It is -24 (did you notice the minus sign?) and 11:10am in Alberta; time to stop work and take a break. Stepping out of my office and into the living room I notice a power struggle for a prime piece of real estate, namely a slim section of the floor where the sun is warming the hardwood. There are two dogs and three cats all jockeying for their own little spot.

I step over this pile so that I can I turn on The View and catch a few minutes of the banter while the coffee is brewing. This is interesting the show is live from the Walt Disney studios and content is coming across like a Disney infomercial. Guess we know who is signing the paychecks.

What to have with my coffee? Now I pride myself on getting through menopause without HRT or any pharmaceuticals but wonder how successful I am as I take a good look in the frig.  There is a large bar of Cadburys’ Burnt Almond Dark, a bag of snack size Coffee Crisps, a box of European wafer cookies covered with chocolate and  perched on top of beloved’s box of insulin sits a tube of Droste’s extra dark chocolate pastilles. I think I need a support group.

The coffee is ready and I have cabin fever, as there is no trip to Figi in my immediate future and a client call in twenty minutes, I turn off what used to be The View, pour some coffee, break off several pieces from the burnt almond bar and open a copy of March Vogue.  What better way to cheer myself up than by looking at haute couture clothes that I cannot afford?