Back in White

Holy crap. That last post I did about the five weirdest things that happened to me was my 400th post. That's a lot of posting. However, the close follower of this blog will note that none of these 400 posts have occured over the past week or so.

Our computer was at the Apple store getting a new disc drive. This was something we planned to do in like November. Anyway, the good news is now I can play this game again. And I can get back to blogging.

The biggest news over the week that I was without computer is it snowed an absurd amount. Yesterday I went for a run with some friends, and one of the guys I was running with mentioned how snow is like cocaine for dogs.

Hmmmm, with insight like that, you figured he'd be blogging more, instead of relying on me to quote him.

Anyway, the picture below is one I snapped today of Pancho. As you can see, snow does indeed seem to make dogs go loco.




And this picture is one of the icicles hanging off our roof. Clearly we have an ice dam. I am so glad we got a new roof last year. Newer roofs have a liner underneath them keep the water from ice dams at bay.



As an aside, is roof the only noun that ends in an "f" that does not assume the "ves" ending (like "hooves" and "lives")? I can't think of any other word like it.

But, as per usual, I digress. Clearly too much heat is escaping from our upstairs. Do you think our dormers, and upstairs in general, could use some more insulation?

Seeing as how it took us over three months to get the disc drive in the computer repaired, I reckon we'll get the ice dam situation under control sometime around when we, as a nation, elect a non-white woman as President.

Winter Magic

Minnesotans, I have found, believe the ways to stay warm in the winter are more fun than the ways to stay cool in the summer. Of course, I have a clan of Texas relatives who will tell you otherwise. Floating down the river, cold beer, swimming at the lake... Sure all of these things are fun. But I am learning to enjoy the winters here in Minnesota (ten years later) and have found that there are a lot of fun ways to stay warm. Best of all, most require you to be physically active. Consider...


Squirrel hunting.




Running.




Hiking.




Bird watching.




Biking.




Hockey/Skating/Broomball/Boot Hockey/Any Other Ice Sport That Requires Balance Skills That My Cerebellum Is Obviously Incapable of Providing




Ice Fishing On A Frozen Lake (notice, I said most, not ALL activities to stay warm require physical activity). I blew this photo up, hence the poor focus. For those of you not from Minnesota, that big blue auger is how you punch a hole in the ice so you can fish. Seems like heavy machinery to operate, considering how much beer drinking you do while ice fishing.




Snowmobiles. Okay, I know these are cars on a bridge, but it's the closest picture I had of snowmobiles. And really, aren't cars and snowmobiles really one and the same? They are to me.




Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing




Playing with Your Toys. Be it a football, snow softball (those crazy kids and their false sense of invinvibility), snowballs, or in Pancho's case, a shitload of stuffed animals. He has this habit of taking one toy outside each time I let him out to chase squirrels (real or imagined). Then he dumps the toy on the deck, and leaves it there. As a result, by the end of the week, all of his toys have piled up in the same spot outside. He then wanders around inside all week, wondering where the heck all his favorite toys went. Dogs are kind of stupid.





And last but not least, staying at home...




...and drinking beer. Did I mention that not ALL warm activities require PHYSICAL activity. One man's winter den is an ice fishing shanty, while another man's is a room with a TV, a wife, and a DVD player.

So, what is your favorite way to stay warm in the cold?