Narcissus and geraniums in February are about as close to something spring-like as I can get.

I have a cold and sound like death warmed over.  I finally got some good drugs and can smell again and can almost hear at normal levels.  It's not a bad cold, not one of those that makes you feel really, really awful.  It's more of an inconvenience and how can I complain when I have a wood stove, 2 dogs and all the time in the world to convalesce with?  Ah, life is good.

We celebrated Jim's 80th birthday in good style at Mainely Lobster with a great showing of family members.  The food was great, everyone cheerful, and the roads were slick but passable.

Today we saw the sun for the first time in a while.  It felt warm and very strange.  I went to Plattsburgh to have lunch with my friend Julie and did a little grocery shopping for P&J while I was in town.  Julie was having horrible headaches, had a CAT scan done and it came back abnormal so she saw a neurologist this week.  I was pretty hysterical, having just lost 2 friends to brain cancer in the last few months.  Anyway, she's fine and has no tumor nor is there anything really wrong with her.  That was a huge relief.  She's still at CEF so I counsel her on how to be still at CEF.  The woman they hired after I left is now installed at my old desk and Julie finds this very depressing.  I don't blame her, we were very dependent on each other for humor, sanity, and sage advice.  Well life goes on.

I had a doctor's appointment in Plattsburgh on Monday, did some grocery shopping then.  Yesterday I went to AuSable to mail some things.  Yes, I'm still running the roads.  I have no plans for the rest of the week, or the weekend--so many days with so little to do!  Next week is the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, an annual favorite of mine.  I record the whole thing and wallow in different dog breeds.  I love it.  It must be incredibly boring to the normal human but I love watching dogs being paraded around by odd looking people.

It was -3 this morning, now is 17 and not bad.  Apparently it's supposed to be -15 (or more) soon.  I've used up my Ken wood and am now burning the wood I bought last summer.  It's not as good, of course, but is good wood nevertheless.  It's not in the wood shed so I have to dig it out from under huge piles of snow.  Ah, it's good for me!  I haven't walked the dogs in weeks, haven't done much of anything myself since Duncan & David left last week.  Joe comes soon, which will be a grand and welcome distraction.

The dogs are great.  I shut Treasure's head in the rear window of the car today, which startled and scared both of us.  She's so skittish anyway, it was very dramatic.  They run off once in a while while I'm getting wood but they don't go far or stay away long.  Someone was in the bog the other day so maybe they broke trail and I could walk the dogs in there.  If it ever warmed up I would maybe do that.  Or not.