Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

As warm as it was yesterday, it's bitter cold today. Feels like winter again, just like it did the week after we got back from Vermont.

Even with a Polarfleece top under my fall jacket and a scarf wrapped around my neck, I still wish I'd bundled up more for my dog walk with Una. When I go out again, I'll break out my hat and gloves, maybe even my winter coat. Fortunately, the scarf I'm wearing is big enough that I can wrap it around my head like a cowl.

This makes me wonder what I can expect from Thanksgiving. It's always about five degrees cooler in Central Pennsylvania, where my parents live, than it is in Philly.

I guess I'll check the weather report when it gets a little closer. Then I'll also pack for weather even cooler than that. After all, I was caught off guard in Vermont, even though I checked the weather ahead of time.

If you were just inside looking out the window, you'd think it was a gorgeous day. It's bright and clear, although some wind is making the tree branches bounce.

I think the antibiotics I'm on are working. My voice seems to be slowly returning to normal. There's less congestion in my chest. Although whether it's the illness or the medicine, I'm still easily exhausted and have been taking long naps to make up for it. But I hear the body does its best healing while you're asleep.

Now that I'm no longer coughing, Una has been relieved of her nurse dog duties. She would no doubt be pleased, however, to discover that a recent study shows that dogs are good for ailing patients. A study of 76 heart patients showed that those visited by a dog with a human saw anxiety levels drop 24 percent and improvements in both heart and lung function.

While I appreciated the attention, it seemed weird to have my dog acting as my caretaker.

She of course, is not at all bothered by the cold. She bounced out the door with a smile on her face, and she walks leisurely through the chill air, sniffing things leisurely. Either dogs are impervious to cold or their fur is the best insulation known to nature.

I'm warming up a bit as we walk, especially as we hit patches of sun. Not enough to eliminate the need for gloves but enough to make the rest of me feel pretty warm. So now I think I'll curtail my dictation, shove my hands in my pockets and enjoy the rest of the walk.

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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