Alien Spouse

Day Trip Back.

It's been snowing today, but Doc C needed to go and get some books from his office - So we went on a day trip.  Eva slept on the way there, and on the way back (impressively I only slept on the way there); whilst we were in town she was a very sociable baby and smiled at everyone she saw.

We grabbed the books (fed and changed the baby), and then had lunch at one of the best sandwich places in town. I'd also called our favourite bakery yesterday to reserve a loaf of their Friday special - The chocolate cherry sourdough.  We also bought coffee and cookies for the road, so today was a total carbs-fest.

All in all, quite a pleasent day.

Warm Colour, Cold Shape.

I started off the week helping to build my new desk at work; it is a gorgeous glossy white, it looks like the desk that Apple would make if they made furniture.  It looks lovely with jusy my Mac on it, so I'm going to try and keep it that way, but I did need a coaster (this office is mostly fuelled by coffee) and my lovely Mum happened to have sent the ideal thing for Christmas.

It's a red felt snowflake, and it is exactly the pop of warmth my desk needed.  Perfect for a snowy day in January.

A Teeny Tiny Napoleon.

It's been quite cold today, so I decided to dress Eva in this fleecey footy jumpsuit that Doc's sister sent us; which was good because it'll be too small for her in the next few days.

Doesn't Eva look adorable in these pictures?  Almost angelic in that full length one, right?  In fact this was a brief respite in a day of shouting, not crying or grizzling, just really loud yelling at us.  It felt like we were being berated by a very small dictator.

She has been a horror today, a HORROR.  Still, she's asleep now and tomorrow is another day.

 

It snowed here last week, but tody has been quite pleasant so I was able to open the door to the balcony for a while.  

This good, indeed necessary, because the cats need to go outside occaisionally, or they go a bit nuts.  Edith in particular races from one end of the hall to the other, chasing Nancy or phantoms as the mood takes her.  Nancy is less frenetic, but instead she curls up on top of the cat condo looking put upon.

Today Nancy got to roll around outside and enjoy a bit of sunshine.  I hope she savoured every moment because there is a distinct chance we'll be getting snow again tomorrow.

 

An Unexpected Perk.

Hurricane Sandy probably won't make it's way up the mountain, so we're safe; however, it has pushed the winter into place, so we've had snow today.  Again it's not bad in Asheville, but Doc's university is likely to be canceling classes tomorrow because there is between 5 and 8 inches of snow predicted.  Which means Doc came home unexpectedly this evening! Yay!

 

This Small Victory is Mine!

The temperature has dropped noticably over the last couple of days; and Eva does not approve.  That's the only reason I can come up with for her being so inconsolably grumpy every time I try to put her down, I think she wants to be held so she can leach my body heat. Basically, what I'm saying is that my daughter is a cat or possibly a lizard.  I have been calling her Reptile Brain (Affectionately!  Her other nickname is Milk Breath), so I may have brought this on myself.

Yesterday I didn't ever manage to calm her down long enough for me to have a shower until it just seemed a bit pointless especially as I wasn't going to be leaving the house or seeing anyone anyway, and so I just changed into a warmer set of pajamas.  Today though has been a victory of baby wrangling and time management - I've eaten breakfast before noon, had a shower (AND I washed my hair and put some styling product in it!  I know!) and put on clean clothes that are not designed purely for sleeping in.  

I feel like I have accomplished so much.  It's funny how your goals and standards change isn't it?

Rolling in the Sunshine.

Since moving to Asheville with Doc C and I, Nancy has spent at least an hour or two outside on the balcony pretty much every day.  She's always been pretty vocal in the mornings, but where as she used to be demanding her breakfast, she's now demanding that the door be opened for her.

Nancy's favourite thing in the whole world is to lie on her back in the sunshine, maybe luxuriously washing a paw, and have either Doc C or myself tell her what a good cat she is.  All you have to do is say "Nancy! What a good girl!  Who's a good cat?  Nancy!", and she starts deliriously rolling around on her back.  Ridiculous creature!

In this photo Nancy looks like a ball of lard (Jason's nickname for her, Fat Nance, has never looked more appropriate), but I think that's to do with the angle I took it from, actually she's lost a bit of weight, plays a lot more and is generally looking a lot happier and healthier.

I know being a parent is going to be very different to being a cat owner, but adopting a mangy looking, skin-and-bones cat with some weird behavioural issues and having her blossom in your care into a healthy, affectionate and clearly very happy animal, well, it sort of gives one confidence that you really will be able to keep a child alive.

(Also - No, still no baby! Evalyn has been wriggling around a fair bit today though, so I know she's ok and that's really all I care about.)

Bump : Elevation 6684 Feet.

Today is the last (week) day of the summer holidays for Doc C, and when I was a kid that always meant going out for the day.  In the absence of a National Trust House (I love National Trust Houses and especially National Trust tea rooms!) to visit, we drove to the top of Mount Mitchell and then walked 280 yards to the actual summit - Which, as you can see from the sign, made Evalyn's bump the highest bump East of the Missipi River!

It was very pleasant up there, because it was quite misty and autumnal.  Lovely.  It was very odd to drive back down the mountain and into late summer again.

Cat in a Hole.

Edith keeps climbing into the top chamber of the cat condo - which to my mind must be incredibly warm and uncomfortable at the moment, something like The Hole that prisoners are put in as punishment in POW movies.

In this photo Edith looks particularly sad and put upon, but she really did choose to be there of her own free will.  Daft creature.

Happy Little Cat.

In other news, Nancy is very happy with this warm weather.  Very very happy.

Too Damn Hot.

It is far too hot to blog at the moment.  My brain won't work.

Mostly I'm waddling from one room in the flat to another as the day progresses and the sun moves around the building, I'm constantly hoping to find some difference in temperature, but I think it's mostly psychological.  I have developed a deep attachment for the ceiling fan in the bedroom, and actually just lay beneath it and napped for about five hours yesterday.

Both cats think this weather is heavenly, and are spending most of their time sunbathing on the balcony.  They are weird.

A Very Warm Weekend.

I am very glad that we had plenty of time to pack for this move, because it is TOO HOT to pack more than one small box before stopping for a large glass of water and, possibly, a restorative two hour nap.  At least  I am not whining about it too much and I know this because Doc C has commented several times about how my tolearance for warm weather has improved over the years we have lived here.

This weekend was actually pretty good for heat avoidance.

Saturday we spent at Randy and Laura's for Jasmine's send off to Australia, which was lovely.  There was a cake with a map of Australia on it and everything!  Jasmine is going to be spending a semester in Oz, but her visa is for six months so she might stay a bit longer to explore under her own steam.  I am so excited for her, it is going to be a proper adventure whilst still helping her to get her undergraduate degree - Bonus!

On Sunday it was as hot as the surface of the sun.  I am sure of it.  It was desperately uncomfortable in the house, and we basically both ended up fitfully napping under the living room ceiling fan, until Doc C finally snapped and demanded we go to the cinema just to get some air-condtioning.  There was nothing we really desperately wanted to see, but "The Amazing Spiderman" will always be pertinent to our interests so we watched that.  Eva seemed to particularly enjoy it, and was extremely wriggly through out; for once she actually carried on bumping around after Doc put his hand on my tummy so he got to feel her moving too.

Evasive Action.

The heat wave is less intense than it was, but I'm still not very comfortable with the temperatures.  This afternoon I suddenly felt both far too hot and exhausted; fortunately I've been observing the Queen of coping with heat, Edith Cavell-Cat.

I slid the coffee table out of the way so I could spread a blanket on the ground and lie directly underneath the ceiling fan, then I took off my clothes and ended up napping, curled up on the floor in just my underwear for an hour.  Best nap ever.

I couldn't have done that in the office.

Hot Cat on a Window Sill.

Heatwave.  Too hot for me and I hate to think how Edith must feel in her fur coat.  She does occaisionally enjoy baking her tummy though (this photo is from a couple of days ago), so maybe it's not as bad as I'm imagining.

An Ice Cream Sundae.

So on Friday, not four days ago, I was in Philadelphia sitting outside in the sunshine eating ice cream.

It was snowing here yesterday, and it's really not that much warmer today.

I also ate a lot of salad, fresh vegetables and fruit whilst we were away - It wasn't just ice cream! I only have photo evidence of some of the fruit though.

 

It's Going to be a Comedian, isn't it?

Ok, so you know how I'm expecting a baby at the end of August, right? (woot!) Well, the lease on our current house runs out in mid-July and whilst it's a nice house for a couple and their two cats, it's not really perfect for a nuclear family. At one point we were quite seriously talking about moving all the clothes from our bedroom's walk-in wardrobe and putting the baby in there for a few months.

What? It's not like it would have known (until we showed it the photos obviously), the wardrobe/nursery would have been right next to my side of the bed (so convenient), and there is a door so we could keep the cats off the kid at night.

Anyway, we are probably going to move house instead. Six weeks before I pop. In the middle of the hottest time of the year here.

I tell you, this kid's timing is impeccable.

Blossoming Paper.

It's snowing quite hard, and my office is practically empty (Doc says we should leave at lunchtime) - So, naturally, I'm sitting at my desk learning how to make origami cherry blossom.

Focus.

Another picture from Saturday morning which, again, illustrates the magic of human eyeballs.

This is a photo taken through the Mini's glass sunroof of the ice crystals that had formed rather charmingly on it. My eyes were easily able to focus on them, and see them as white - but I could not get the camera's auto-focus to understand what I wanted it to look at; so it sensibly decided it must be the tree branches overhead. The ice crystals that are the most in focus also look dark grey against the blue sky, instead of the frosty mix of white and clear that they looked like to me.

That's ok Little Camera, it's still a pretty picture!

Autumn Morning.

There are some mornings when both of your precious darling cats have thrown up in various places, and, whilst you clean that up, the kitchen fills with smoke because your breakfast bagel has burnt in the toaster.

It is particularly important on those mornings to take a deep breath, and also to appreciate a moment of unexpected beauty when you walk around a corner to see misty sunlight shining on autumn leaves.

Winter is coming.

Much as the end of Winter is signalled by a specific Groundhog leaving it's burrow, so too is the on-set of colder weather heralded by Edith Cavell-Cat's re-discovery of the cat tower.

At least, it is in our house.

 

Weekend Status Report.

The Good: I am reading Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and loving it. It's sort of a murder mystery with academic overtones, but whodunnit is never any sort of a puzzle. It's gripping.

The Bad: The weather this weekend has been really humid and sticky, my least favourite kind of weather personally. I cannot wait for Autumn proper to kick in with some nice crisp mornings.

The Ugly: The cream that the dermatologist prescribed causes a rash to flare up on my chest, and so it suddenly feels as though every single t-shirt I own has a scoop neck to it which hits me in just exactly the wrong spot. Yesterday I discovered that wearing a scoop neck backwards creates a boatneck at the front which conceals and protects the itchy bumpiness. This will look intentional with most of my tops; the exception being henleys, so if you should happen to notice that I have a row of buttons down my back, can we just pretend it's a new fashion trend from Europe or something?

The Fabulous: Monday is Labour Day, it's like Bank Holiday Weekend, and I have finally treated myself to a copy of "Portal 2" so I intend to be spending several hours of my day off in my pajamas playing that, with occasional breaks for coffee and toast.

Half Awake.

This is, I think, the first summer when I haven't taken a week or two off, and that, combined with it being blatantly too warm, is really hitting me hard - in other words I am sodding knackered!

Yesterday I felt very tired and headachey, and I tried to just push through it, but even after a shower and breakfast I felt no better; so I called in sick (well, e-mailed) put in ear plugs, and promptly went back to sleep for 5 hours. Today I went in, and somehow dragged my carcass through the day but I am very tired now.

I am still dressed for some sort of exercise though, some pilates and at least 20 minutes of Zumba will get my blood circulating and maybe then I'll feel less sluggish. It's worth a go, right? Besides, I am determined to lose ten more pounds, and sitting around just isn't going to accomplish that goal.

More's the pity.

Zonked Out.

...hmph...what?.. Asleep? On the sofa? Since I got home five hours ago?

Well, yes.

It was a combination of the new sofa's memory foam comfortableness, the pint of Guinness I had after work and it being a very warm day.

Too Damn Hot (Well, It's the Humidity Really).

It is far too warm for me to do anything at the moment apart from watch television and compose an internal complaint monologue about how humid it is. This does not make for interesting blogging (unless you want re-caps of SyFy shows), but it does keep me from eating my own body weight in ice cream.

Third Day of the Weekend.

Today I did a zumba routine, cleaned both bathrooms, battled gladiators (and won! Roar!), washed three loads of laundry, played petanque with Doc C, read half a book, "walked" the cats, and helped to recapture the cats after they both escaped in separate prison breaks.

Not bad considering it was the first day we've felt the need to turn the ceiling fan on, because it was the first warm summer day and I do not do well in heat.

All in all, an memorable Memorial Day -slash- Bank Holiday Monday.

Cold Snap Saps.

It's been cold and rainy all day, and that sudden change in weather has made me really tired. I mean it's only just gone 9 and I've already brushed my teeth and got into bed.

Admittedly I have commandeered Doc's iPad (he was given it by his department, but only after I convinced him to actually accept the thing) to watch "RuPaul's Drag U".

Still tomorrow will be warmer, apparently, and then maybe I'll find some energy.

I Dream of Germs.

Last night I dreamt that I felt really ill, and was trying to decide if I felt well enough to go into the office. It was very confusing to wake up feeling totally healthy.

Anticipating warm weather I got dressed in capris, a t-shirt and a thin cardigan; I was just putting on my shoes when Doc C told me it was actually going quite chilly. So then I had to get changed in about thirty seconds flat before we left the house.

That was still the best way round for doing things, I'd much rather be healthy and somewhat warmly dressed in jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and a cotton blazer.

However, I didn't know the central heating was turned off over the weekend, so it was bloody freezing. Hopefully tonight I will dream a pattern for really warm socks that can be knitted up very quickly.

Rain, Rain, Go Away.

There was an incredibly dramatic thunderstorm last night, which seemed to start the very moment my bedside light was turned off. The whole of the patch of sky we could see from our bedroom window would light up in a sheet, and there seemed to be a lot more lightening than thunder; not that that made it any easier to sleep through, because the light was quite startling. The cats were very unsettled, and couldn't decide if they wanted to be with us, or if a really good hiding place would be safer.

Eventually I fell asleep, so I don't know if the storm carried on all night but was just less impressive. I do know that it all really kicked off again at about 5:30, and that the cats were back on the bed by that time. I looked at the weather report app on my iPod, the next three days had the lightening icon, and the three days after that are all illustrated with the heavy rain icon. With that weather prediction in mind for the week, clearly this evening is the perfect time for us to notice an ominous and very loud creaking that seems to be coming from the roof.

Slightly Chilled.

Today's weather was mostly notable for a twenty degree drop in temperature, which meant it felt really quite cold, and, even though I thought I had dressed for the conditions (a long sleeve dress, tights and tall boots), by the end of the working day I felt physically tired from just being a bit chilly all day. Naturally this called for Gentlemen's Relish on toast with a nice hot cup of tea and the second part of a time-travel adventure that I am enjoying very much.

After that I spent some time this evening decorating my Sack Person's Pod in "Little Big Planet" in a loosely steam-punk motif. If the Play Station Network was up I could take a screen shot and post it for you, but as it is you'll just have to take me at my word when I say it was half an hour very well spent; and that was before I even started playing the game itself.

My feet still haven't fully defrosted, but I have slippers on, with a fleecy blanket over the top and Edith sitting on top of that, so I hope to be less zombie-like by the time I go to bed.

Philadelphia 2011!

Philadelphia! It took thirteen hours to get here, with one traffic jam, a detour through Washington's rush hour traffic and a flaming eighteen wheeler at a nice safe distance on the other side of the highway (one of the wheels exploded when we went past - which was pretty exciting!)What is with the heavy rain every time I come to visit you? It does not make a girl feel very welcome you know.

However I do appreciate that you are clearly the place for conferences, as my friend Danny was also here and I haven't seen him in years so it was lovely to have lunch and catch up with him.

After lunch, I went to Blick to buy art supplies; Lush to buy moisturiser etc; and then Grocery for a vegan wrap and a cupcake.

Now I'm back at the hotel, hoping to dry off before going for curry with my husband and other philosophers.

Ah Philadelphia! Love you!

Shake It 'Til You're Warm.

It rained all day today, so by the evening I felt cold and miserable. I came home and had a nice hot cup of tea whilst curled up under a blanket with Edith, but that didn't thaw me out.

Clearly the cure for this was to to do a Zumba workout for 25 minutes. After that I was MUCH warmer, in fact my biceps were toasty-warm to the touch (Doc was impressed!), and I was much happier because it turns out that dancing around your living room is fun.

Ok. Fine. I am enjoying exercising regularly.

There, I said it.

Repetitively Beautiful.

I'm aware that I've been taking fewer pictures than usual, but it's that age old complaint: It's been snowing since the dawn of time & everything looks the same every bloody day.

With that in mind, please forgive a second photo of the Stick Cockerel in the snow. This one is different though, because there is a bit less snow so Mr Stick himself isn't frosted and you can see bird tracks around him. Plus there is a pinkish tinge from the setting sun.

Did I mention the snow?

Nancy Loves Sunshine.

 

Today I wanted to read, so I moved the comfy chair and the ottoman to face the window to get the best light. It occurred to me that the ottoman in a nice bright patch of sunshine would be appreciated by a little stumpy cat, so I scooped Nancy off the bed, carried her downstairs and encouraged her to sunbathe. Nancy loves sunshine, and this winter hasn't had very many sunny days for her to enjoy. She had a nice luxurious wash, and now she's twitching a bit in her sleep. Very cute.

Nancy has also recently discovered spooning with me is the best place to sleep at night, and whilst she starts off neatly compacted and taking up no space at all, she definitely does spread out over the course of a night; so then the sleeping me moves to give her more space, and that means Doc quite often wakes up to find himself perilously close to falling out of bed. Of course we all agree that this means we need to get a larger bed, to accommodate the space needs of both sleeping humans and felines.

This post is making me sound like a crazy cat lady, isn't it? I really don't go out of my way to pamper the cats, although I'm pretty sure Doc C wouldn't agree with that!

 

Do Not Taunt the Weather Gods (even if you are an atheist).

Naturally the weather read my post yesterday, cackled to itself and decided to show me who exactly is boss around here.

It actually did cackle, which was that single roll of thunder that very dramatically rumbled as I was getting ready for work.  It was raining then, but by the time we left the house it was heavy sleet.  Over the morning it felt like every time I turned to look out of the window behind me the weather had changed again, and the huge snowflakes that turned up mid-morning built up impressively quickly. So first my doctor's appointment was postponed by the surgery until next week and then afternoon classes were cancelled; so we left early, got some lunch and came home.  Where Doc C and I curled up in our comfy cave and slept for the rest of the working day, we literally woke up at the time we usually get back from work.

It's been a very odd day.

Weather Augers.

This week we are getting very mixed signals from the weather prognosticators, who all say different things from one day to the next and seem to be trying to contradict each other as much as possible.  A comparison reading of leads a girl to wonder: Will it snow? Will it be the worst snow storm this winter? Will it rain? Will it rain and snow? Will it be an ice storm? Will it (and I really hate this portmanteau word) snizzle? Will it just be normal for January? What the hell is normal for January anyway?

I am exhausted just reading about it.

Of course there are two main difficulties, first, one's wardrobe must be considered for all of the possible weather permutations and, second, it's just such a palaver if it snows a fair amount, but not enough for a snow day to be declared.  Stupid weather.  Pick one type of precipitation then stick to it, and do so at a sensible time, so that we all know what we are supposed to be doing of a morning.

grumble... grumble... grumble My feet are cold! grumble... grumble... grumble...

Tree Buds and Video Games.

We went out for brunch this morning, and then went for a walk to work it off again.

I noticed there were several trees in bud, which is really shortsighted on the part of the trees because we are expecting another bad cold snap next week. I was taking photos of the buds when Doc C pointed out a really tiny nest. We couldn't work out if it was a bird nest or an insect nest, but it's pretty impressive that it's so well built that it has survived the whole winter so far.

Then we came home and I had a lovely nap with Edith in the loft.  Then Doc C napped with both cats whilst I played "Little Big Planet 2", and it is SO cool. There is an whole level made of cake, Batternburg Cake, where you can grab and throw blobs of jam. Plus there is another great soundtrack, which includes the disco classic "A Fifth of Beethoven" which is so damn funky.

It has been a fun Saturday.

A Practical Fashion Notion.

Given the option I would rather be too cold than too hot, but I am getting a bit tired of feeling like there is a constant chilly draft down my neck.  My shoulders just feel uncomfortably clammy, like I'm wearing a t-shirt that isn't quite dry on the back.  Ugh.

What do you think my chances are of training on of the cats to let me wear them like a stole?  My cat Morag used to happily be carried around like that and it was very cosy, but I suspect Edith would find it undignified and Nancy will be convinced it's a plot to kill her (Nancy thinks taking out the recycling is a plot to kill her, she's what you might call jumpy).

Maybe I need to knit myself a cape with an interior pocket to put a hot water bottle in.  That would probably give me an oddly shaped hunch, but that's a small price to pay for finally thawing out my scapula.

Winter Sunset.

On the way home some enormous fluffy snowflakes landed on the windscreen and you could see the pattern of the ice crystals really clearly.  I tried to take a photo, but it was really difficult to focus on it so the white spec that I actually captured in the shot turned out to be the moon.

I still had my camera out when we hit the stretch of road that faces the sunset in the evening.  So I snapped some pictures of the gorgeous orangey pink horizon instead.  It's definitely one thing that North Carolina does really very well, and I particularly like the colours against the monotones of the telegraph wires, the mountains and the snow.

Yes, if it wasn't for that bloody Hot Tub sign on the right I'd be really quite chuffed with this photo.

Snow Wednesday.

The University was closed today because of the snow, so I read a lot and Doc did a lot of work; whilst the cats mainly found new and exciting ways to sit on me and sleep.  This morning I woke up with both felines snuggled up to me, and whilst Edith has been following me around all day, Nancy was quite content to make herself a nest out of my pajamas and just stay there for the past 9 hours.

After lunch Doc remembered he had an appointment for a check-up, so we did venture in to town and made a run to the supermarket to buy more staple foods for the larder.  I never want to be in the position where we are even close to being stranded with no tea in the house.

I also took this opportunity to post my Mum's birthday present!  Which means it's only going to be a month or so late!  I am TERRIBLE at getting to the post office when I have a parcel to be sent out.  This one came to Boston with us, had one or two things added to it, and then came all the way back home to sit on our coffee table.  It is a well traveled gift already, and it's still got an ocean to cross.

Skull Cupcake Tray.

After breakfast this morning I washed up the skull-shaped cupcake baking sheet that I bought in Boston, so I could try it out.  I was hoping they would work out well enough to take to Randy and Laura's when we went over to play "Arkham Asylum".

The snow got worse and worse, so first of all our game day had to be postponed until next weekend, and then we started to think we were going to be snowed in for a while.  I thought I'd make the cupcakes anyway, but then Doc C told me we didn't have any eggs, so I couldn't.

Now this was a worry, because we then realised we didn't have a whole bunch of other stuff we might need if we did get stuck in the house; like toothpaste and cat litter.  Yikes.  Fortunately there was a break in the blizzard for about a couple of hours, and we were able to go shopping.  

Tomorrow there will be skull shaped cakes.

Snow Bird.

Our house' mascot, the Stick Cockerel, is still outside on the porch and playing in the snow quite happily.  Here we see him making a Snow Angel, or perhaps having a little nap after a busy afternoon of sledging.

It has snowed all day, and started getting heavier at about 3 so we came home early and immediately had a nap ourselves.  The first week back at work after a holiday is just exhausting, isn't it?

Fire and Snow.

It's supposed to start snowing this evening and keep snowing until Saturday; in other words, it will snow all day Friday.

Hello there gas fireplace!

I suspect you will be spending an awful lot of time with me and the cats this weekend.

Wrapped Up Warm.

The weather in Boston has been as predicted, that is to say, OMG SNOW!

Our B&B is toasty warm though, the thermostat is set at 75, which is much too hot for us to be able to sleep actually so we've had the windows open every night we've been here.  The first night we were here we also bundled the duvet off the bed and put it on the chair, and when we came back the next day it had been put back on the bed.  So the next night I re-made the bed with a thin cotton throw and put the duvet on top of the wardrobe with the spare pillows.  That was perfectly comfortable to sleep with, and the next morning I re-made the bed to indicate that this was a conscious bedding choice on our part.  There was no change that day, but the next we found that our chosen bed-spread was swapped out for a light weight but fleecy blanket, and the cotton throw was missing entirely from the room!  We joked that the cleaning crew were worried that we were a bit soft in the head and didn't know better than to freeze when there were plenty of blankets in easy reach.

This evening, after we came back from sorting out Doc C's conference stuff, an electric heater had been put in our room as well.

There is simply no way that we are going to be allowed to be cold this Christmas.  I'm starting to think there is a team of Jewish mothers keeping our room in order.

Boxing Day in Boston.

I've always liked Boxing Day, because it's the day when you get to play with all your presents and eat any food that's been left over.  Of course that's a traditional Boxing Day in your own home, so it's slightly different when you are staying in a B&B in Boston; what you do then is get a tattoo and shop for cameras.  It's not a tradition as such, but I really think we ought to consider this as a staple of the holiday period.

I made an appointment with the same tattoo artist that did my key about a week before we came, and I'd already e-mailed him some images to give him an idea of the design I wanted.  It's an open book on my left wrist, and I am particularly tickled to think it was paid for by the Christmas money given to me by my colleagues in the English Department.  That is just dead appropriate, don't you think?

I also had enough money to get a new digital camera, so there has been much on-line researching which finally led me to go to Best Buy and purchase a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5.  Naturally I couldn't remember any specific detail of the information I'd read once I was actually inside the shop (and Best Buy employees are notably lack lustre in the day after Christmas), but I did know what I wanted the camera to do and the sort of price range I was looking for.  In the end I got the shop floor model, so it was on sale and then further discounted which meant I could also afford to buy a 4GB memory card for it.  Nice.  There will be no photo left untaken!

Now it's snowing, with the forecast being for it to be a blizzard; in fact the amount of snow we are expecting is being discussed in feet rather than inches.  Sounds like the perfect time for me to hole up in our room and work my way through the operating manual for my new camera, whilst periodically washing and moisturising the fresh ink on my wrist.

Little House in the Snow.

We did walk around the pond today, so technically I have actually left the house.  The house in this photo is our house, and that little red dot to the left is the Mini.

The pond has, as you can see, frozen over and I really hope the fish are ok.  They must be used to this though, right?

 

 

Third Day Itch.

We were snowed in again today, which after the third day is starting to wear a bit thin frankly.  Today we really did try to leave, but we only managed to drive about 10 feet from our front door before the Mini's wheels lost traction in the powdery snow and just started to spin.

It was too chilly to sit still, so I baked cookies, deep cleaned the kitchen sink and put up that insulating cling-film stuff on the windows in the bedroom and bathroom; all whilst watching a SyFy marathon of really bad horror movies.

Hopefully we can get in tomorrow.

The Traditional Pie of Christmas.

The blizzard finally made it's appearance, and so the University was closed today - Snow Day!  Woo!

I'd made mincemeat yesterday, following a recipe in Nigella's "How to Be A Domestic Goddess" which is really easy to make and delicious.  It's cooking apples, raisins, currants, almonds, lemon juice, zest, mixed spices, sugar and cider.  Unless you forgot to buy cider, in which case why not improvise with that bottle of Chardonnay that's been lurking in the fridge?  Also don't forget the rum, but you can skip the suggested cherries if you like.  Basically you put everything in a large saucepan, simmer it until it goes pulpy and there you have it.

Today was clearly pastry making day, so we could have some mince pies and a nice cup of when Doc C had finished his grading quota for the day.  These were gone almost as soon as they were cool enough to eat, but I've still got half the dough left and two-thirds of the mincemeat so there will be more tomorrow!  YUM!

A Blow to the Christmas Spirit.

Today Doc C and I were on somewhat of a mission, we made a list of everything we needed to buy, loaded all the recycling and rubbish into the car and then we went to town.  The list was mainly things that we might need whilst snowed in, which there is not a sign of so far I have to say, and included such necessities as whiskey, apples and draught excluding stuff.

We completed our mission within the alloted time frame and then came home to put up the lights on the veranda before the hotly anticipated arrival of snow.  

Whilst helping Doc to wire the lights through the kitchen window, I managed to hit myself in the head.  If this were a sit-com it would have been something seasonally appropriate, but in real life it was actually a very large wok which I knocked off it's hook and onto my head.  Doc came running in, and made me sit down then he checked me for any signs of concussion, but I think I'm ok.  Bit of a headache, but that's about it.  Edith kissed it better, well, really she just likes the taste of my hair product I think so it was more an affectionate grooming.

We were planning to go to a friend's party this evening, but the wok to the head took the party mood right out of me, so we stayed at home instead.  I put up some of the draught excluders, but I've left the rest to do in the morning.  Oddly putting up insulation is far less fun then putting up decorations, weird that eh?

Friday Night - Before the Predicted Snow Storm.

We're going to my Department's Christmas Party this evening, which should be quite fun actually.  It's a very good thing that it's this evening, because this weekend we have been promised a blizzard.  In fact the University has already re-scheduled the exams that were supposed to take place on Monday to Wednesday, I'm assured that this is completely without precedent so this is clearly going to be some serious snow.

I'm already planning the supplies we'll need to buy tomorrow morning to survive the predicted long snow-pocalypse weekend - Mostly this involves having all the ingredients required to bake mince-pies and gingerbread houses, but I also have my eye on some draught excluding caulking cord for the window frames.  I am determined to stay warm this year, and I've been reading this blog post about things you can do to keep heat in when you live in a rented home with an eye to making that a reality.  Of course my top tips to staying warm over the winter is plenty of tea and a cat or two scattered about the place.

How Tuesdays Should Always Be.

If there is anything better than coming home early from work, it's coming home early from work, having a nap with your loving pets and being woken by the smell of banana bread baking in the kitchen.

Also, in other news, it snowed a bit.