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The bag is full of blue salt that I “borrowed” from a bin of salt that is to be used on the steps of my condo building. All night freezing rain fell on the city and two kind friends messaged me to inquire if I was going out, to warn me of how slippery it was and to advise me not to go out today. Look at the sheen of ice in this picture! I had stayed home all day yesterday and for me to stay home for two days is unheard of. Since I can no longer walk in my beloved park, I must go to the gym and trudge on the treadmill as I listen to stories.

I put on my boots with crampons. I took my hiking pole. I put my old backpack containing my gym clothes and shoes. Down the steps I went sprinkling the blue salt like a winter bridesmaid. The sidewalks were impossible so I tried to stamp through the crust of ice. It might have been safer on the road which had obviously been sanded and salted. However it was impossible to get over the icy sidewalk to the roadway. My salt was quickly emptying. If I did manage to arrive unscathed, how would I ever get back?

I am persistent, stubborn some would say. However, what an irony it would be to fall and perhaps crack my skull, break a bone….on my way to the gym! I turned back, disappointed and wondering when I ever will walk freely on the streets again.

This little sprig lifted my spirits. I had almost decided to throw away a poor lemon tree that suddenly lost all its leaves. I have another tree that is doing very well. I grew both of them from ordinary lemon seeds but this poor creature was headed to the trash heap until…. I had the bright idea of administering a winter health light for a few days. And, joy to my heart, the little lemon tree sprouted again. I hadn’t really been paying much attention so seeing these tiny leaves was just the consolation I needed today!

Time passes. January is almost over and I vow that it will be the last one I spend in this climate. One way or another.