Oh that silly old pope. He just won't let go, will he. Even in death there is life, huh.

The sun is shining, after a night of rain. The rain helped me get rid of a lot of snow in my yard. A LOT of snow. There are patches of bare ground now, actual bare ground. Still plenty of snow, but bare ground in spots. And the pussy willows outside my kitchen window are starting to appear. If that's not spring...
I saw a goose on the Saranac River where I get my coffee (OK, I don't get my coffee IN the river) this morning. My hairdresser, who lives on a lake that's at least as frigid as mine is, said the geese have returned to her lake and they're walking around on the ice as if to say "Where's the water?" They're really back too early but it seems to be an early spring this year. This could mean anything: that it will snow a lot in April, that it will rain for the entire month of May, as it did last year, or that we'll just get lucky and have a nice, luxurious spring. Ken believes that the weather for the month is determined by the last three days of the preceding month. If that's the case, April will be 50 degrees and sunny. I can stand on my deck naked and bang the dog bowls a lot.

Awakened this morning to discover that one dog had chewed a hole in a grade-A pair of pants, that actually fit me. Dog #2 scraped the diamond stud out of my ear with her giant paw. At least this time I found the earring. Dog #3 pooped a big runny mess, with a solid turd decorating the whole thing, standing upright in the middle of it like a sculpture, in the middle of one of the rugs. Why always on the rug? What's wrong with vinyl tile? My house reeks of dog poop. I cleaned up the mess but of course can't get the runny part out so I put the rug on the deck railing--my solution to everything I can't deal with. I was sort of hoping it would rain today and rinse my troubles away.

Retirement parties being planned for my director. A woman who has really caused me grief, interfered with my ability to do my job, insulted me, complimented me, told me how much she likes me, told me I'm brilliant, the most intelligent person in the building, on and on the list goes. Now I have to pay $30 to have dinner and "honor" her, contribute to a gift for her, spend an evening listening to other people pretend to pay tribute to her as well. She's spent the library system into a deficit for the first time, alienated a loyal staff, dragged out contract negotiations for the second contract term, and more. But I digress. The staff has decided to have an in-house luncheon party for her. Spaghetti. She'll do her usual tuck-the-napkin-in-her-blouse so she can eat like a pig. I've been asked to make cheesecake. Then I have to watch her eat spaghetti. She has the manners of a cavewoman. Smacks her lips like a trucker. No offense to truckers of the world. But then, on May 2nd I'll come to work and she won't be my boss anymore. I'm not sure how I'll react.

And this weekend it's supposed to rain. 50 degrees and rainy. I'll have a fire in the stove to take the dampness out, take naps, watch videos, do crossword puzzles and clean my house. Too ambitious? except for the napping. I may take the dogs for a walk. I like the effect of rain on snow, it gets foggy in the woods and is really beautiful. Last night Jackson disappeared in the pouring rain for 2.5 hours. Where he goes on these forays no one knows. He could be standing in the woods behind the house for all I know. As soon as I tuck myself into bed he hops on the back deck and barks at the back door, though, never fails. Funny boy.