Still January

The street in front of my house is still covered with packed down snow and ice. It takes a sustained warm spell to rid the surface of its irregularities, and that hasn't happened yet. There is a kind of stark beauty to a clear January day with the blue sky and the naked trees. The ice covered sidewalks are treacherous and demand respect for those of us approaching geezerhood and I can see the wisdom of Florida and Arizona. The grocery bags in the photo are being used to contain recyclables for St. Paul's ongoing recycling program.


I took my creaking body to the Wooddale Tennis Center this morning and played a couple of sets. I wasn't really on my game, but I managed to get the ball over the net more times than the friendly opponents and eked out some victories. The club was not so busy this morning so we were able to play an extra half hour before quitting and calling it a successful day. We sat around a bit and discussed Serena's win in Melbourne over Justine. I remarked that the tale of the tape in this morning's Strib listed Serena at 5'9"" and 150 pounds, and that I was pretty sure that they must have been measuring someone else. I think she must have another 20 pounds on that frame - she can't possibly be smaller than me. That's my just opinion.

I fixed Santini's "famous yams in the oven" recipe from the experimental blog to eat for the evening meal. The yams, veggie burgers and steamed mixed veggies filled the menu. I was joined in a hearty repast by Herb and the princess.

The radio informed me that the current full moon is the brightest full moon of the year. I'm not sure how they know that or why it matters, but it was a high point of my daily input of usually useless facts that sometimes aid in solving a crossword puzzle later in the month.

Not much January left.