BIRTHDAY

It's a good thing I visited the local library yesterday to borrow their eReader (something new to play with!). Today was not a day I'd enjoy driving even that short distance.

Snow overnight followed by rain meant that the pines and spruces were soaking wet and their branches were hanging low. Terri wasn't keen to stay outside getting a cold shower on her back; nor was I. She decided it was a good day to drape herself across my lap and sleep. When she was dreaming, her feet twitched excitedly.

Being somewhat hedonistic, I baked myself a Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake for a warm evening dessert. It was so fluffy it almost floated through the air! Surely something so light couldn't have many calories? ;-) Terri and Flower were interested in the cake's scent so I let Terri have a tiny bit. Flower got some catnip.

Many things to be thankful for on this damp winter day: My hairy pals who keep me warm and loved, a house with a big yard in a climate that doesn't have too extreme temperatures or storms, etc.

WHO KNEW?

Cats can be just as naughty as dogs or more so! I take Terri outside to play for as long as the weather allows me so she won't feel shut-in and get restless.

This generally works out well but there are days when it's too cold and the snow is covered in an icy glaze so I refuse to go outside with her.

Being a velcro dog, she doesn't stay out to play. There have been a few evenings when she's gone wild with various cardboard containers. We sometimes play fetch for a while and that pleases her (I toss a toy down the hallway).

On the whole, she's a VERY GOOD dog, never chewing inappropriate items -- unlike Flower, the cat.

Flower has been driving me crazy lately. Not surprisingly, she has no interest in going outside longer than 5 minutes, even on the warmest winter days. I don't blame her. The problem is that lately she's been feeling rambunctious from lack of exercise. I roll various types of small balls down the hallway but she isn't interested in chasing them. I jerk her toy at the end of a bamboo stick for her but she only plays for a few seconds; the same for a rope. We even had a genuine live mouse in the house at one point but she just sat and watched it. (I've no idea what happened to it.) So she gets into mischief scratching, biting, and chewing the papers on my desk. I guess I'll have to collect some unwanted papers and see if they will entertain her.

NEW SNOW!

We got some REAL winter snow this week (unlike the light dustings the past few weeks). On Thursday I couldn't see out the windows that were covered in sleet. Friday was warmer at -2°C so Terri and I spent hours outside playing and shovelling the driveway. She was thrilled to have the extended outdoor playtime. My hat, jacket and jeans got soaked and I had to change before going to Giant Tiger for groceries. The heavy snow/freezing rain on my trees loaded them down. Thankfully, the power didn't go out as it all-too-often seems to when weather conditions are like this.

Now it is -21°C. When the temperature falls below -7°C, I like to snuggle under the covers with Terri and Flower pressed against me and read.

I've finished reading a biography of Stieg Larsson written by the publisher of Larsson's non-fiction book about a right-wing Swedish party. Larsson was an admirable and relentless journalist whose investigations and exposés of neo-Nazis in Sweden helped keep them in check. He worked tirelessly against racism and fascism. I think it's sad that he died in 2004 before he could retire and enjoy the money earned by his "Millennium series".