It's official . . .

Almost finished with the Alaska photos. I am getting weary of them. Think I'll start the Arizona shots which younger brother's wife took when she and I visited her Border Patrol son and his wife.

Okay, that's it, it's official. When Kiddo no longer needs us we'll be Louisiana bound. Two degrees when I get up in the morning, at least 3 feet on snow where it's not piled up over 6 feet, monster icicles hanging off of the gutters and a forecast of freezing rain mixed with snow is enough to send placid me off the edge. Three neighbor kids borrowed one of our sleds yesterday and really didn't do any sliding because there's just too much snow on the hill. Selfishly, I hoped they'd be able to pack it down and make a path so Kiddo and I could trudge up the hill to slide after they did all of the work. But they quit. The two boys let the girl do all of the work! Oh well, perhaps by this time Friday it will all be ice and we can crawl up and slide down on our bottoms.

Kiddo didn't go to school this past Friday because he was sick so we didn't get to play out as much as I would have liked. He did break the icicles off of the house since he could reach them by climbing on the snowbanks. Grampa made a video of him trying to get to his swing hanging off of the dogwood. Watching him try to walk on top of the snow was hysterical. He finally ended up crawling to it and managed to pull it out. It now sits on top of the snow. He was nervous about snow angels. Didn't trust me to dig him out if he sunk in! He only made one on top of the hard packed mounds near the kitchen door. The news has been slightly scary lately. Quite a few barn and garage roofs have collapsed from the weight of the snow. Moosup nephew called and offered to help get the snow off of our garage but Puppy's Pop didn't take him up on the offer. We went out to check the garage and will be up there sometime today to clear it somehow. There's way too much snow on it now and if the weather forecasters are right about the snowy rainy mix on it's way we could be in trouble. There's no way we can get the Hot Rod out of the back bay and even if we could there would be no place to put it. I'll get some needed exercise today. I'm supposed to clean the house but if I procrastinate long enough I'll just work with Puppy's Pop on the roof. That would be my preferred activity. We'll be going out to dinner at Arturo Joe's in Narragansett to celebrate our 44 years of marriage or the 47 years since we met at Stardust where I was a waitress and he was showing off his Harley. Now, that was cool and is still cool today. We never manage to celebrate on the exact day. I have Groton duty Thursday and I think that Kiddo is in a play that night so we'll celebrate when we have the time and weather.

Quote: To be angry is to revenge the faults of others on ourselves. __Pope

Oh, and the wonders I have wrought . . .

Getting Kiddo's playscape in order.

Yes, after over three hours of snow blowing the driveway, paths to the mail, woods, heating oil pipe, bird food and cleaning out the new neighbors' cars Puppy's Pop came in and I offered to make breakfast. All he asked for was a tall stack of pancakes. Okay, no big deal but . . . didn't have any Bisquick so I had to make up my own batter. The griddlecakes I cooked up on my Pampered Chef griddle were by far the best I have eaten. What a great recipe: easy, fast and outrageously delicious topped with Kate's Maple Syrup. Thank you Fannie Farmer. I do believe that we had another foot and a half of snow added to the already too high mounds. It is now windy out, sunny and 30 degrees so the light snow we received overnight is going to drift into even higher banks. Gees, Louise, enough already.

Depressed by the bad roads yesterday and not going to my Groton duty I took out another 1000 piece puzzle, Heartland Serenade, a panoramic view of a pair of cardinals looking over their domain on the farm with magnolias, fences, barn, house, trees, gardens et cetera. The catch is it's only 13 inches wide and 39 inches long! Local niece was so kind as to give me two puzzles last Christmas and both are rather painful. The other one is 1500 pieces with Santa Claus filling the stockings by firelight. I think I'm getting addicted to these crazy things.

Stadler Form Oskar Evaporator Humidifier - remember the name. It came in the snow yesterday afternoon and I set it up immediately. I am so impressed. It is plain, extremely quiet, and doesn't make a mist. It was a tad expensive but I love it. You don't even know it's working until you check it and realize the water is gone! To fill it you just bring the water to it and pour it in while it's running. Good deal. Now for the coup de grâce, it's made in Switzerland. Yay, yay, yay!

Hopefully I'll be able to get to Groton tomorrow to pick up Kiddo. He'll have a ball on all of the paths Grampa has made about the yard. Today he's home with older brother while his Mom is running the lounge without her cook who couldn't make it in through the snow. She didn't expect much business but just got a call asking if she was open. They're on their way for lunch! Hope she gets some help!

Quote: The blind fanaticism of one foolish honest man may cause more evil than the united efforts of twenty rogues. ____Grimm

A la recherche du temps perdu . . .

Been thinking about Ma when we were kids. She would do a wash in the front loader Bendix and get the clothes all aligned in a rattan basket so we could line up and take our turns pinning the clothes to the line. It was always a riot to see the socks and underwear freeze solid on the line in no time at all but if the sun made it out, by late afternoon we'd take the still partially frozen clothes in and bend them to fit on all the radiators so they could completely dry. One of my best memories, I can still feel the warmth, was Ma racing upstairs with towels warmed on the radiators, me jumping quickly into bed and she pushing the heavenly warmth of the towels on my feet. It is doubtful I even moved from my original position all night as I slept in the icy cold warmth. It was so cold because the hall radiator upstairs was never turned on so we could sleep well. Ma believed in fresh air so much that she kept a window open in their room even in the dead of winter. She was so proud of it that one morning she brought down a jar of water she kept near the bed and it was ice. What a beautiful, delightful, energetic, intelligent, tough, humorous woman we had caring for us along with Pa, Pépère and Mon Oncle Lucky.

Finished the 500 piece Woman with Parasol yesterday causing supper to be a tad late because we just had to get it done. I also made a very easy cinnamon bread so the house smelled warm and comfortable. Grampa has gone out for coffee even though we've already got at least two more inches of snow and it's still coming down. He was going to play horseshoes in East Hartford but decided against it. I imagine I'll work on my by now ancient hooked rug and do some indoor walking. Although the temperature this morning was warmer than usual, 12 degrees it's still not good enough for walking on snow covered roads.

Quote: A good heart, benevolent feelings, and a balanced mind, lie at the foundation of character. Other things may be deemed fortuitous; they may come and go; but character is that which lives and abides, and is admired long after its possessor has left the earth. ___John Todd

Long Johns . . . yes . . .

One of Grampa's birthday cards. Message: "Looking good!" I love it!

Toasty warm sitting here with a hot cup of java, sun on my back, three pairs of socks, two shirts, slippers, and a complete set of long johns. Very bright sun gleaming off of the snow and it has finally gone above zero! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Pretty incredible cold just hanging around. Miss going out to fly the planes and walking. I think I'll have to ask Puppy's Pop to play some cribbage today. I need to keep in shape somehow. Perhaps a bit of addition will help keep the cobwebs and cold from my grey matter.I sent Kiddo home with the flash cards so I do need some form of mental exercise. Puzzle is almost half way done and I really must get back to my audio book. Haven't been very faithful this past week. This January thaw is not working well at all. It's about time the Congress works out of their chambers and in the yard surrounding the Capitol so all their hot air can heat us and the price of oil can make it's way down from the stratosphere.

Sold another one of my audio books on Amazon. So far I've made about $90 but of course they cost me more than that. Still it's a little less clutter in the house and then I can justify buying more! The cold is keeping people away from church and the economy is bringing the donations down. AHC is $15000 in the hole. Not sure how they can fix that unless we all add a bit more to the collection basket. There are a lot more young families in the parish but I don't think there's much money for giving. The big plus at AHC is the beautiful music at the 11am Mass. It is a pleasure. Well, enough random thoughts back to the Bulletin. Oh yay.

Quote: When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. ___Erasmus

Ice Age IV . . .

7 degrees below to start the day; furnace struggling to keep up; 9 degrees at 9:30 after breakfast in Oneco; projected high of 14 degrees. Gee willikers, where the hell is Gore when we need him to get Mother Nature back on his track? I had so much trouble with my eyes yesterday and I believe it is directly related to the bright sun on the snow and the dry heat in the house. So I am going to be running the humidifier all day long, not just in the bedroom at night, and in spite of the white dust! I've broken down and ordered another one so I'll have two working all day long. My eyes hurt so much by late afternoon yesterday that I had to use my eye drops many times plus wear dark glasses because the light caused real pain. I'm much better this morning but I'm not taking chances. Staying out of bright lights and sitting on top of the old Hankscraft we had for the kids!

Working hard on the Woman with Parasol. Have the edges and the bottom almost completed. It's fun yet annoying at the same time. Will get to Mass today and then stay home and work on it and read yesterday's Bulletin. We watched both UCONN teams win yesterday and that was also fun. I yell and chatise them a lot and am surprised Grampa can stand to be in the same room with me. I always get upset with him when he dares to criticize and yet I never shut up. Got to learn to be more easy going! Poor man puts up with a lot! He's even been helping me with the puzzle! For his help I had him cook up some Pepperidge Farm apple turnovers for his birthday cake! He did a great job while I was off in Groton. We lucked out Friday. Although there was no school in Connecticut the roads were clear by noontime so we went to Richoni's for lunch where Grampa had the Fisherman's Platter and I had Aaron's wonderful French Onion Soup. We weren't allowed to pay so we had a very cheap, delicious lunch! We brought Kiddo home with us and spent a good day taking apart 23 little aliens, putting them together and doing it over again. Also practiced addition facts with the special flashcards and talking pen. Trying to get him interested in really learning a bit about the notes on the piano but he'd rather just thump around on it so I just let him go. Hoping that he starts to realize how to make the sounds work together. He was a little more musical than usual but still rather rambunctious. I don't want to push right now as I'd like his interest to be genuine.

Quote: There is certainly no defense against adverse fortune which is, on the whole, so effectual as an habitual sense of humor. ____T. W. Higginson

Birthday breakfast . . .

Back to the Alaskan Gold Dredge.

Went out early today for Puppy's Pop's free birthday breakfast at Lizzy B's. He ate two stacks of pancakes, a short and a tall! What a wonderful character. Some spots on Route 14 were very icy because of yesterday's minor thaw and the 20's overnight but all in all the roads are great. Naturally tomorrow will probably be another stormy, snowy day and I'll end up working on the Woman with Parasol. It fits nicely on my metal sided cardboard tray so at the moment it is stowed away but I can dig it out when necessary. I do believe that it is going to be a painful puzzle. I'm still working on the edges!

Just took a break to watch the squirrels trying to attack the bird feeders. One ended up on my porch glider and then banged into the window nearest the fridge before managing to fly up into the tree from the roof. Must be related to the one that always managed to thwart Grampa and get to the feeders no matter what branches he cut or what obstacles he'd put out. Bunch of well educated, intelligent squirrels in Connecticut even if the politicians are addlepated, snake brained idiots.

Managed to wish my lady at the VA a Happy New Year as she worked on getting the billing straightened out. The bill went from $80 to $65. She is always able to clear up the messes and she has given me her extension so I can leave a message when necessary. Pretty neat if disconcerting to know that there will always be mistakes made by this government entity. Yikes, so much incompetence. But, the doctors are taking good care of Grampa so I don't complain and just make the calls with each bill.

Off to Groton now. Thinking Kiddo won't make it here for our Friday night special. That's a bummer. We enjoy having him put us through our paces.

Quote: Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrong. __Charlotte Bronte

Procrastination . . .

So I did procrastinate and took photos!

I'm getting good at finding all sorts of little endeavors to keep me from really doing the housework that I scheduled for today. I used to be so good at getting the housework done every Saturday when I was working, now it's a wonder if I get it somewhat completed every two weeks. So far I've got the bedding in the dryer, a wash in the washer, breakfast dishes cleaned, the first section of the Bulletin read, April itinerary sent to the kids, prescription refilled and two calls that went unanswered to the VA in Providence. I call them almost every month because they are always late with their billing and they always forget to also bill our insurance. Thank goodness I've found a very nice lady who generally takes care of everything for us. Perhaps they are not answering the phones today because yesterday was a holiday and today is an ice day. Amazingly bad weather today at 31 degrees and a freezing rain, after two inches of snow, that is coating the drive, the roads, the roof loaded with icicles and the snow laden trees that have not lost their snow loads since last week's storm dumped the 21 inches. I'm guessing that the sliding that we didn't do this past weekend because it was too difficult to pack the snow will be glare, tough, slippery, dangerous sliding by Friday. Not sure I will be able to let the Kid slide down on the crust from the top of the hill. He'd surely make it down to the wall and into the road in record time and pull an "eldest child" drop over the wall. What a mess is Mother Nature inflicting on us, mere mortals. I was thinking of taking some pictures of the icicles hanging over the living room door but at this point I find them depressing and certain,y not a harbinger of Spring.

I'm procrastinating so well that I think I may even bring out the 500 piece puzzle that younger brother's wife left for me. It's a work of art in all shades of pink! But since Puppy's Pop would probably go apoplectic I may have to consider some other ruse to keep me from my rounds of dusting and vacuuming. Mayhap I could set it up on my cardboard puzzle tray and remove it from the table when he comes up from his lair? Bonne idée!

Quote: Nature is commanded by obeying her. ____Bacon