the cloudbane returns

I woke up this morning and immediately wondered ~ why is my back so sore? I had not had to do any heavy lifting at work last night, and it is not that time of month, so there seemed to be no reason. Then I remembered having to carry to dog last night. I had let him out to pee when I got home, and it was very clear and very cold (at least twenty degrees below freezing), and walking through that high snow hurt his poor elderly feet and legs. He stopped in the middle of the backyard and looked miserable and shifted his feet and shivered. I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I went down and picked him up and carried him into the house. I haven't carried him since he was a puppy, twelve years ago. He has trouble getting in and out of the truck when we go camping due to his stiff old joints, but Bill picks him up to help him then. He's a good sized dog, a black lab, and he was excited and happy to be picked up and carried so he was all wiggly and wagging. So there is a good reason for my back to be sore. Dan scolded me for carrying him, but I really couldn't stand to see my Max Dog feeling miserable like that. So I know I will do it again if I see him like that again.

The cloudbane has once again covered the land, so hopefully temperatures will rise a bit. Sometimes in the winter we will not see the sun for weeks at a time because of the heavy cloud cover. The temperatures would probably be un livable a lot of the time for a lot of people if not for that cloud cover. But at the same time the lack of sunshine actually causes a special form of depression called Seasonal Mood Disorder (or something like that). So the sunshine was welcome yesterday, though the clear skies made things super cold last night.

Dan is still sick with that bad cold, but at least he was able to sleep in a bed last night rather than a chair. Steven has a headache, but it seems to be a mild one that goes along with his stuffy nose, nothing concussion related that we have to take him in to the emergency room for. Bill has his make-up dual wrestling meet tonight so is restless, like a cat pacing around the house, getting ready to physically unleash himself. I am getting ready to go to work, having recently gotten back from grocery shopping.

I got a very yummy looking Oreo cheesecake to take to the potluck party tomorrow.

Three work nights left until my Christmas mini-break. You would think it would be quiet, but last night was very busy. The patient census had been a bit down, but yesterday the urgent care clinic and emergency room went nuts and we admitted something like twenty patients.