A Wicked Cold Trip and Quite a Few Holidays

Yeah, it looks all magical but don't let that fool you!  I'm just trying to find a way to enjoy the endless white blobs tumbling from the sky...
And speaking of fools, guess who was crazy enough to brave the dangerous low temperatures and outlandishly high winds to drive to New York state and take a train into New York City on Sunday? Artists will do anything to open their mouths in public and yap about their work! I was a-feared that Bob (mostly the sensible one) would say "Ix-Nay" to our plans to go to NYC, but he was game and I adore him for so supportive. We (obviously) made it there and back so there must be some truth to the rumor that God protects fools, drunk and artists.
Lookee here:

This wasn't even the worst! It was 8 below one morning but my camera battery went dead and I couldn't find the extra battery and charger (plugged into the bedroom wall, behind a painting). I debated drawing a picture of the negative reading, but thought no one would believe it- sort of an "artist's rendering". But there you have it! Evidence! (as if we needed any).
The gallery talk was great. I had asked Ellen (artist/friend/gallerist) to not ask me to speak first, so I could gauge what the other artists said and how they said it. I needn't have worried as we went alphabetically (I'm always last) and I quickly realized that we were all on the same page and we all sounded very erudite and like we knew what we were doing. It was fun and well worth risking frostbite and death through exposure. (Don't ask about the walk back from the train to the truck...)

Maybe because the day before was Valentine's Day and Bob and I were warm and fueled by love and delicious food, but it was a really great weekend. We then celebrated Mardi Gras/ Fat Tuesday a day early as more awful weather was planned for Tuesday. It didn't really happen but is any one out there sorry we didn't get another foot of snow?

The First Days of Our Fourth Year

Today is the fourth anniversary of our closing on the house. The hideous weather certainly reminds me of that day! Very cold and loads of snow. Ugh! But we are happy in our home...
It is 9 degrees outside, but there is that ever-lovin' windchill factor to make things merry and bright. Tonight is supposed to be even colder. No wonder my brain shuts down.
Some people shut down in extreme heat. I dunno; I kind of like the flip side of the thermometer. I get off on looking at the mercury rise and saying, "Wow! It's a 100 degrees!" But the cold? I'm a wimp and want to crawl back into bed.
This is the first day in at least a year that Jules and I didn't even go on a walk. We began up the driveway, but it was so cold that Jules started lifting his feet in the air and limping; possibly hypothermia, probably melodrama so we turned around and played in the backyard as best we could.
And don't tell Maggie that she looks a bit like a sofa from yesteryear in her hand-me-down Rhino horse rug. Poor little Mexican Pony had icicles on her eyelashes and looked miserable. I still had the old (and significantly tattered from the teeth of malevolent ponies) blanket that Crispin (remember him?) used to wear at the horse farm. I trussed Maggie all up in it; she has obviously been blanketed before as she didn't miss a beat. It maybe be a bit large, as Crispin was leggier than her, but I tightened up all the straps and she looked quite snug and quite a lot warmer. Of course, then she tried to roll in it as it felt unfamiliar, but I think come nightfall, she'll appreciate the extra layer. (Two hours later, she's still wearing it as evidenced in the photo above, so I think she'll be fine overnight).
And just to prove that I don't waste time when I have the accidental day off: No sirree!! I put me unexpected time to good studio use and got a jump on that new project that's been a little slow in the start up side. I also played several hundred rounds of Zuma and achieved "Sun God 5" status... something to be proud of in the New Year!

Wait a minute! That's from "Adventure" level... let me find "Gauntlet".

There it is! See? believe me now?