My neighbor, Marinella, has been talking about the fog here since I arrived.  Or maybe warning me about the fog would be more accurate.  Her fog-related prognostications were always told with a certain foreboding usually not heard outside of a horror movie.  I, of course, dismissed her rantings about the damp, dark days of winter as exaggeration.  Then about two weeks ago, the fog ARRIVED.  I use arrive because it is definitely an entity unto itself.  It’s a little like being slowly suffocated by the arms of a giant octopus.  When Cinder and I take our morning walks, I can barely see beyond her head pulling on the leash.  It’s a heavy mist that envelops everything and makes you feel like you’ve just stepped out of your house into Victorian London.  It’s disconcerting to look out your window and only be able to make out a few shapes in the parking area instead of the gorgeous rolling hills that usually greet you.  And forget trying to hang the laundry out on a foggy day.  I’ve taken to regular checks of the weather online so I can see when sun is forecast.  (The other thing I’ve discovered while trying to do the laundry now that it’s cold out is that if I forget to bring it in before dinner time, everything smells like woodsmoke from the huffing chimneys nearby.  Kind of like being on a permanent camping trip.  On the plus side, now that the heat is on inside, I can hang the now always-damp clothes over radiators for the final drying.)

The fog has certainly inspired hibernating.  The town has shut down and shopkeepers now have their doors closed against the cold.  Cigarette breaks are brief affairs and you rarely see anyone having a long chat on the street.  I’ve been dealing with some stress in my life this past week so I’ve been more than content to hibernate as well.  It’s certainly conducive to staying home and writing which I’ve been doing in abundance.  That, some dates with my fruit guy, and babysitting have been pretty much the highlights.  The other benefit to hibernating is that you can avoid all of the sick people.  I swear half the town has the flu or a cold.  Bonnie’s whole house was down last week and so I’ve been downing vitamin C and trying not to cringe too much when the kids cough and breathe their pestilence on me!

This week may bring a new student so fingers are crossed for that.  I like having time to do my own thing, but seriously, I’d like to have some more work!!!  In the mean time, I’m drinking rose hip tea to stay healthy and absorbing the changes that are seeping into my life like the fog of Montepulciano.