ME and Ophelia

SNOW HERE
By the seaside

Yesterday afternoon, a dear friend brought a snazzy fire heater for us to use until the heating situation here is sorted out here. It has five electric bars radiating heat through space agey silver mesh and works with a remote control. Ophelia loves it. She is stretched out in front of the fire, basking in its light that beams brightly like the sun.



The past four weeks have taken its toll dealing with the heating problems and getting my phone to work while I am online. Right now, I am feeling on the verge of tears. I am not feeling sorry for myself, it's just one of the many symptoms, along with physical muscle pain, that I suffer whenever I experience stress. I need to rest and may have to take another blogging break.

My friend and her husband are very kindly helping me to get the heating and phone sorted. It may take a few more weeks yet. I cannot imagine what I would have done without them over the past five years. They seem like angels to me and I am hugely grateful. If the majority of people were like them, the world would not seem so harsh.



The next photo by Louis Leclézio, courtesy BBC, has the caption: "Geneva recently experienced a cold and windy winter. The result was ice, ice and more ice."

In the mid 1980's I visited Geneva for the day with an American friend. We had a memorable journey on the brand new TGV express from Paris. We lunched at a restaurant overlooking Lake Geneva, spent the afternoon shopping for a Swiss watch and arrived back in Paris just before midnight.



The next photo of the Hoover Dam brings back more memories. As I lay here horizontal 23 hours a day, it seems unreal that I have walked all around Boulder and stood inside the little building at the foot of the dam. Many workers lost their lives building the dam. A few were encased in the concrete.



Photo by Mike Abbott, courtesy BBC, with the caption: "The Hoover Dam. Taken by my son Tom Abbott while on a week's holiday in Las Vegas."

More photos at BBC.