Whether the weather

Today it is cold here in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Not as cold as it is at my parents' home in Maine where they haven't seen green grass for months now, but I don't live in Maine, so I can complain about my own, relative, cold. I am ready for spring, and the daffodil bulbs have pushed green an inch or two above the ground, but the sky is gray and the cold bites. I found a photo that shows what it will look like here at work once the daffodils bloom.

One of the things I like to do (along with checking exchange rates almost daily) is to check out the weather for places I would rather be. Today it looks like the place to be is in the Alpujarras where it is 100% sunny for the entire 5-day forecast and the highs are in the mid to upper 50's. Aracena, northwest of Sevilla is also completely sunny and in the 60's. However, Peschici in the Puglia region of Italy, along the Adriatic is in the low 30's with a mix of rain and snow, (unlike how it is in this photo from October 2006) and Reggio Calabria, down at the very southernmost part of Italy is in the 30's and 40's with rain. I think that I need to spend some time south of the Equator so that this time of year I can truly fantasize about warmer days. For example, it is sunny and in the 80's in Lima, Peru today. Ah.....

Last night I didn't sleep well - when I was awake I was worrying about numerous things and when I slept, I dreamt about the things that had been keeping me awake. The new bottle of Melatonin says that it has an extra ingredient found in green tea which relieves stress and aids in sleeping...yeah. A recent magazine article promises that a foot massage before bed contributes to a sound sleep... I wish I could teach the Corgi, Rocky, to do something useful, like massage my feet.

I am expecting a package in the mail today. Two pairs of jeans for $62 and by purchasing them I have "saved" myself $265! As if....anyhow, they are "Italian" jeans (made in Poland... go figure?!), and they really are quite nice, but who would pay nearly $200 for blue jeans?

Clearly my thoughts lack focus today - I am too tired to even have much of a day-dream about being elsewhere. I'll dress up like a runner and go outside at noon and see what that does for me. I can't imagine making this tired body actually run today, but at least I can go through the motions.

I promise more cheer next time...