"Speech After Long Silence"

Sweet Teddy face

After a long time, I feel like writing again today.  There's nothing much going on -- we're snowed in for the umpteenth time this winter.  We got five inches of snow last night.

Teddy is loving the snow.  He doesn't seem to feel the cold and loves to snuffle around in it and get his face covered in snow.

Pepper, on the other hand, as a wire haired terrier with very little fur, prefers to curl up on the couch and go out only when it's absolutely necessary.

Pepper is particularly debilitated at the moment because she had a benign tumor removed from her right rear foot on Wednesday and she has it all bandaged up.  She has to wear the cone of shame to keep her from tearing off the bandages -- although she has worried it loose a little.  Every time she goes out, we have to wrap her foot in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet.  Poor little thing looks pitiful, but she's dealing with it pretty well.

Yesterday was Valentines Day and, in light of the weather, we decided not to try to fight the restaurant crowd for a Valentine dinner.  I went out before the snow started and bought the fixings for a fancy dinner at home.  I cooked a standing rib roast for the first time and we had buttered new potatoes with parsley, a fresh salad with mandarin oranges and candied pecans, wheat rolls, and a delicious spinach souffle.  For dessert, I bought chocolate covered strawberries and some fancy iced valentine cookies.  I thought it was an impressive spread!

Unfortunately, Jeff was in a grumpy mood and the evening sort of fell flat.  He was frustrated about some things that happened at work.  I ended up just going to bed early.  Sometimes things just turn out that way no matter what you do.

To his credit, Jeff did bring me a dozen red roses and he brought Ally a dozen white roses for Valentine's Day.  AND some delicious chocolates.  So, I wasn't overlooked -- he just wasn't in a good mood.

This morning, he had an important meeting and his car was totally covered with five inches of snow and frozen shut -- with his coat inside it.  He went out in his shirt sleeves to poured hot water on the locks and door and finally got it to open.  Then, while he was on a business call, I cleared the snow away and took the car up to the corner for gas because it was running on fumes.  He's still grumpy, but he has some good reasons to be.

Thanks to our neighbor, Tom, who has a snow blower and cleared our driveway so Jeff and I could get out.  He's such a good guy!  He uses his superior technology -- a snow blower that he bought when they lived in Pennsylvania and it was much more necessary -- to help all the neighbors -- who don't have snow blowers because usually it's not necessary around here.

On the drama side, Kate and Austin had a big fight on Monday and it looked like they might break up.  Kate was so upset that I went down to Danville for two days to be with her.  Finally, they talked it out and made up.  I'm glad it all worked out.

Ally has been tutoring Anna next door, who is in 7th grade, and seems to be quite successful at it.  She might like to be a teacher.  Anna has ADHD and has a hard time getting through her homework.  She apparently really likes Ally's lively manner and flair for the dramatic.  It helps to make the schoolwork interesting for her.  Maybe Ally has found her "day job."  In the meantime, she's been doing a lot of writing and also working on the National Theatre Live presentations and the Diogene's Theatre Company's production of "Bebe" in April.  She seems to be regaining some of her self-confidence.

I went to lunch with Linda and her caregiver, Lisa, on Thursday.  It's good that she's still getting out and going places.  I've seen a serious decline in her abilities over the past six months or so.  After Lisa cut up her salad, she still had trouble getting it to her mouth and dropped several pieces in her lap.  She seemed to follow the conversation fairly well, but then asked questions that showed that she had already forgotten things that had been said earlier.  I can't help but be depressed after being with her.

Dad, on the other hand, seems to be perking along pretty well.  He'll be ninety in June and he and Harriett (at 91) are still independent and driving themselves.  They went to a Valentine's Dinner for seniors at Tates Creek Presbyterian on Valentine's Day and seemed to have a good time.

I've been trying to make a lace shawl from the alpaca lace yarn that Kathryn gave me for Christmas.  After re-starting it three times, I finally made it through the lace edge to the stockinette short rows and then I goofed it up.  Last night I pulled it back to my lifeline at the end of the lace and now I can't figure out how to get it back on the needles.  I'm not sure this is worth the effort.  I think I'll cast on a more friendly project today and put that one away for a while.  It's just not worth the stress.

I may try to fix the washing machine today.  It makes a horrible noise during the spin cycle and I'm not entirely sure why.  My best guess is either the clutch (which is fixable) or the bearings (which are not).  I ordered a replacement clutch and I may try to take the back off and see if I can pinpoint the source of the noise.  If it appears to be the clutch, I'll try to fix it.  If not, we'll probably need to get a new machine.

I guess that's all the news in my life.  It's kind of nice to be back on the net.

Today's good thing, obviously, is our neighbor, Tom, who cleared our driveway (and has done so three or four times over the winter) without being asked or expecting any thanks.  Good people really lift your heart.