I just asked someone who's about my age if she knew what a contrail is. She didn't. Is this so outdated a term that no one uses it? or is it just something my father offered up for our vocabularies? Anyway, so much for that. She was very kind and nodded appreciatively when I told her about the beautiful ones I'd seen.

My friend Joe fell through the ice on Saturday--he was here for the weekend and wandered out, expecting to be able to walk far, far out Oops, pretty close to shore he fell through. Water was up to his chest so he was able to pull himself out. So much for my plans to walk on the lake!

Weekend was full of spectacular weather. 40's and sunny. I went to Burlington on Sat., shopping for my mother's birthday presents. Never found the place I was looking for (and saw more of the Vt countryside than anyone could ever want to), but found a great place instead. Seeds 1/2 price, seedstarters on sale, hog heaven. I saved as much as the ferry cost.

It was a spectacular trip: lake was blue, blue blue and calm. So much like summer, except for the brown shorelines. There were icefishers on the other side, on ice that I thought must be too thin, but they had snowmobiles & ATV's out there. Drat, but I left my camera at home. Mt. Mansfield looked great--bluish on the bottom & ghostly white on top. The way Whiteface looks now. Paraphrasing my brother-in-law, sometimes you just have to record things in your memory (he doesn't think it's necessary to document everything, the way my sister and I do)(but we grew up with a father who loved to record life's events, which is nice because now we have pictures of ourselves as cute little blond girls).

Yesterday afternoon I sat on my deck stairs, soaking up the sun while I read. ahhhhh.

Snow is melting around the bases of trees--spring is near. When the sap melts it warms the ground at the base of the trees. We still have (too much) snow in the neighborhood, but it's getting grainy and melting in places. Some mud, too, another harbinger of spring. What a word, huh. The top layers of snow are crusty and can hold the weight of a Lab, but can't hold the weight of an overweight 57-year-old. Punch through, struggle, punch through. Wear boots when you go out, even when

Another sign of impending spring: my first dead skunk (in the middle of the road).

I talked to my sister yesterday, something I don't do enough of. I had been staring at 2 beautiful paintings she'd done; they're hanging on the wall above my TV. They're just wonderful, Silver lake scenes. It made me think of her intensely, so I called her. I don't know why I never call Italy, but now I will more often.

Pronunciation: how to you pronounce the cover that's the full word for "tarp"? I decided this is a regional thing. We (from the Midwest) pronounced it TARP-o-lin. People here pronounce it tar-PO-lin. I asked my friend who grew up in Wisc. how she pronounces it, and wonder of wonders she says it the same way my family does. She's going to her 45th high school reunion this summer, and I'm going to my 40th.

The dogs are particularly precious these days--I have no explanation, other than maybe it's because we've been locked in the house since Dec. or so. They love being outside--I'm so lucky to live in a place where they can roam free. All weekend they stood on the deck and barked non-stop. No, really, bark bark bark, no break between barks. Both of them did it, I think they took turns. I have no idea what they're barking at, or if they just do it for sport. There's no other sound outdoors. I can tune it out, and there are no neighbors here now so I let them do it for hours. I asked them why they didn't get hoarse or lose their voices but they didn't answer.

Tess will be 7 this year, and Chances 11. My friend (from Wisc.) has a grandchild who was born the same time Tess was. We played "I have the cutest puppy in the world," and "here's a picture of the cutest grandchild in the world." Now her grandson is 7 and seems very old. Tess is growing gray hair on her muzzle, so I guess she's old too. Chances even has gray hair between her toes. She has a very thick coat, more like a bear's than a dog's.

I'm going to a conference in April--New England Technical Service* Librarians, a one-day thing. It's way geeky, but there will be some really relevant programs. I don't think I'll know anyone there, I've pretty much lost touch with the New England library community. I'll go the day before & spend night, come back the next day. Will have to board the dogs, which ends up costing more than my trip.

Must pedal now, my 20 minutes. I'm going to start doing crunches, too. A living hell. The most odious thing a human can do. I was taught a way to do them while lying on my big pink ball, so I can start them tonight. I bought a new bathing suit (swimsuit?) and I look like a sausage, or a barrel, in it. This inspired me, in a disgusting way, to do something about my gut. So far I've lost 5 lbs by pedaling for 20 min. 4 times a week. At this rate I'll lose the weight I want to in, oh, let's see ... 2 years or so. not really, but it'll take a very long time.