My day of solitude was wonderful. It was healing and refreshing and now I'm ready for socializing again. I wasn't lonely; if I had wanted company, I have binders contact lists of friends' phone numbers and any one of them would have gone out to lunch with me or had a cup of coffee and good conversation. It was being alone by choice, which I need to do every now and then to recharge the batteries, find my balance.

The downside of my life right now is that I haven't been going for my walks. I was too sick for weeks even to entertain the notion of walking, let alone getting up and out--cough, cough, sneeze. I was running a fever every afternoon and by bedtime I was one miserable puppy.

Then I would lie down to sleep and be assailed by terrible hacking coughs and head stuffed up, unable to breathe. I finally broke down and bought some cough medicine (Mucinex) which calmed the cough enough (after a while) so that I could sleep for a couple of hours at a time.

I am so grateful to be past all that. I still have a little residual cough, but nothing in comparison. So now I have to resume the walking regimen.

EXCEPT that it's freaking cold out there! This morning it was 31 degrees and with the wind chill factor it was 25. I got dressed to walk, opened the door and my nose got frostbitten (can you say 'exaggerate'?). I changed my mind and had my coffee instead.

So while this cold spell lasts, I have to think of another way to exercise, because my body really misses it.

Grungy.