Well, not sure if you have read the weather report for up here, but it has been below freezing for a while now. Last week our pipes froze and our landlords spent almost two hours at night in 15 degree weather using a heat gun on the pipes to thaw the ice. They were successful and the water shot through at 12 a.m. just as I was falling to sleep. I got up and danced about, glad to not have to use the huge 10 gallon jugs of water we took from work.

It got "warm" yesterday, and all the layers of frost on the windows quickly melted off. I was fascinated by the amazingly complex patterns the frost would create: huge plumes of feathery frost, my favorite, a swirling pattern of tendrils that looked like sutres, a checkerboard of fuzzy diamond marks. Each window different and spectacular!

Outside the bird feeder is quiet and still. We filled it half way yesterday morning and it's empty already!! The birds were busy at work squirreling it all away in preparation for the next few days. The weather reports are daunting: a new artic cold front is coming in from Canada tonight, bringing with it even colder air. How is that possible? We were going down to five below every night during the weekend!!

We have plans for using the oven every day. Today we have a roast beef planned, and whole wheat bread. That should total a good six hours of the oven being on at least at 350 degrees. It really does help. And we need it!