As was usual, last evening I headed directly for bed as soon as I realized that my younger brother was home from wherever he had been drinking. It may have been in the neighbourhood of 8:40 p.m. at the time.
The best that I can hope for is some napping as I pass the latter evening, waiting until he has retired for the night so that I can rise and perform some work here at my computer. After a couple such slips into slumber, I remember being awake again and checking the time around 10:30 p.m.
I may thereafter have managed another brief nap, but I reached a state where sleep no longer felt possible, and it was only 11:15 p.m. or so. Fortunately, of late my brother has been heading off to his bedroom for the night well ahead of midnight, and such was the case last evening.
The overall plan was not to be up past 3 a.m., for I needed some further bed rest if I had any hope of leaving home afoot (I do not drive) as soon after 6 a.m. as possible so that I could make the 5.625-mile round trip hike to the nearest Real Canadian Superstore outlet (Google Map) to try and arrive there fast after its 7 a.m. opening.
With that settled upon, I did indeed find myself back in bed around that time, and my cellphone alarm was set for 5:15 a.m. ─ I would need sufficient occasion after rising in which I could have a cup of hot black instant coffee to assist in my normalization.
I had noticed that the street outside was wet, so I knew that it was or had been lightly raining. We've not had any rain for three or four days.
As I recall, it was 6:08 a.m. once I had set off in the wet and chilly dark, a very cold and ever so light spray of rain in effect. I was actually feeling better than I have felt in some while, for I had managed to get my stun gun flashlight to turn on.
Months ago, I discovered that the toggle safety switch no longer seemed able to activate the device, try as I did to power it on. And I have since tried on numerous occasions. But even though I deemed the flashlight useless, for some reason I never quite galvanized myself to discard it.
It was while I was having that coffee early this a.m. that I was checking out various self-defence gadgets such as similar flashlights at several Canadian websites, that I took the flashlight in hand and ─ after pushing inward on the safety switch as I moved it into the position to power on the flashlight ─ the light came on!
And so I now had it to carry with me ─ along with the tactical pen that I always have in a pants pocket when I go anywhere.
Anyway, quite early into my walk ─ I hadn't travelled a mile as yet ─ my hands had become too cold to have them bared in the very fine rain, and so I put on a pair of gloves I had with me. It seemed at that juncture that the rain actually seemed to have the appearance of very wet snow.
By the time I was perhaps two-thirds into my trip, it became apparent that there was most definitely snow in the rain, for the pavement was starting to be blanketed with white, and my footing somewhat slick and unsure.
However, I was into the store within 10 minutes following its opening, and I quickly got my shopping done. Alas, I had neglected to check my financial institution's balance for my debit card account, so I was unsure how much I could comfortably spend. At best I doubted that I had $100 in the account, and there might not even have been $75 in it.
As a result, I omitted some items I otherwise would have bought, but I did acquire what I deemed were essentials.
At least my burden homeward was reasonably comfortable to tote (I had brought two bags for that purpose).
I was back home before quite 8:40 a.m., feeling quite good about myself. After all, I had just a mere 12 hours earlier undergone the four-mile round trip hike to a government liquor store for two dozen cans of beer and two 750-ml bottles of wine.
Notwithstanding, I now have a dilemma on my hands: What do I do about my stun gun flashlight? Do I risk turning off the power (the safety power switch is quite separate from the flashlight's on / off button), or do I just leave it on all of the time and let it be a constant drain on the rechargeable battery?
Or is the safety switch irrelevant where any drain on the rechargeable battery is concerned?
I have no idea. I will leave things as they are for the present, and endeavour with considerable vigour to remember not to be careless with the flashlight where I have it resting upon the desk that this computer's monitor is situated.
Around 9:30 a.m. this morning I sought a nap. My brother was up by then.
I was somewhat disappointed to rouse from my nap and discover that barely an hour had passed since I made that return to bed. Considering how luxurious it felt to just be lying there, I don't exactly understand why I was not still slumbering. My body was virtually tingling from my recent exertions.
I rose after a few minutes, and came directly downstairs to boil up some water for my day's second black instant coffee. And then I joined my brother, who was watching T.V. My hope was that he would invite me to put our Android TV Box into operation, for I had a video in mind.
Instead, at 11 a.m. he tuned in a Nova episode. It did not interest me, so after a few minutes I began to return upstairs to my computer. I think that motivated my brother to explain that he was going to have to leave and pick up his girlfriend Bev so they could go to a pub and watch her favourite NFL team the Green Bay Packers to contest for the right to play in the Super Bowl.
In other words, he was not at liberty to sit and watch anything on T.V. for any length of time. And by 11:40 a.m., he was away on the drive to her home a couple of miles from here.
I resisted a desire to try for another nap, and instead broke my fast with one of my delicious hot caffeinated beverages. This at least helped me fight the oppressive stiffness and overall physical ennui that I find myself in, and I managed to force my way through a little strenuous exercising.
And that finally cleared the way for me to have my day's first of just two meals.
As I type these words at 3:10 p.m., the precipitation of the morning has continued as a blend of snow and rain. The ground is trying hard to blanket itself with white, but there is just enough rain to keep the blanket looking very skimpy.
I think my eldest stepson, the 26-year-old, went off in the early afternoon with friends to snowboard at Cypress Mountain. He said naught to me in leaving, but my brother had earlier mentioned that it was the lad's intention.
And so I have been left with just my youngest stepson (23 years old) to share the house.
Since that essentially brings me up to the present, I do believe that I will now take a break and see if I can manage a nap.
My afternoon is about at an end. The snow seems to be losing out, for there may even be less of it on the ground now than when I made my earlier report. Nevertheless, perhaps with the coming of night, conditions will become colder and the rain then become snow.
It's exceedingly odd that we've only had one small falling of the stuff this season ─ two inches at very most several days ahead of Christmas. I can't yet believe that we'll get away without having some more serious snowfall before Spring's arrival.
The days are becoming markedly longer ─ of course, it's been just over a month since we had our shortest day of the year. So naturally they have been getting longer ever since.
Well, I've had my nap, as may be imagined; and nothing else has taken place that is worth mentioning. Perhaps I will just call it quits for today and get this effort published and out of the way.
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