The Memory of Oranges

Today is one of those days I often talk about in which staying in bed seems like a perfect way to spend the day. It's raining outside and when the rain lands, it freezes. I knew it was going to be a horrid drive just by listening to the traffic report on the radio. Traffic in and out of Cincinnati is a nightmare, roads are closed and there are so many accidents, they're having to make extra time to report them all. Fortunately, I have a short drive to work which, I will say even though I've been in the Midwest for over three months, still seems like a luxury when I think back to my hour long commutes in L.A.

No matter how short the drive to work, however, I still have to see out of my car windows to get there which means de-icing the car. I cheat by letting my car run for ten minutes. By the time I'm ready to leave, my car is toasty warm and the ice is a little easier to remove. I got this nifty gift for Christmas from my good friends in L.A.- an ice-scraper attached to a furry mitt. I used it this morning. It's awesome. My hand stayed warm, the ice came off in a thin wet sheet by the mere tap of the scraper and voila! I could see out of my windows.

The drive to work took longer, the parking lot at work was an ice-rink and by the time I sat in my chair, all I wanted to do was to be back in my nice, warm bed. I have a ton of good books to read at the moment which may be why these past two postings mention snow days and staying home from work. The temptation of a good book is a powerful force.

Yet I'm here now. One of the few lone rangers. It's dark and gloomy outside. I'm drinking tea. I love tea. I also, unfortunately, now have orange stuck between my teeth because I had one for breakfast. I seem to be on an orange kick. I've discovered that if I cut them into four wedges with the peel still on it and take it to work in Tupperware, I'm far more likely to eat it than if I simply bring an orange to work. I'm also trying not to think about the fact that less than a year ago, I could go to the L.A. Arboretum- one of my favourite spots on earth- and sit in a rose garden, surrounded by an orchard of orange trees. The scent of orange blossoms is one of my favourite scents and it would waft gently on the breeze, perfuming the spring air. There were also hidden orange trees at the L.A. Arboretum that only someone who wandered off the beaten track would find. These are the trees whose fruit I would pick. There were no signs saying not to pick the fruit and, if you didn't, it would fall down, wasting away on the ground. So I'd often pick an orange, settle under a tree and read.

Eating an orange in my office just isn't the same especially on a gloomy day like this. I love a good spot of rain, as I've mentioned. I also love snow as I'm sure, by now, my readers have figured out. I'm just not quite so keen on the combination. What can I say? I like absolutes. I like Oreo cookies and I like a glass of milk. I do NOT, however, like the two things together. The thought of the inevitable sludge in the bottom of the glass turns my stomach. Someone told me this weekend that they'd bought cheese that had a coffee flavour. It was some kind of tiramisu cheese. That's revolting. I like cheese. I like coffee. I think coffee flavoured cheese sounds like one of the most vile things ever.

Anyway, I digress. Again. It's as gloomy out as when I started my blog which means it'll probably remain that way for much of the day. I don't mind when I'm at work. I don't really have a window anyway. And, when I go home, it'll make it easier to curl up with a mug of something hot and enjoy the gloom for a while before I begin the sad task of de-Christmasing my apartment. It's time to take down those decorations, remove the Christmas music from my iPod and start living the New Year properly. Maybe the rain will make that easier.

Happy Tuesday.