We Are Community 82 by Joyce Steiner
I often wonder if there is a name for the fear of temperatures below zero. I am not afraid of snakes, spiders or all the usual things but I am afraid when the temperature falls below zero. I have a large old home which is heated by a natural gas fired boiler. I got a new boiler and have it serviced every fall so I won’t have to worry about furnace failure but yet I do. I walked into my home a few weeks ago and the house was cold. The needed part is not available. So, when the temperature falls below zero, I can get pretty nervous. I know this fear is not rational like other fears are not rational and I feel much better when daylight comes. Logic tells me that zero is only a number and that my furnace is no more likely to fail when the temperature is below zero than it is at any other time.
Traffic at the antique store had been pretty slow in January due to cold and snow and I was afraid the month was going to be pretty dismal. Then this week happened. I had shoppers from Texas, Kentucky, Mendon, Keokuk and more. Had good days both Friday and Saturday. Thank you for shopping Plymouth Rock Antiques. Figured out this week that Plymouth Rock Antiques has existed now for 40 years. Pretty good for a small shop.
Each day, I try to stop for the sunset. It is easier now that the sun is setting just after five. I park my VW around the corner from my home and prepare to take photos of the sunset. Have learned to leave the window up as I nearly froze one afternoon and I can take really good photos even through the window. I then send the photos to friends or put them on face book. Others do the same and it is just fun to see how the photos compare and how really lovely some of them are. Also gives me a few minutes to stop and appreciate God’s handiwork. I have to park so that I get a tree limb in the photo for one person and also cut the car mirror out of the photos. There have been some really lovely sunsets this week.
Told you about the ice crystals on my turret windows last week. Had some really lovely ones this week also. Shared photos of them. One person sent an article from the BBC which said that the different shapes were caused by imperfections on the windows. The crystals have very different patterns even on adjacent windows.
I have many flowers in my yard and I noticed that some of the crocuses have come up. I am afraid that the tender leaves will get frozen this week but it does let us know that spring is coming.
John Wesley was concerned about “acts of mercy” such as taking care of immediate needs like food, housing, medical care and more. There are numerous food pantries and homeless shelters today to help with these needs. Not all of us can work in a food pantry or a shelter so I thought about what anyone of us can do to help. Each of us can call, text, visit or write a letter or a card to someone who lives alone. We can visit nursing homes if we take the proper precautions. Today I took my own advice and visited a friend in the Elms in Macomb. Another friend also stopped by while I was there and we were told that we were the first visitors this week. Reach out to someone this week. You never know just how much that may mean to them and it will give you a lift too. Life is difficult for many-be kind!