It’s been godawful cold here at Brat Farm the past week. It’s also been damp from rain we had a couple days that turned to ice and then back to wet again during the course of the day. I went out on my deck to retrieve a couple towel-type rags that had been left out there and blown onto the deck. I was shocked because they were slim blocks of ice! When I picked them up, they were stiff as boards and icy cold from being rained on and then having the temperature drop.

I’ve not ventured outside much because I really don’t do cold weather well. It makes my hands hurt because I have low blood pressure anyway and the extremities are the first to go. I DO have a nice warm hat or two that I can pull on and some nice warm gloves but….I hate having a cold nose. Plus, I don’t care how short a time I am out in cold weather, it makes my nose run. Not very attractive that.

You already know that Baron, our doberman, is a wimp about cold also. The colder it is, the shorter the trip from the deck steps for him to do his *business* and run back inside. The Beast found some really warm outerwear that includes a knit hood and is long enough to cover his ass, too. It’s what he is now wearing when Baron gets really antsy and needs some exercise. His gloves would be suitable for the arctic, I think all he needs to do is get some jeans loose enough that he can wear his long underwear under them and he would be all set.

Chewlee doesn’t seem to mind the cold at all. She’s been all decked out in warm clothes, her boots and her jacket with the hood up AND little gloves for her hands. She’s come into the house with icy nose, face and even hands (those knit gloves don’t really work well, do they?) but she resists any attempts to warm them when she gets inside. She will cry to go back outside. BUT…the nice thing is that it seems to *knock her out* and, once she warms up, she’s ready for a nice, long nap.

The Princess and Chewlee are visiting in Tennessee and I hope they are having a good time. I got to go and do a nice, big shopping and stocked up on things for us so I shouldn’t have to go out again for at least 10 days…maybe more. That’s how I prefer to shop. Then I can send the Beast out for the other things you need in between shopping, like milk and bread. It ensures that I don’t have to venture out much.

With Christmas coming up, though, I will have to do some major gift shopping. I expect my son, my daughter-in-law, her father and three of my five grandchildren that are theirs. I will also have my daughter, Buttmunch as well as the Princess and Chewlee. Not only will I have to feed them (my pleasure) but I want to have presents for all under the tree.

Speaking of which, that is a job I MUST do in the morning. I will have to have the Beast get the car out of the garage so I can get up into the attic and pull down the decorations. I’m also going to have to take down some of the decorations I have around the kitchen and living room and pack those up and get them out of the way. I want to put out some lights on the front porch at least. It’s not all that big but anything is better than nothing. And I plan on putting some on our back deck just for the hell of it. Because *I* will enjoy it if nothing else.

I would put lights around my gutters but we don’t have a ladder tall enough to manage that. It’s the trouble with having a crawl space. It adds just that much more height to the roof and gutters and we only have a 7 ft. ladder. We need one much longer. In fact, I may price it and buy the Beast an extension ladder for Christmas because we may just need it to clean the gutters this spring. We can’t be lucky forever. *sigh*

I’m not sure if I will have my niece and her family here for Christmas or not. I guess it depends on how she feels because I am sure she won’t be able to go to Florida to be with her brother and his family plus her dad. She has to go to Ohio to see her kids that are with their fathers and the boys (the two she has) will want to see their siblings, too. I will check with her tomorrow and find out.

The Beast did a really neat thing. He bought us both an electric blanket for personal use. He came in, plugged mine into the wall, turned it on and draped it around my legs and feet here at the computer. This room gets very cold at times and this way I can stay warm while he keeps the heat at a lower temperature to keep the utility bills down. He seems to have forgotten how expensive our bills were in Florida. The ones we get here are nothing in comparison. Our highest one has been less than half of the usual bill we paid at our house in Port Charlotte (and we didn’t have a pool or hot tub at that house).
Our house in Margate had both and the most incredible electric bills you every saw. It was like our income doubled just with how much lower our bills were on the other coast. And that is just a *slight* exaggeration.

Anyway, I am loving this blanket. I can even throw a pillow down on the floor with Chewlee, cover usboth and we lay and watch television together sometimes. When she’s had enough *resting* time, she will pick up the pillow, put it on my chair and then wants me to sit down while she tucks the blanket around my legs. It’s just funny as hell to see. Then, of course, she wants to sit in my lap and play on the computer or watch my picture screen saver (and she is under the blanket with me, keeping herself warm, too).

Chewlee and the Princess return tomorrow afternoon because the Princess has to work at 5:30pm until closing at 9pm. It was the price she had to pay for getting Saturday off. Luckily, she is only 3 hours or so away so it’s not a bad ride. I hope they are having fun. There are horses there and I know a ride was planned. Chewlee has gone riding before and just loves it. I hope she keeps those memories a long time and that she has more of them in the future. Those times are priceless.

Well, I must get to bed. I want to clean my kitchen floor well tomorrow and even clean my carpet if I can. I wanted to do it after we got rid of Sadi to fully get rid of the stains from her piddling on the carpet. I just didn’t have the time and I can’t run it with the baby sleeping so it’s my best opportunity. I might just make the Beast do it for me. He needs something to do and he doesn’t have any *projects* going at the moment. We shall see.

Have a wonderful day. Love you all. Remember to tell those you love that you do. A friend of mine just lost her cousin and best friend. The only thing that consoles her is that she also says *Love you* when she finishes talking to people and she had talked to her just a few days before. The death was sudden and the cousin only 42. Life can be short and sometimes shorter than we know.

Last winter we got a few snow flurries here in NE Alabama. The remnants were always still there when we awoke early in the a.m. but quickly melted away when the temperature rose just a few degrees once the sun was up. Today it was very different. Not only did we awaken to a coat of while all over (alas, this too disappeared as soon as the temperature hit about 36 degrees) but it has been snowing lightly, off-and-on, most of the morning and now in the early afternoon. One of the *flurries* had huge, wet snowflakes and Chewlee was totally fascinated. She was totally ready to run out the door in her stocking feet and check out what all the white stuff was that was falling out of the sky.

Baron, on the other hand, still has memories of the white stuff. We can’t even force him out the door into it, even if no snow is coming down. He hasn’t relieved himself since he got up this morning and is managing NOT to have to go outside by staying as still as possible, it seems. There has been a definite lack of movement on his part since he got the first view of our deck when there was still snow on it.

I’m kind of sorry that it isn’t sticking at least for a little while. I’m sure Chewlee would have a ball in it, at least until her hands and face got really cold. This is too early in the year for us to have any kind of snow so I have a feeling that it really IS true that this may be one of the worst winters the east coast sees in many years. Although we are NOT on the coast, we are considered part of the SE so…*shrug*

The Beast is very happy about all this. He is thinking how great it is for all the fruit trees for next spring. The colder the winter, the bigger the blossom crop. I’m going to be very curious about how well the cherry trees do myself.

So far, I have counted 5 separate *flurries*. I think that is a definite signal that winter has arrived here in the hinterlands. I’m sure there are lots of accidents happening due to the alternate wet, cold, snow, wet pavements. The people here have no clue how to drive in snow or even snow flurries. They just don’t have much experience with it. The Princess is reluctant to go out even though she needs to get new tires put on her car. It’s BECAUSE she needs new tires on her car that she is reluctant to drive in this. Catch 22.

Well, I am going to make stuffed peppers and need to get that done so they can cook. I’m seriously thinking about making them ala the Boy’s recipe for a change. I don’t need to start for a bit yet so I can think about it. It also gives me some time to check and make sure I have all I need. For my personal recipe, I know I do but the Boy’s differs. I will let you know.

Chewlee is up and enjoying watching the snow come down. Her giggle is so cute. Love you all and have a great day.