snow cover

There's snow on the ground and on my deck. That's the first time we've had it stick this season. But obviously, it won't be the last time. Yesterday's gray skies are going to set the stage for months of gray skies, so now is the time to brighten my interior spaces.
Last night I spent a couple of hours putting together a conference proposal for a local conference, the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, to be held next March at Wayne State in Detroit. It's supposedly a shoe-in (at least, according to my dept. chair), and it will show my department chair that I'm actively engaged in scholarly pursuits. I used my rejected 4C's proposal, which is still a strong one, despite its being rejected, and it's still one I want to try to develop into a published paper.
I've been daydreaming about having my own little studio apartment. Don't get me wrong: I adore my husband and consider living with him to be the best of all possible worlds. But if I have to live apart from him in another town for 3 or 4 days a week, then like Virginia Woolf, I want a room of my own. At Betty's, I can't come and go as I please (or at least I don't feel as if I can), and I can't decorate to suit myself. I haven't lived alone before (unless you count the six weeks in the dorm that summer before we were married when my roommate didn't show up and I didn't have a suitemate). There have been times when my husband and I have had to live apart, usually because of his work, but I always had children to care for. And to be honest, I didn't have a sense of who I was. Now that I know myself a little better, I'm kind of eager to see what kind of space I'll surround myself with. Will I find my inner "girly-girl"? Or will I find myself gravitating back to the tailored solids and plaids that characterize the house I share with my spouse?
I'm getting tired of whining about my shoulder, but it's getting ridiculous. It hurts constantly. My left arm feels numb, as if nerves are being pinched. Perhaps I should call and see whether I can get in earlier than Nov. 25th. I'm certainly willing to miss class if it means I get relief for this pain.