Day 2. Or random memory of the day.

Weather like today makes me want to play solitaire.

Not that rainy sledge-snow makes me want to pull out a deck of cards, mostly because I don't own a deck of cards.

I learned how to play on the kitchen floor. The home where I grew up was heated with a wood stove and on cool evenings my mom would perch in front of the heater in the kitchen and play cards. It was a coveted spot, in front of the heater. Whoever didn't fit there was banished to a pile of blankets in the living room to wallow in the midst of siblings to stay warm. Being the youngest at that time, I used my tiny stature to my advantage to crawl under my mother's arm and curl up in her lap. Advantaged seating by proxy.

Looking out from between her feet, I watched her play solitaire. At first it was a bit like trying to comprehend a book without being able to read words. Mysteriously she would place cards on top of the stack, create rows from thin air, and remove others all while I peered out and traced the lines of the thin, blue carpeting. I can still remember being very proud of figuring out that you needed to alternate colors, but then there is a large gap and I can't actually remember learning to play. There is only complete lack of understanding and enlightenment.

Solitaire enlightenment, it was a big step up in my life.

Mostly I just want to curl up in front of a heater. Which brings me to my next, and the more pressing, topic. Why isn't the heat on in my apartment?
Seriously.