No Surprise---Snow and Colder

7:15

Up at 7:10 to a dusting of snow on the ground,  birds at the newly filled feeders, a quiet lake, and 30º outside but no paper.  Rats.  Looking ahead for the next week, the forecast is for snow every day.  We like that to be honest; we just have to get back in the hiking/walking mode which we abandoned during Thanksgiving holidays.

Yesterday was unseasonably warm in the morning and much colder in the afternoon.  So we both worked outside some in the morning, washing windows on the outside, bringing in screens for the winter, putting up a green plastic fence around some of the bushes to protect them from the deer, raking some wet leaves.  And I took another trip to the Honda dealer, to get a check up for my car. Their diagnosis differed drastically from the previous dealers analysis which makes me think neither really know anything for sure. One dealer mentioned I ought get new brake and fuel lines; the other never said it was a problem, then when I asked about it, they took me under the car and showed me why they felt it was not a problem.  Who should I listen too?  The one who will cost me less money, of course.  So I will marshall on with my two old Hondas, following Honda's recommendations for oil changes, etc, and keep any eye on chassis and other important frame parts.

When I got home, Evie had cleaned the front porch, vacuumed the downstairs, and had been busy with spring cleaning though it was late fall.   The house looks great, ready for the winter, for us to enjoy for the next five or six months.  And it's nice to see the birds are back, at both the kitchen and front windows, mostly nuthatches, chickadees, sparrows, and tufted titmouses, with an occasional woodpecker.  They are all greedy little birds, quick to take advantage of a free meal.

Holiday Dinner With Mc Clures

Our Welcome To The McClures

We spent our afternoon tuckered out from the morning, reading, watching some TV, before getting ready to go to the Mc Clures for dinner, another welcome evening out for Evie who is enjoying three days off from cooking (tonight we are going to the Jamestown Christmas Parade and out to dinner). The McClure's decorated for Christmas, with lights up on their new tree outside, a small tree up in their living room, with other decorations around the house, giving their cottage a warm and welcoming atmosphere, the kind we all enjoy at Christmas time.  I think it takes us back to our childhood, to our parents decorating the house for Christmas, and our anticipation of Santa and the presents to come. Linda out did herself with the meal, the kind both Evie and I love, beef bourguignon, with mashed potatoes, peas and a salad, the perfect meal for a cold, wintry night.  We both ate too much but it was so good we could not resist. Where went those vows of self discipline at the holiday dinner table?  For dessert, Linda made a 45 second chocolate chip cookies in a cup which, with a dollop of ice cream, was a sweet ending to our night.  We won't see them again till after Christmas as they are heading back to PA today.  It was a fun night with our good friends!

Ron's Favorite Drinking Photo From Germany