'Twas the Monday before Christmas . . .

Mike and I slept to a reasonable hour this morning and then sprang to our work -- loading the Dakota for the trip to the farm. No gifts this trip (mainly because I still have wrapping to do -- but we brought four more boxes of framed photos, etchings, and what have you, adding it to the four that were already here. Nick and Hallie have promised to help us make decisions on some of this old stuff while they are here, and we'll probably do that somewhere between Dominoes and Scrabble.

So, Mike and I arrived here at the farm about 11:00. Food unloaded -- check; faucets re-installed -- check; water turned on -- check; dishwasher runs without incident -- check.

We left here last in the midst of a cold snap on December 7. Here are the weather statistics from Mike's electronic weather station:
Min. temp.: .4 on 12-8 at 7:12 a.m.
Max. temp.: 42 (today)
Min. wind chill: -21 on 12-9
Max. wind gust -- 28 mph on 12-15
We aren't sure about precip. Sometimes that malfunctions. But from the bridge at Arrow all the way to the farm, we saw patches of snow where it had drifted or been piled. The weather report is for dropping temperatures and some snow. It's a gray day, and we noted that the ground is soft and muddy.

The first thing I did when I walked in the house was to turn on the Christmas tree lights. Mike just about panicked when he saw it, thinking we had left them on. I found my computer cord right where I left it. Now I have one for town and one for here. Really, the less we have to carry back and forth the better, but you just can't have two of everything.

Relaxing day? Well, I have things to do. I'm making those lists and checking them twice. But at least I'm down to some fun things. I hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations -- and do check back again for another visit with Ina. KW