Saturday Slightly Frigid

My fingers have thawed out, so I can type.  I know it's colder in North Dakota, but it's still pretty cold here.  And, I like cold, clear weather.

Our present conditions are bordering on brutal.  Yesterday, I watched doggies alternating on three legs to give one set of ice-cold foot pads a break.

When they weren't in the three-legged stance, they were running like the wind in the wind.  To lie down in the field like a good Fido would have been life-threatening.

Doggies spent most of the day inside---either in the heated garage or, in Foster and Todd's case, the house.  Nobody complained.

Yesterday I also observed Lily standing on three legs, holding her right rear foot in the air and displaying an expression of anguish.  

Lily has sensitive hooves anyway, so the cold was definitely getting to her.

The horses love their cozy barn stalls at night.  And, speaking of the barn, the metal door handle broke yesterday afternoon as I was trying to urge the big door over heaving, frozen ground.  So, Bill will go to town today and see if he can find a replacement. 

Cold weather requires extra muscle power (sometimes the whole body) while trying to shove the door to its open and closed positions. 

On another cold note, while cleaning the horses' stalls this morning, my left hand started numbing up, and that was while wearing gloves and shoveling.  

So, it's a tad colder than it needs to be. 

It's times like this that I really love our Vermont wood stove.  The little stove in the living room keeps this house as cozy as can be, and I am very thankful for that.  

At the Great Northern Road home----where the bitter north wind would whip up for about a mile over open fields and pound our place with fiendish fury---- our wood stove did not treat us so well. 

I don't miss that.  The kids especially hated it cuz their bedrooms---turned iceboxes---were located on the north end. 

The lure of our warm and comfy living room here at the Lovestead even kept us from going out to dinner last night.  That proves it's cold cuz we like our Friday nights of eating out. At the other home, we probably would not have skipped the dining-out routine in favor of going to some place warm. 

Still, even that place was better than what I remember in the good old days at North Boyer when the blizzards would seeminingly whip all that frigid fresh air right through the insulation-impaired walls into our farmhouse.  

I'm betting we endured several instances of seeing our breath inside the house in those days. I can vividly recall hunkering down in my bed, not even allowing my nose outside the blankets AND still feeling like I was freezing to death. 

And, then there was the time-----the coldest I ever remember in my lifetime---when my cousins came over from Washington on the train to ski at Schweitzer.  During the night someone inadvertently left the back door open or maybe the wind blew it open.  

It was minus 40 that night and probably pretty close to that same temperature inside our house.

I think it was so cold that night nobody had the nerve to even crawl out of their bedding, so the door stayed open much longer than needed. 

Some brave soul finally got up, discovered the open door, closed it and announced to all the other cold cowards that we, indeed, has come close to freezing to death. 

We instantly felt a lot warmer once we knew that.  I don't think my cousins got to ski during that trip. 

Anyway, today I'll probably bake some cookies and deliver some books up there in even colder Moose Valley.  Mary said she wants to carry my books in her gift shop, so I'll be happy to oblige. 

I thought I'd be playing on my new computer, but time got the best of the wizard in his workshop yesterday, and the system is not quite ready.  So, I'll pick it up Monday and get some Christmas stuff done over the weekend.

I've decided to give in on the stress of writing and inserting Christmas letters in all my cards this year.  Most of the folks to whom I send cards are online anyway, so I'll write the annual letter later and post it on the blog.

The Christmas-card project---with all its stages of stamping, addressing and writing something in each card---might be a bit less stressful without the added stages of writing the letter, running off the copies, folding them and inserting.

Call me lazy.  I won't take it personally.  

One piece of news to share today:  Willie is working as assistant varsity basketball coach this year with head coach Tyler Haines.  The Bulldogs are 2-0 after another convincing victory last night at the annual Pendleton, Ore., tournament.  

They play again today, so this is definitely a "Bulldog" day.  Let's hope they come out of the tournament as champs.  That will make the long bus ride back to Sandpoint very worth it---especially for Willie who's been fighting off the aches and pains of flu.

And, of course, the ZAGS play tonight:  New Mexico State in Spokane in the Kennel at 8 p.m., available on ESPNU.   GO ZAGS! 

Stay warm!