Hello, hello. Last night, we were under a frost warning. Thankfully, we didn’t get one, but it’s the first major weather indication that it is indeed fall. Sigh.
But this year, I am not quite as bummed about it. And that’s mainly because I’m working from home, and my goal is to continue to do so even after losing this job. So, I am not in an ice-cold office, where I have to wear layers of clothes. Even in the summer, when it’s 90 degrees outside, it’s an ice box at work. I have to wear a sweater in the summer.
So, you can imagine how freaking cold I am in the winter. I am already predisposed to getting cold easily because of my autoimmune condition, which affects the blood vessels. So, in the winter, I am just miserable. And the cold is painful for me, because of my arthritis and Reynaud’s. So, all of that means that I often have to wear long johns, two to three pairs of socks, a sweater, a coat, gloves and sometimes a hat — while sitting at my desk. It is not easy to type with gloves, even the fingerless ones.
So, with me working at home, I can stay warm. First of all, we actually turn on the heat. And if I’m extra cold, I can use an electric blanket. Also, my room is not connected to the central heat and air. I have a baseboard heater. When I was going to work, that heat was turned off because I wasn’t here. So when I would get home at night, it was absolutely freezing cold in here. But now, I can turn it on and keep it warm in here. (I leave it off when I’m working in a different room, then turn it on about an hour before I’m done working, so it’s warm in here when I’m done.)
And by working from home the only thing I’m going to have to worry about is losing power. If it snows, it snows. I won’t have to drive in it. I won’t have to stay overnight at work ever again. I won’t have to panic every time the forecast hints at any snow. I absolutely hate driving in winter weather. I can do it, but a lot of people can’t. And just because I can drive in it doesn’t mean that I won’t wreck in it.
So, to sum up: Yay for working from home!
Time for the bonus ghost story (disclaimer: If you don’t believe in ghosts, stop reading and don’t comment on how you think it’s nonsense). So, I grew up in a haunted house, and I live in that house today. The house is on haunted land as well. There are multiple spirits here. Now, when I was a little kid, I didn’t know anything about ghosts or that they are real. I remember when I was about 6 or so telling my mom that I felt like someone was watching me when I was trying to sleep in my bedroom. She told me it was God. Well, that worked for a little while, but then I thought that if it were God watching, that he would definitely not make me feel the way that I did when I felt like I was being watched. So, looking back, I know that was my first minor experience with hauntings.
My first major experience, though, was completely terrifying. I was 16. I was in my room one night, and everything was fine. Then I felt weird. The room felt thick, and I got cold and clammy. Then, I felt this massive pressure on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I was paralyzed with fear. The moment I could move, I ran out of the house at a million miles per hour. I didn’t wake my parents, as they would have gotten mad at me for waking them at 1 a.m. for something like that. So, I broke curfew — teens weren’t supposed to be out driving past midnight — and I drove to my sister’s apartment. I knocked on the window, and I just scared the life out of her. I still feel bad about that. And I ended up waking my parents up anyway, because she called to tell them where I was. I wasn’t thinking clearly, obviously. I was terrified and 16.
So, I never wanted to come into this house again. But I did, somehow. It took a long time for me to be able to sleep again. But, later on, I found out that pressure on my chest and everything I felt is just how I feel when a spirit is present. I didn’t know that at the time. Over the years, I learned to recognize and control that feeling so it’s not traumatic. But that experience was the first time I felt that way, and I had no idea that’s what it was. It definitely was not the last experience in this house! More to come …
Until next time!
Frazzled Daisy 
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