Up after the alarm by half an hour, so we fed the meter with a dollar, people huffing and puffing waiting at the bus stop in front of the morning café, one lone what looked as if he may be street person, nodding in a chair at the back of the dining room, I sitting in the front reading the papers while still in sweater and jacket. Thursday: tomorrow they're saying rain.

Later. A brief walk out the door down to Grand and crossing over to the lake thinking it's too cold to be out walking with no destination in mind wearing but this long sleeved shirt, sweater and light jacket. And so a turn right around back home. I'd call that a clear headed decision.

What to do? I'd noticed the refrigerator needed defrosting, the top freezer with a thick covering of ice along the sides and top. Hmm. Took out the two bags of frozen vegetables, three or four condiments and what was left of a small bag of green apples. That was it, the refrigerator was empty. What do I pay a month in electricity for cold apples, mustard and ketchup? Frozen corn and peas?

What the hell, it took about an hour for the ice to melt enough to pull it out in chunks. There was no defrost cycle, just a dial that turned the cooling off, so I boiled water in the large pot I use for spaghetti and placed it in the freezer, both refrigerator doors propped wide open of course. Again, took just over an hour. It's done, scrubbed and wiped clean. For another, what, year?

Later still. The sun was a bit warmer as it was approaching one, so a walk this time substituting a winter coat in place of the light jacket. Much better, although it was still brisk (shall we say) when not in the direct sun.

This couple surprised me. The white goose was acting pretty much as if he/she were a laid back dog long accustomed to walking about on a leash. A picture or two just to note their presence. Later on they'd walked it down to the lake and I took another picture from a distance, not knowing quite what they were doing, the woman removing the tinsel necklace. Were they going to let it free in the lake?

No, still had the leash attached, but she bumped him gently into the lake where he/she started happily swimming along beside them. I wasn't in a position where I could take a proper picture.

Otherwise what looked to be a whole lot of Common Goldeneyes and but a very few cormorants all sitting with hunched wings out in the (cold) water on a (cold) day on their way to? I'd think they'd want to crank it up and keep right on going.

On to the morning café to have a turkey with Swiss cheese sandwich (no onions) and a large cup of coffee out at a table in a patch of sun. Not bad out there in the sun, a good sandwich, the mood improved. Up and back to the apartment. Life in one of the faster lanes, I'd say, here in fast lane city.

Evening. Nothing on television again, but a movie on Netflix that seems to have gotten my attention. One of the Swedish dramas so popular after the Girl With The Dragon series, I'm even recognizing some of the actors from some of the old earlier six o'clock programs.

Elementary on at ten with nothing to keep me up beforehand. Maybe I will stay up, probably I will, but there are hours yet and you never know. Diddle-dee-doh.