Seven Degrees At Seven A. M.

Our overnight low temperature was three degrees; at 7 a.m. it was 7; now, at 9:30, it's 12 degrees outside. The forecast high ranges between 26 and 35 degrees; I am, once, again, staying home.  Last night, one of my neighbors wanted me to go out with her - she stopped by the door at 7:30 last night, and asked if I could loan her $20 (to apply to her phone bill, so it wouldn't be cut off).  I told her that I had $10, and she could have that.  She said it wasn't enough to keep her phone on, and I told her it was all I had.  She ended up taking the money, to "buy kitty food and Nancy food."  Then she wanted to use the money to go out and eat supper at Burger King or McDonald's; I told her that I hadn't been outside and I wasn't going outside.  I believe she wanted me to walk by the grocery store with her, so I could withdraw more money and give it to her.  I told her that I'd be happy to take her out to lunch or supper on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday - but not before.  Then she asked if she could come over and eat at my apartment, after she shopped.  I said yes, but mentally sighed.  Luckily, she decided she was too tired after shopping, and called to say she was going to bed.  As I was in the middle of working on family genealogy, I was relieved, as it meant I could continue working.
  I feel sorry for this person - she has a lot of problems - but my therapist and psychiatrist have told me to avoid her, and I do my best.  She's an adopted child, and has had both drug and alcohol addictions.  She makes very poor choices and then blames others.  If you wanted to find a category to fit her in, the title "Drama Queen" would best suit her.  Her adoptive mother passed away seven months ago, but she reacts as if it were yesterday.  She was extremely proud, that in December, she had paid her rent (at the age of 48) without any help from anyone.  Later that week, I felt compelled to purchase cat food, kitty litter, and toilet paper for her and her kitties.  Since that time, she has "borrowed" over $50 in food, soap, and toilet paper, borrowed a 35-pound container of kitty litter, and then last night's borrow of $10...   The second week of December, she met a homeless man on her job, and "fell in love" with him.  He lived in her apartment and she fed him and clothed him until New Years.  He broke up with her on Facebook, and called her naive and stupid - this, after she arranged for him to be hired as a co-worker with her.  Last night, she informed me he had already married someone else, and she (of course) now hates going to work because she has to work with him....  She is emotionally and mentally needy, and while I can give support to her occasionally, I really can't feed into her needs.
  Folk singer Pete Seeger passed away yesterday at the age of 94.  It feels like the end of an era to me.  I'm trying to remember where I saw/heard him sing - I know that Dad took me, and I had thought it was at one of the University of Florida filmings of Hootenanny, but I just found out that Pete was banned from that show, causing a lot of other folk singers and groups to boycott it.  (That was interesting reading!)
  And, finally, today is my Mother's birthday - she would have been 93 years old today.  A lot of my friends thought that Mom didn't like them, because she was always tilting her head back and looking down her nose at them - it was to see them through the lenses of her bifocals, so she could see them well.  She never knew that a lot of my friends felt alienated by it...  But she was a good Mother - first she raised my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Howard, after their Mother passed away; and then she raised Kathy and me.  Just about anything was OK with Mom - hair, clothing, books, movies... And at least when she passed away, having Alzheimer's Disease, she had regressed to her childhood, and always re-lived good memories.  Bless you, Mom. Thanks for anything and everything that you did for me. I love you.