Mantel cats

Nice goatee, snowman!

We sure enjoyed it while it was here, but the last of the snow is melting in the cold winter rain this week. It's dirty old snow now anyway, and we're already thinking about spring. I've been working on my seed order from Territorial all week and today I started some lettuce seeds, eager to try out the new grow lights I set up.
Plus this time of year, after spending so many hours indoors, I start to purge and spring clean. There have been a few trips to Goodwill to drop off so much stuff, and a concerted effort to clean this place up. Check out the shiny stovetop. Look fast, it won't stay this clean for long!

And as the weather slowly warms, we're getting out more. Mostly by taking advantage of breaks in the rain for a quick walk down the road. It seems to improve all our moods when we get some good outside time.

Taking in the view from atop his trusty bicycle.

I'll end with a familiar sight around here. The cat food bowl sits on the mantel because it's the only place the dog can't get to it. I'm so terrible about remembering to feed the cats twice a day every day, and often they have to remind me. Beware the icy stare of a hungry cat.

Don't move, I'll just decorate around you.

Wonderful windy winter storm

Mother Nature gave us a February surprise this week with a genuine snowstorm. It's been blowing and snowing for two days now and it looks like we're in for a couple more. The power went out that first night for about eight hours and we've just now gotten the house warmed up again. We're keeping warm with lots of layers, and I stocked up on food heartily before this all started, so we've been feasting our way through the cold.
The sun came out for a few hours this morning, so Ole and I bundled up and took Pepper outside for some snowy fun.


Excited! Note my "solution" for our drafty front door.

Hey, Mom, take a picture of my boot.

Keeping a stiff upper lip.

The hazy stripe is powdery snow whipping down our road at sixty miles an hour. I love the little drifts behind each mole hill in the yard.

After goofing around a bit in the yard, Ole made a beeline for the house. I'm pretty sure he was thinking about sitting by the fire and drinking hot cocoa.

All done.

Well, that explains it

We've been having trouble with our toaster lately. It's fairly new, even, so I griped about modern appliances that self-destruct and went into a whole rant about it. "When I was a kid," it starts, "they made things that last."
Well after a few days of funky toast, I finally looked down inside the toaster. This what I found:

"There's my car," said Ole, matter-of-factly.