"Calamity is the touchstone of a brave mind."

Happy New Year!

For any who wonder it is the Chinese New Year. “2015 is the Year of the Sheep according to Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Sheep starts from Feb. 19, 2015 (the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival of China) and lasts to Feb. 7, 2016.”

That first one is a bit unclear, which was actually the last but the most provocative in my mind, yes my itsy bitsy mind, or is it just me? I suppose it could mean that handling “calamity” is the touchstone of a brave mind. I believe in other words how we handle bad times well means that we are brave?

Moving on to only the second fortune of the three, and yes either end you look at this one it was the second of the three, “Your greatest fortune is the friends and family that you have,” of course!

What would be other than that?

And now for our last which was actually first, “Always a valley before a hill,” could this be a metaphor for not too dissimilar words of wisdom, “it’s always darkest before the dawn,” my Dad’s go to one, or in my simplistic reasoning, “lows before heights are realized?”

Any-who, we decided to, celebrate the Chinese New Year with our usual Chinese food place selections of China City.

It has been a while since we have, weeks I think.

Without leaving the house these last eleven days we have not eaten out at all, and so we have saved quite a bit, but Hubby has been out for groceries just today in fact, but we are good for two weeks now, I think.

It was nice to celebrate sort of.

I am born under the Chinese sign of the Tiger and Hubby is an OX.

Here’s a way to find out yours if you care to and if you don’t already know…http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/

Moving on, yes really on…

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, tonight is our night to join the many in the BIG FREEZE! And yep we may very well have freezing temps, although, being on a saltwater canal our chances are lesser due to the canal's water temp still in the mid to upper sixties, even if we go down into the lower freezing thirties it shouldn't be for very long!

Yes, I do know thirty-two is freezing, but here it depends on how long it stays there to cause trouble.

Our groves for citrus inland are all prepared to protect their/our extremely profitable crops! This is historically unusual for it to go this far south, the cold that is. But by tomorrow our highs should go up to a still very chilly sixty degree range. Even with a low of forty-four here last night our high just glanced sixty here for the day! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

It’s cold and NOT what any of us northerners from NJ for us, but others from many places, transplants signed on for all those years ago, it was circa 1986 for us!

We have no blood left for colder temps and at this point in my life and size I don’t even own a winter coat, I usually find layers work, besides by Sunday it will be eighty again, it never lasts for long, any of cold snaps. Thanks heaven for central heating too and me being home bound again.

I truly believe our blood thinned out six months after we arrived all those years ago.

On those notes of our version of the BIG CHILL arriving allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!