas.

(For those who do not know what a migraine is: Does light hurt?  Sound hurt?  Sudden movement make you want to vomit?  Your depth perception not work well?   Eye strain severe?  Feels like a hot line of PAIN from the back of your head through an eyeball?  Lasts for over four hours? Is worse than any hang over and you do not drink any more?   If you can answer yes to any two or more of these then research migraines and cluster headaches and get yourself to a doctor or chiropractor.)

As the days of February begin to slide away from grey to grey let us remember that the Earth simply sleeps. Water and plants dream and seep through the soil and wait for the true warmth of the summer sun.  Brace our hearts and minds through the cold winter months; facing cold death and chilling destruction with the firm resolve that life and beauty swirls about us and will somehow take hold and grow once more.

Be well, be safe, and be true.