Today will be almost tropical with a high of 38˚. The sky is a brilliant blue. The sun is winter bright. When I went to get the paper, the glint of the sun on the snow was so bright I couldn’t see for a bit. Everything is frozen again. My windshield has a layer of what is now hard-packed snow. The rest of the windows are clear. Later, I’ll tackle the windshield.

When I was a kid, Sunday was my least favorite day. I had to go to mass. Usually I walked. Because I had to wear a skirt or a dress, it was a cold walk even if I was layered and wearing knee socks. The warmth of the church after the cold was welcomed. Before mass, the church was mostly a quiet place. People whispered. The pews creaked when people moved. I could hear the hiss of the radiators. When the mass started, the priest’s voice was loud. People muttered their responses. I could barely wait for the priest to say, “The mass is over. Go in peace.” I sprinted for the door.

I always enjoyed Sunday dinner. We ate it together. I knew they’d be mashed potatoes, a couple of veggies, gravy and a roast of some sort. It was our fanciest dinner of the week.

The dog barking on TV put Henry on alert. He is now barking a warning. I don’t think the dog heard him. Henry had another milestone yesterday. He always licks my hands, but yesterday he gave my cheek a lick, a first. Also, Henry now comes in the dog door all the time. I have Nala to thank for that.

Speaking of the dog door, the other day the dogs perfectly executed a comedy movie bit. They both tried to go out the door at the same time and they were stuck for a few seconds until Henry broke free.

Nala has an accurate internal alarm. Today she woke me up at eight. Yesterday and the day before, it was 8:04 exactly on both days. She is not gentle about waking me. She whacks me a few times. This morning she even whacked the barrier. That’s when I figured she really needed out. I let both dogs out and went back to bed, but I was done sleeping.

Today I will do my laundry. I’m tired of the laundry basket in the hall. It has been weeks.

Yesterday, when I woke up, it was snowing. About an inch or two was on the ground. With so little snow, I could still see the underbrush in the backyard. I got my paper and settled with it and my coffee. Shortly after, I could hear sleet banging against the windows and doors. The sleet fell sideways. After a while, nothing fell, but it was bitterly cold. I stayed inside until I noticed Nala had a bag of pasta in her mouth. I went to get it, but she ran outside. I ran after her and got the pasta. She followed me back into the toasty, warm house. She went to sleep, and I got more coffee. The rain came next then the snow started again. The weather had gone full circle.

The walkway is hidden. My car is encased by icy snow. I have decided to hibernate until spring or until all that snow melts on its own. I don’t have a shovel. I do have a scraper, but I’m not in a scraping mood. It is too cold.

The day is deceptively pretty with a blue sky, white fluffy clouds and lots of sun but it is only 28˚. The high will be 31˚, but in whose world is that a high?

I am watching a black and white science fiction movie from 1953, The Magnetic Monster. I am ten again, and I’m sitting on the living room rug watching Creature Double Feature. Being young, I still have a natural suspension of disbelief.

I saw paw prints going into and out of the front yard. I didn’t recognize the pattern, and I couldn’t find the specific prints on line. Whatever made those prints was free range as I didn’t see boot or shoe prints along side the paw prints. The creature was alone.

When I was a kid, I preferred mittens. They kept my fingers warmer than gloves, and when I was really young, they were easy to put on. Gloves, on the other hand (sorry!), meant trying to get the right fingers in the right spots, and I wasn’t aways successful. I did buttons but had trouble with zippers. I couldn’t always get the two sides of my coat together. Boots were easy. The shoes were the key. I discovered that putting my shoes into my boots without my feet in them made it easy to put my boots back on at school. To my mother’s consternation, I didn’t always wear my hat.

I have nothing planned for the weekend. I can loll. I can have a sloth day.