random thoughts – Day 1,778 – (Tuesday) – windy and nameless

This is not an official report on the wind, just my potentially distorted perception, but it seems that January 2025 has been the absolute windiest month I can recall. Today the wind seemed extra blustery. Mid-morning, it was accompanied by blowing, swirling snow.

The roar of the wind, almost always accompanied by the rattling of storm windows, was enhanced by some new sounds. There were hours of the sounds of various neighbor’s trash bins rolling and crashing. At one point, one of the recycle bins from the house next door hit the side of their house several times before it pivoted and rolled a third of the way down the paved driveway. Later, the wind blew it back up the driveway and into the yard. When it crashed into an overturned metal can, the big green bin tipped over and spilled its contents all over the yard. In front of the house at the edge of the road, two empty red trash bins were blown over. Across the street, three more trash bins, were blown over on their sides. I guess it was a good thing that trash was picked up Monday. Surprisingly, my own bins managed to stay put.

Inside the small home office, the constant wind, along with a couple other things also beyond my control, was grating on my nerves. An old song says “They Call the Wind Mariah,” but I was calling it lots of other things.

Soup with no name.

The wind and stress called for comfort food, which today (like most days) is soup. As I was combining a couple frozen blocks of brownish soup in a pan to heat for lunch, I wondered if it was vegetable soup, or chicken, or ham, or something else. None of the soups I make uses a recipe and they lack names. If anyone asks, it’s usually a list of ingredients. Today it was mystery soups with rice and beans and veggies plus fresh shredded cabbage and broccoli. Nameless and delicious. 

And suddenly, my head was dancing around with “soup with no name” to the tune of “Horse with No name” by America. The earworm of the day was one line, “I’ve been through a winter with a soup with no name.” Not my favorite songs by any stretch, but it beats the windy Mariah song.