It's melllllting!

It rained really hard today, and is now 40 degrees and windy.  The perfect equation to melt the noisy ice and turn the snow into slush that will freeze tomorrow and be hell to deal with.  It was funny to have such hard rain, but I always favor rain--water in the well.

I spent time yesterday and today cleaning the house for book group.  There will only be 4 of us (at most) but the house really needed some attention.  What happened to my plans of cleaning the entire house?  All I ever really take care of are the kitchen, living room and bathroom, and sometimes my bedroom.  This house is too big for me, and I don't want to live in a 2-story house, but it's my home and it's where I live.  If I win PowerBall I'll bulldoze this place and build something better.  In the same spot?  Maybe a little farther up the hill.  And I'll buy a jet and hire someone to take me anywhere I want to go any time I want.  Yeah, that's right.  And everyone I know gets tens of millions of dollars.  Then the rest goes to charities I get to pick, oh what fun I would have picking.

I haven't taken the Christmas tree down yet, have left it up for book group viewing.  It's incredibly dry and dropping needles like mad.  It will make a huge mess when I take it down.  It's still pretty and colorful.  And overdressed.

Lin is making pizza for book group dinner tonight.  I've made a big salad, have a bunch of snacks, and will serve ice cream with raspberry sauce for dessert.  That should take care of us.  I bought some red wine but last time no one drank any so I'm not opening the bottle yet.

What's up for the week?  Not much.  I guess I'll go to Plattsburgh tomorrow afternoon because UPS has the special bowl I ordered for Treasure but the driver couldn't find my house so I have to pick it up there.  They don't open until 3, what a drag.  The day after I got the notice from UPS another driver delivered my box of fatwood.  Go figure.  The bottom of the bowl is all bumpy and lumpy and is supposed to slow down her eating.  I talked to someone who's Lab is the same way about food and they got a lumpy bowl, which did the trick.  I can't imagine ANYTHING that would slow down Treasure's eating, but I'll try this.

I saw a big woodpecker at the bird feeder this afternoon--either a three-toed woodpecker or a black backed woodpecker, I couldn't tell which.  They're fairly rare but we used to see them all the time at Ken's suet feeder.  I don't have much in the way of interesting birds this year: chickadees, blue jays, finches, woodpeckers.  No nuthatches yet.  I've seen snow buntings in my travels 3 times, which is impressive.  We call them snowbirds. 

Dogs are just fine.  They're exhausted right now, after spending 2 hours sleeping in the car while I was at Pat & Jim's, and running away twice.  They're not begging for dinner, which is amazing.  Should I wake them up?  NO.