n is for neanderthal, nineveh, núna

I had these N-ideas this morning (now yesterday) and I was going to write about Núna, the Icelandic touring event, because I like the title -  it means now.  But then I thought of nap as in cat- and sleep and that's it. I am fighting a serious depression and naps help me get through the day. Sleepless nights I don't mind; I empty the dishwasher and the waste baskets and compost bin, check the weather and my email and Facebook, of course, and drink black tea and fuss. It's not creative but it gets me through the night.

I remember my husband's despair over a colleague he had to work with who was slow on delivery.  When the guy showed some signs of action or decision, Bill said , "At last, he's snapped back from inertia to lethargy."  I thought of that recently I spend each day on a kind of plateau, unable to climb or descend or move.  I would be grateful for inertia.

I'm fighting it.  I'm making all the right moves: I still swim every morning; I'm baking Christmas gifts; I'm writing Christmas letters and making lists (and checking them twice)  and wrapping stuff and trying to plan.  But there's no joy in, it no anticipation,  no verve or energy or focus. I end up sitting and staring  - not even at a TV screen but into empty space. I'm going into this lugubrious detail because I am sure others are experiencing or have experienced this same impasse.  Maybe it will help them to know they are not alone.  

Tomorrow is another day, as someone once said.

m is for maunder and meander

Also wonder and wander but they begin with W.

maunder verb
1 he maundered on about his problems: ramble, prattle, prate, blather, blether, blither, drivel, rattle, chatter, jabber, gabble, babble; Scottish & Irish slabber; informal gab, yak, yackety-yak, yabber, yatter; Brit. informal rabbit, witter, waffle, natter, chunter; archaic twaddle, clack.
2 she maundered across the road: wander, drift, meander, amble, dawdle, potter, straggle; Brit. informal mooch. 

That's me. That's what my cobweb log does, no, it's what I do in my cobweb blog.  Also

meander  verb: 1 the river meandered gently through the meadow: zigzag, wind, twist, turn, curve, curl, bend, snake.                   2 we meandered along the path: stroll, saunter, amble, wander, roam, ramble, rove, drift, maunder, stray, straggle; Scottish & Irish:  stravaig; Irish streel; informal mosey, tootle; rare 3 she meandered on about the difficulties: ramble, prattle, maunder, prate, blather, blether, blither, drivel, chatter, rattle, drift; Brit. informal witter, waffle, rabbit, natter.noun1 the river flows in sweeping meanders: bend, loop, curve, twist, turn, turning, coil, zigzag, oxbow, convolution; rare anfractuosity, flexuosity.2 a leisurely meander: wander, ramble, stroll, saunter, amble; informal mosey, tootle. OH, TOOTLE!  

Don't you love words?

wonder noun:  1 the sight left her speechless with wonder: awe, admiration, wonderment, fascination; surprise, astonishment, amazement.2 the wonders of nature: marvel, miracle, phenomenon, wonderful thing, sensation, sight, spectacle, beauty; curiosity, rarity, nonpareil.verb1 I began to wonder what was going through her mind: ponder, ask oneself, think about, meditate on, reflect on, deliberate about, muse on, speculate about, conjecture; puzzle about, be curious about, be inquisitive about; informal cudgel one's brains about.2 I wonder you were so patient with him: be surprised, express surprise, find it surprising, be astonished/amazed.3 people stood by and wondered at such bravery: marvel, be amazed, be filled with amazement, be filled with admiration, be astonished, be surprised, be awed, stand in awe, be full of wonder, be lost for words, not believe one's eyes/ears, not know what to say, be dumbfounded, gape, goggle, gawk; informal be flabbergasted, boggle.  BOGGLE!!

wander verb:  1 you can spend the afternoon wandering around the estate: stroll, amble, saunter, walk, dawdle, potter, ramble, maunder, meander; roam, rove, range, knock about/around, drift, coast,gallivant, gad about, prowl, mill about/around/round; trek, trudge, stretch one's legs; Scottish & Irish stravaig; informal traipse, mosey, tootle; Brit. informal mooch; rare peregrinate.2 he had wandered away from his mates | we are wandering from the point: stray, depart, diverge, veer, swerve, deviate, digress, vary, drift, get separated, get sidetracked, go wool-gathering; rare divagate.3 the child wandered off when we weren't looking: get lost, lose one's way, go off course, lose one's bearings, go astray, go off at a tangent.4 the narrow road wanders along the foreshore: meander, wind, twist, turn, curve, zigzag, bend, snake, worm.5 he was wandering now, his voice had dropped as he struggled to keep his thread: be incoherent, ramble, babble, talk nonsense, rave, be delirious.

noun:  stroll, amble, saunter, walk, roam, meander, dawdle, potter, ramble; gallivant, prowl, drift, maunder, promenade, constitutional; turn, breather, airing, trek, trudge; informal traipse, mosey, tootle; Brit. informal mooch; rare perambulation, peregrination.

Note meander and maunder which I emboldened in my peregrinations. Back where I started.  Who couldn't be a writer with a good dictionary and thesaurus?  Lovely lists.

Take your time.