A Frustrating Day - Haiku -

A frustrating day
but, within that, beautiful
and blindingly cold

This was just one of those days.

Of course, working on a post until 3 AM helped to foster that, along with, once I got into bed, watching YouTube videos for another hour, but hey . . . I can't be a functioning adult all the time!

Ah well, my inner two-year-old seriously needs a nap.

Our low last night did indeed get down to 23 degrees, and when I awoke, it was a warm and toasty 27 degrees F, which didn't exactly inspire me to go out dancing through the woods.

I had an appointment with a new chiropractor in Cookeville at 2 PM, so since it takes about 35 minutes to get there, I went out about twenty minutes before I had to leave to warm up the car and de-ice the windshield.

So I load up my arms with all the stuff I need to take with me, get out to the car, press to unlock it . . . and nothing. Damn. I left the key fob in my rain gear the day before.

So I went back inside for the key fob, came out and opened the door, and was relieved when it opened without needing too much strength, as with the sort of drizzling rain that gave way to snow last night, I was concerned that the doors might be iced closed. Thankfully, though there was a bit of ice build up, it gave way without too much tugging.

I started the car, got in and turned the defrost on high heat, hit the button to spray windsield wiper fluid . . . and nothing. No spray. Just wiper blades scraping impotently across the frozen solid landscape of the windshield.

Our -20 below rated windshield washing fluid hadn't kept the washer ports from freezing solid at 27 degrees above zero. Remind me to buy another brand next time.

Luckily I had the ice scraper on the floor behind my seat, so it got it out, but it was still 27 degrees, and the ice wasn't budging.

Normally, with the spray, it takes about ten minutes to de-ice the windshield.

Not so today. Today, with only the defroster to help, it took well over twenty-five minutes, which meant I was going to be late for my appointment. I called and rescheduled for Friday. Damn.

Still, I got to see Marek last night, even if only for a whistlestop dinner through home on his way back to Nashville, but it was well worthwhile. We really miss each other when he's gone. Have I mentioned that he's a lot of fun?

The last time we were in Nashville together, just a few days ago, we found a restaurant that we both fell in love with; both because they have first rate seafood and a decent selection of wines and beers, and because of their nautical theme, complete with the sperm whale weathervane, shown above.

Now, I haven't seen a whole lot of whales since I've lived in Tennessee, not surprisingly for a landlocked state, though I did run across a building in Nashville proper, a couple of years ago, that has an absolutely awesome whale mural painted on its side. I'll see if I can locate the photos I took of it and post one later.

But it was the name of this restaurant that made me want to try it out: Moby Dicky's. And no, I'm not making it up, it's a real seafood restaurant in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.

Although it is marginally a sports bar, not our favorite kind of venue, it wasn't maddeningly loud, and it's a lot more reminiscent to me of the little seafood places along the Gulf Coast, or in any fishing community really, that cater to locals and have really good, fresh seafood.

Which they definitely do. We both seriously thought about the cobia, but in the end I wound up getting char-grilled mahi mahi, which was frankly the best mahi mahi I've had since we moved to Tennessee, bar none. The lobster bisque was excellent as well, which is saying a lot, since I make an excellent version myself.

Marek wound up with fried grouper, and if it wasn't real grouper, it was definitely a fish in that immediate family, which was delicate, flaky, and as perfectly cooked as my mahi mahi.

This chef definitely knows how to cook seafood.

All the side dishes were great, they had an IPA on tap that we both liked, the service was friendly and fast, and the prices were reasonable. For a seafood place in a landlocked state, these are huge to me, so if you ever find yourself out that way, and are in the mood for great seafood, give them a try. I highly recommend them.

And the signs throughout the place are a lot of fun too. I especially liked the signs over the bathroom doors.

In the end, the portions were generous enough that we both had food to take home, and I saved part of my mahi mahi specifically for my Bear boy, to help facilitate his ongoing recovery. He is doing better and better.

We left the place having had a great time, it was busy but never so noisy that it intruded on our conversation, and we firmly agreed that we would definitely be back. Really good food and a fun place overall.

Last night I left some of our hardier potted plants on our covered front porch, next to the dining room windows, as they had weathered 23 degrees a few days before without a problem.

But as today's high temperature never got about 28 degrees F, by midafternoon around 4 OM, they were looking pretty sad and straggly, and I knew I stood a good chance of losing them altogether if I left them outside tonight, with an expected low of 14 degrees.

I took them into our small guest bath, figuring I could close the door and keep it cooler than the rest of the house, and within a few minutes the goji leaves that had been looking seriously shocked and frozen, surprisingly came back, looking quite good.

My large Celeste fig, on the other hand, proceeded to lose nearly all its leave, but our much-smaller White Marseilles is so far keeping its leaves. I don't know yet if it is actually hardier, or if the other fig, being so mych larger, simply had less protection against the frigid wind. Time will tell.

There were other smaller trees and seedlings ready to plant out, including a few small black elderberries, some native American hazelnuts, my American chestnut seedlings, and some forsythia and hydrangeas that I've grown from cuttings.

I walked into the room a few hours later, when it was 17 degrees outside, and it was fairly frigid in the room as well. So not having another heater to spare, as I am making some chili in a crock pot, I simply brought in the crockpot and placed it in the center of the floor, figuring that its' radiant heat would take the chill off the room.

I walked in an hour or so later, and it had. Sill cool in there, but not freezing cold. I hope they all make it.

Anyway, I hope that you're all staying warm out there, safe from the fires and other natural disasters, and having a wonderful evening, or whatever time of day or night it is for you. Be well and happy. ;-)

All photos were taken by me with my Samsung Note 8 Smartphone.

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art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics