It's a three dog night...or four...or...

Brrrrr...yesterday's fierce wind and lingering rain has made for some chilly weather around here! We've all pretty much hunkered down in the house all day snuggling up to one another to stay warm.

I lit a fire in the fireplace this afternoon and have spent most of my day trying to convince the dogs it is okay to go out in the rain to potty and then drying them off with towels when they come back inside. Most of the dogs love the towel, but Miss Aislinn definitely does not. I guess she prefers to be wet!

Poor Don went out to the barn this evening to tend to the horses and came back soaked, tired and grumpy! He's in the shower now and I'll fix him a nice plate of Thanksgiving leftovers when he comes downstairs. Then I'll cozy up by the fire and browse through some of my Christmas craft books until I grow sleepy and head upstairs to bed.

Hopefully there'll be room in the bed for me as I figure it's going to be a three...or four dog night, which makes for a very warm, but crowded, bed!

Fluctuations and acclimation...

We had a lovely sunset this afternoon, courtesy of Mother Nature and airplane contrails which made some interesting patterns in the sky. Just one of the perks (probably the only one) of living south of a major airport.

Mother Nature has really been busy doing her job lately by blowing most of the leaves off the trees. I can hear the windchimes on the front porch as I type. The wind has also blown in some chilly weather. We fell into the 20s last night for the first time this Autumn. A brisk wind with 28 degree weather can give one quite a chill, but I guess I am quickly becoming acclimated to the cooler temperatures.

When Don got home from work around 11:30 p.m. last night, he walked the dogs and then came in to put on his jammies. When he came back into the kitchen he was wearing a quilted flannel shirt. I asked him if he was cold and he told me it was 56 degrees upstairs. Downstairs I'd built a fire earlier in the evening and, while a bit cool, was doing okay in my short sleeved teeshirt.

HA...Don checked the downstairs thermostat and it was OFF. The temperature downstairs was 60 (thank you fireplace). There was a time I would have been freezing at that temperature, but no longer. Of course, if I do get a chill, I'll just put on some long sleeves.

We're still having some fluctuations in the weather and should be into the low 70s by Sunday, with no sign of dipping into the 20s again any time soon. Guess that means I can keep the heat off into December!

So busy today!

I've been busy, obviously the dogs have NOT been busy (unless you consider laying around the house busy). The day started off with a dreaded Saturday trip to town. Oh, how I hate the Saturday crowd with all the nutso drivers and long waiting lines! I took care of my errands and headed home as fast as I could!

Once home I had to iron a shirt for Don and fix his lunch. Got him off to work and then it was time to start painting in the laundry room again. That's been a very slow job. I just can't seem to get done in a day what I could when I was 20. Which is sad, because in my mind I'm still 20 so this going slow is frustrating.

I did take time to go to the pond. Fergus had cornered a large grasshopper earlier in the day so I figured I could catch a few fish for the ducks. No luck...sneaky fish stole my grasshopper off the hook and there were no small fish in the minnow basket. Poor Ducky and Ping had to make do with chicken feed and lettuce today.

After feeding the chickens, ducks and Elvis I brought the dogs in and got back to work. Darkness fell and I paused long enough to have a bite to eat and build a fire in the fireplace. We're supposed to get another frost tonight and it's quite chilly outside. After my break I went back to painting.

Anyway, I've been so busy I forgot to blog! Now you know why I'm so late posting today!

Jack Frost is coming to visit!

Looks like ol' Jack Frost will be paying us a visit tonight. It's been cooler since it rained Monday night and there's been a chilly wind blowing for the last couple of days. Of course, I'm loving it! Best of all it is now cool enough at night to have a fire in the fireplace.

I'm grateful we have a wood burning fireplace, especially tonight. When I came in from feeding the critters and visiting the pond the house was dark and chilly...an unexpected power outage! I decided the best thing to do would be light a few candles and build a fire. Of course, as soon as the fire was lit the power came on! That's okay, with the temperature outside at 42 degrees the fire feels very nice. The dogs must like it too as there are several of them snoozing in front of the fireplace right now.

Did you know that Jack Frost originated in Viking folklore? The Vikings called the sprite Jokul Frosti ("icicle frost"). I'm always fascinated by ancient lore that passes down from generation to generation and is still a part of our culture today.

So welcome Jack Frost, I'm glad you're here. Paint the grass and windowpanes with your icy paintbrush while I sit inside by my cozy fire with my book.