Cold morning

It's not really that cold (27) but it's damp and snowy so feels chilly.  I've got a good fire going, the house is comfortable (thought not truly warm) and I have the day off.  I have a long list of tasks to accomplish today but so far all I've done is read the paper and watch TV.  And eat.  The dogs are eager to go out but I'm keeping them in for now because a friend is hunting on my land and I don't want the dogs to bother him.  They've had plenty of entertainment this morning.

It's supposed to warm up today (40's) so hopefully I'll finish up the winter prep tasks outdoors.  The deck needs attention, flower pots need to be emptied, though probably will need to have the soil thawed first.  I MUST put the lawn mower away in the shed.  I've put that off other years until there's real snow--it's sooo hard to push a lawn mower through the snow!  You'd think a girl would learn in 20 years to get these things done before November.

Had a good week, work was fine.  I saw Pat & Jim twice, well three times if you count yesterday.  They're fine and Pat is feeling much better.  I had dinner with the Holts and Bill on Sat., which was very nice.  Holts were here for the weekend and very generously took my 7 bags of old insulation to the dump in their truck for me.

I bought a new computer on Sat.  Wow what a difference.  I gave my old laptop to Lin and am trying to get used to this new HP with a totally different keyboard.  I have good Internet access but also have Windows 8, which is incredibly frustrating.  Rush, Annie & I tried to do some simple things with it yesterday but didn't have much luck.  Wow, Bill Gates, even a nuclear physicist finds it frustrating.

Busy week ahead, plenty of training and a few meetings.  Also, ugh, an appointment to have a filling replaced.  We had terrible childhood dental experiences (lots of drilling for cavities without novacaine, which seems unimaginable today) so I'm always fretful when going to the dentist.  This dentist is good about making sure the novacaine is effective before proceeding, and I've had OK experiences in he past.  Wow!  It doesn't hurt!  Let's see if my good luck continues.

Not really much going on in Hawkeye.  Only one other person on the road now and he comes and goes.  No bog walkers but there were 4 cars at the Silver Lake Mtn trailhead yesterday.  It wasn't really a pleasant day but did almost get to 40.  Supposed to do that again today but we've got a way to go.  I still have to make one more trip to the boat house to retrieve things.  The lock on the gate was frozen last weekend so I waited until it thawed, unlocked it in prep of my yet-to-happen visit.  Maybe today.  I hope.  Let's finish at least ONE thing today!