The snow started around ten last night, and we have flurries right now, but only two or three inches fell. It wasn’t even over my shoes when I swept away the snow on the path and in front of the car. Skip came, and I had him plow out the car and mailbox and shovel the back steps for Henry, who is out now. He enjoys the snow.

When I first went outside to get the papers, I noticed large paw prints across the snow in the front yard. The space between the prints made me think the animal must have been big and moving fast. I wondered if it had been a coyote. I’ve seen them in this neighborhood but not for a while.

I watched a spawn of Satan try to get at the seeds in one of my feeders. It was relentless climbing up and down and then around the seed holder, but the no squirrel feeder did its magic, and the spawn left seedless.

The windows in my grammar school were huge. They went from the high ceilings halfway to the floor. The ones in the back which faced the school yard were more interesting than the ones on the side, but we couldn’t see out those windows. The nuns were smart so they configured the room so the windows were behind us. The side windows faced a small driveway between the school and some bushes and trees, but on days like today, the side windows grabbed our attention. We watched the snow fall.

The classroom was always quiet on snowy days. It was as if the snow muffled sounds. The nun taught, but we barely listened. Our attention was on the rhythm of the falling snow.

I did have a couple of errands for today, but there is no rush so I’ll postpone them until tomorrow. I am delighted by so many sloth days.

The day looks beautiful, sunny and clear, but the cold weather has settled in for a while. It is 29˚ now and the high will only be 31˚. The high?

I don’t have a junk drawer, but I have a tool drawer. Anything I need is there. It has both kinds of screwdrivers, a regular (I know it has a name, but I have no idea what it is) and a Phillips head, a couple of wrenches, two hammers, one small and one not so small, an awl, Gorilla tape and black duct tape. It has nails in different sizes, screws, thin wire and Christmas ornament and picture hooks. A couple of old frames, some wood pieces needing glue and a book bird fill out the rest of the drawer. Once I organized the drawer and put all the nails and screws in small jars, but the drawer still gets stuck anyway. I’m okay with that. I’m a pro at unsticking drawers except for the middle drawer in my desk. I have tried everything, but it doesn’t budge. It’s frustrating.

I wish I could build stuff. I once took a woodworking course and made some shelves. But whenever I used the huge electric saw, I envisioned losing fingers. I didn’t, but the fear was always there.

The first sort of exotic thing I ever cooked was chicken Kiev. I even made a table decoration, a styrofoam church with an onion dome. When I put my fork into the chicken, it spewed the garlic butter the way it was supposed to. It was a success. That got me got hooked on cooking and later baking. I always try to make my table decorations mirror the cuisine. For my Mexican dinner, I even made piñatas once using balloons. I love decorating the table. It is the awe factor even before we sit down to eat.

I have decreed today as another lazy day though I am going to change the bed. After that I’ll rest from my exertions.

Winter still holds the upper hand. Today is cloudy and cold with periodic snow flurries. The strong wind is whipping even the sturdy oak trees back and forth, back and forth. The sun appears then disappears behind the dark clouds. Luckily I haven’t need to go anywhere and can stay home cozy and warm. I’m going to do nothing constructive.

Henry is restless. He wanders up and down the hall, turns and stares at me then wanders some more. He’s brought a couple of toys to the couch and is now chewing on his Christmas elf, a stuffing less shadow of what it once was.

Yesterday for game night I made tapioca. My mother used to make it all the time. It was one of my father’s favorite desserts as well as one of mine and my sister’s. I like it either hot or cold though I mostly eat it cold. The taste is a memory.

My muse is resting. Last night I read for a while then finally fell asleep sometime after three. I’m still tired which, for me, translates into being easily distracted. I read one paper, checked my e-mail, then read another paper. I tried to watch a couple of movies, but neither one has held my attention. I’m now watching Logan’s Run, a movie I’ve seen before, a couple of times, so I don’t need to give it my full attention. I can let my memory fill in the blanks.

I’ve run out of words. I think I’ll get a cookie.

Today is perfect for the ten year old me. It is cloudy, but warm, sweatshirt or jacket warm. I’d spend the morning munching on my cereal in front of the TV watching the usual Saturday fare. Around noon, I’d haul my bike out of the cellar and hit the road. I’d never have a destination. I just wanted to ride. Sometimes I’d go to the square and look in the store windows. The square was filled with wonderful stores like Woolworth’s, Grants and Kennedy’s biscuits. That store had barrels in front with different cheeses and crackers for sale. I remember a huge circle of cheese. I didn’t know at the time it was cheddar. The only cheese I knew was orange and it came individually wrapped. The square was always busy on Saturday so I’d walk my bike on the sidewalk. Just out of the square was a pet store. I’d always look in there. Once I even bought a chameleon. By late afternoon I’d be hungry and tired so I’d head on home for a bologna sandwich with yellow mustard on squishy white bread.

Peapod came last night. I bought beef bologna but no squishy bread. I also bought Vermont cheddar cheese. My tastes have somewhat matured over time.

On the only cruise I have ever taken, the one through the Panama Canal, one movie night they showed Titanic. I thought that an odd choice for a movie on a boat.

I am going to watch a Grapefruit League spring training baseball game: a Red Sox-Yankees game. I know spring training games don’t mean much, but I’m hungry for baseball, and I can’t wait until opening day on March 29th. As if I needed it, this game will whet my appetite even more for spring and baseball.

Today I’m going to finish the book I’m reading and maybe later I’ll go out and hit a few shops. I’ll have no destination in mind. I’m hoping for serendipity.

Today is drippy. Today is also muddy. The warmth, all 40+ degrees of it, is melting what’s left of the snow. Last night’s rain turned some of the snow to slush. Right in the middle of my walk is a puddle. I had to choose between the puddle and the slush when I went to get the papers. I chose the slush. My driveway is slush dotted with Henry’s paw prints. My kitchen floor has muddy Henry prints from the back door down the hall to the couch. Even his fur is wet when he comes inside after a run in the yard.

Henry has added licking his chops to his impatient wait for a few sips of my coffee. He stands beside me and stares at the cup. I always leave a little for him.

Today is clean the shelves in the den day. Miss Havisham in her wedding gown would be quite comfortable here.

I’m missing a doll, an old ugly doll which looks a bit like a Pilgrim. This morning, I noticed it was missing. I figure Henry took it sometime during last night and demolished it. I just have to find its remains.

The laundry is finally done. Can I have an amen? Only a couple of towels and some sheets are still in the dryer. The clothes have all been put away. I’m thinking of changing my bed, but I don’t want to get too crazy.

Yesterday I did the one errand I didn’t get done on Tuesday, Agway for dog food and a few treats. I also bought a few cacti, a rosemary plant and a ferny sort of plant. Only one needs repotting. I’ll do that later.

The dump is now the only item on a new list of errands. I figure I’ll go tomorrow. I’m thinking today I’ll just do the dusting then read. I’ll have earned an afternoon of being a sloth.

I can’t imagine what has gotten into me. I’m actually going to dust and no laundry is piled by the cellar door. Maybe it’s the stirrings of spring cleaning. I’m not complaining mind you. I’ll take anything that anticipates spring, even dreaded cleaning.

It’s cold, no surprise here. The sun is bright and sharp. It seems to highlight the stark branches of the pine trees in the backyard. The blue sky is the deepest of blues. The air is clear. It is a beauteous winter’s day.

I always like to wait and clump my errands so I have five stops today. They are close to each other so the route is easy: library to pharmacy to grocery store to Agway to lab.

Henry watches my coffee cup go from the table to my mouth then back to the table every time I take a sip. I always leave a little at the bottom of my second cup of coffee so he impatiently waits for his share. He especially likes if I have toast.

Last night the moon, the super moon, was amazing. The light was so bright tree shadows were cast on the hard packed snow in the yard. It will be clear again tonight so we get to see moonlight one more night. Tomorrow night we’ll have snow flurries then rain on Thursday. The high tonight will be 8˚.

This morning, Henry went gingerly down the back stairs to the yard. I had used the deicer on the deck and the stairs, but there was still icy snow on the bottom steps I couldn’t reach from the doorstep. Henry has gone out around five times so far. He is out so long I worry. Gracie was a runner, and I’m always afraid Henry has gotten out of the yard. He really doesn’t know the neighborhood. Luckily he is chipped and has a tag with my phone and address on it. The only issue is Henry won’t let anyone near him. He’s tired after his romps and is now having his morning nap.

We had game night on Sunday, and I had to wear the proverbial L for loser. I wore it well.

Sometimes I have a hankering for certain food. Right now it’s Thai food. I haven’t had it in a while, and I’m picturing coconut shrimp, mango curry, papaya salad and Pad Thai, a couple of meals worth. Maybe I need to add one more errand. Actually I just did. I am good to myself!!

Snow is on the ground but only a little. It isn’t as high as the tops of my shoes. The snow is heavy and made a crunching sound when I walked on it. I went to get the papers, but I couldn’t find them. I suspect they aren’t there. The papers are usually wrapped in colored plastic which is easy to see so I walked around the front garden and the car expecting to find them. I was disappointed.

Henry likes the snow. He has been out so many times I’m happy he has a dog door. I watched him leap and run when he first got to the yard at the bottom of the steps. He licks the snow.

It has stopped snowing. Where Henry walked is no longer covered by snow. My fronts steps are getting icy. I’ll have to throw down the deicer on both sets of stairs, front and back, to make them safe for me and for Henry.

Today is President’s Day. When I was a kid, Washington and Lincoln had their own days. Now they are just lumped in with all the other presidents. I loved Washington’s birthday since it was always during February vacation. The first president I remember was Eisenhower because of Big Brother Bob Emery who had a kids’ TV program on in the early 50’s. I watched every day. He used to play a ukulele and sing The Grass Is Always Greener, a song whose words I still remember. On his wall was a picture of President Eisenhower to whom we lifted our glasses of milk in tribute. I didn’t really understand the why of it all, what President Eisenhower represented. He was just a picture on the wall.

It was President Kennedy who awakened my interest in politics simply because he was from Massachusetts. I began to understand the political process, the two party system and why I lifted my glass of milk.

Looking out my window I see a sunny day with a dark blue sky and air so perfectly clear I bet I could see for miles. The only drawback to the day is the cold. It is only 31˚. I hurried out and back when I got the papers.

When I was a kid, in the winter, I mostly walked everywhere. My bike was in the cellar for the duration. It was too difficult to get it out of the cellar and then back again every time I wanted to use it . Right outside the cellar door to the left were the stairs. I had to lift the front of my bike out the door, roll it on its back wheel, turn to the stairs then pull it up the stairs. It was a tricky maneuver up and even worse going back. In the summer I could leave the bike outside but never in the winter so I walked in the cold and in the rain.

March 28th is baseball’s opening day, the earliest one in history. I am getting ready by watching Fever Pitch. It is such a great movie about my Red Sox finally winning the World Series in 2004. The Fenway Park scenes make me long for the warmth of summer.

Last night was a weird one. Henry jumped off the couch and went to look in the bathroom. He jumped and took off to the kitchen. The rest of the night he stayed away from me. At bedtime he ran upstairs and was on the bed when I got to my room. He saw me and took off down the stairs. He came back up and stood in the hall and growled. He then ran downstairs. I turned off the light and went to sleep without Henry on the bed, but he was beside when I woke up. I got his usual morning greeting and all was well.

Tonight is game night. My contribution is appetizers, and I have a couple of possibilities, but I’m still languid and haven’t any ambition. I’m toying with ordering Chinese appetizers or ones from my pizza place. I think I’ll flip a coin.

The sky is as deep a blue as I have seen of late. The clouds have disappeared. It is still cold but warmer than yesterday. Henry stays outside a long time. I don’t.

I wish I could hibernate like bears. In late fall I’d get cozy in my cave under lots of down comforters and fall asleep for the winter. I’d wake up to spring.

Whoo Hoo! I saw small green shoots in my front garden. They have a long way to grow, but they are the first signs of spring.

I have to do a bit of shopping today. I am getting some groceries and am also going to buy a few daffodils. The small floral shop in my store always has them about now. I could do with a bit of bright yellow. I am tired of brown.

I am yelling at the movie I’m watching, Age of Ice. Snow storms are covering Egypt and the desert. An American family of four, two parents and two kids, and some Egyptians are trying to get to the Red Sea to an evacuation area. The special effects are the worst. Our intrepid party has no snow blowing around them, but when they look ahead, you can’t see anything for the swirling snow. Their truck gets stuck in snow. Instead of all of them pushing it out, they abandon it. At one point they have to rappel. In the faraway view the mountain is covered in snow. In the closeup, there is no snow. My favorite scene is when they are walking in knee deep snow trying to get through a pass. As they slogged through the snow, I could see the top of a building in between hills, and I expected them to discover it. They didn’t. It wasn’t part of the movie.