Foggy and 42 Degrees

Not a very inspiring day outside, gray upon gray, as the lake seems to be melting, as is the snow on the lawn, and puddles are beginning to form in areas where the snow has been beaten down by the rain.  Thaws are harbingers of spring but bring very unattractive days, the mud and dirt from snow plows, the black and white photograph like days.

We had the Cassell's for dinner last night, as they stopped by on their way back to Hudson.  They stayed for a couple of hours, which was great, and seemed in no great hurry to get home.  We had a great dinner of baked ziti, homemade Italian bread, and brownies with ice cream for dessert.  We found out that their youngest, Pat, has decided to go to WRA, a surprise to both of us because he seemed set on the high school a year ago.  He seems so grown up, able to articulate why he preferred the Academy, that he had felt the high school would just be more of the same and Reserve offered him a new experience.  Barb and Mike had just gotten back from a family trip to Alta, Utah, an old time ski resort, which they loved.  Family dining, amazing skiing, everything they hoped it would be and nice because all four of them were together for a week before Ian headed back to school.

We have nothing we 'must' do to today, though I think we will probably head to Weggies to get groceries for the week.  It's going to be difficult to enjoy the outdoors today, so I assume we will head to the gym for a workout later.

We stayed up for the Oscars last night and found them fairly predictable.  I cannot say either of us like James Franco much as a host  but Anne Hathaway has charm and energy, which made kept the show  going.  We still think Winter's Bone was the best picture, though we also liked The King's Speech as well.  It's amazing how articulate some of the winners are, Colin Firth and Natalie Portman, for example, whereas some are inarticulate.  The night seemed to belong to the Brits, who won lots of the various awards.  I was interested in the affection and respect that the actors/actresses felt towards their directors, suggesting that they were geniuses: David Fincher for The Social Network, Christopher Nolan for Inception, and I think Christopher Lolyd for The King's Speech.  And Harvey Weinstein always seems to be in the background, financing and supporting great films through Miramar.  I did not think any of the songs were memorable, a weak year for music.  Still, it's fun to see the glitz and glamour one night a year.  I do miss Billy Crystal...no one has yet to match his performance.

It's been cloudy most of the day, but now, around 5:00, it's clearing up just a bit and getting colder, dropping down to 15 tonight.  Weather  here at the lake is so arbitrary as everything is melting today but they are calling for black ice tomorrow.