Cold but warming

Yesterday morning it was -2, today it was -3 (which was warmer than I expected).  Now it's 17 and warming, supposedly to 30 today.  Very strange.  It's the weekend of The Burn, so Joe is here, staying at Pat & Jim's.  Tomorrow morning they'll set the brush pile on fire and we'll have a nice time watching it burn.  I'll make brownies, Joe has hot dogs, and we have maple brandy.  All very nice.  I can't ever stay as long as the men do, sometimes it's too cold and sometimes I just have to get home.  It burns all day and into the night, sometimes still going Sunday morning.  My mother found some pictures of a Burn that I sent you one year--she said she looked at the pictures and tried to figure out what party that was, finally saw a picture of the fire and figured it out.  Maybe I don't need to send her pictures this year...

It's been a good week, as all weeks are in my retirement.  I had frozen but never burst pipes so that was all fine.  It was cold, yes, cold, but now it's warmer with bright, warm sunshine.  I got the house in good shape for company but Annie and Rush had to go to visit a sick relative in Syracuse so they're not here yet.  I'm not sure when they'll arrive, but they won't stay at my house at all, so now I have a clean shower and living room and what good does that do me?  I do think it's funny how I never clean just for myself, I always need an excuse of company.  NO, it does NOT mean I don't think I'm worthy of a clean house--it just means I'm lazy and apparently don't mind dust and dog hair and wood chips all over the house.

I had lunch with a friend yesterday in Plattsburgh, that was nice.  I went to Plattsburgh twice this week, needed prescription filled and had errands to do.  Today I'm going back, lunch at the seafood restaurant with friends, which will be really nice and fun.  I think I'm all set for groceries, should be after 3 trips to stores.  I went to the dump on Wednesday, then to AuSable and in the afternoon I went to get eggs from my friend in Wilmington.  She won't take money for her delicious fresh eggs, she says I have to give her something in trade.  The pressure's on.  I can't just clean my house and find something miscellaneous to give her, I have to come up with something worthwhile.  A basket?  I found one that I never use, a nice swing handled cat's head basket but it's flawed so I can't pass it on.  I'll think of something, maybe even make a new basket, that would be fun.  Would it?  Well, yes, I seem to be finding it fun to make baskets again.  I don't have my book of patterns, which makes it a lot harder because I have to recreate the patterns I've always used.  Should have taken better care of my book.

Not much else going on, but I think there's plenty for the weekend.  Sunday is book group.  We're reading The Martian, which I'm enjoying but it sure does have a lot of science and detail in it.  I keep picturing Matt Damon as the astronaut on Mars, which isn't bad.  I should try to find something for us to read next month.  I'm reading The girl who saved the King of Sweden, by Jonasson, which I'm enjoying more than The Martian, but I'll finish Mars by Sunday.

Dogs are just fine.  I let them take themselves for a walk every morning when we get home from getting the paper.  They didn't go far when it was -17, but today they were gone for an hour or so.  I know not where they go, I've only ever tracked them down the hill or out to the bog parking lot.  Sometimes they cut through the woods, sometimes they stay on the road.  What would I do if I didn't have dogs to wonder about?