Conversation between Two Married Persons

(one of whom is living in snowy New England & one of whom is living in the desert)

Justin: seriously though. craaaazy snowouts for you, bear.

me: i know - it's been a crazy winter. i'm serious about renting a snowmaking machine and standing in the backyard watching you shovel if we don't get a lot next winter. ;)

Justin: haha, yupyupyup. fair enough.

Loooove this . . .

So perfectly imperfect - and stuffed with books, which make everything better.  :)  From one of my new favorite Tumblrs, "book lovers never go to bed alone".

While on a bookish roll, I was bored the other night & did a count of our book collection.  I've done this for my own in the past, but given that we merged libraries a couple of years ago and have also bought many more books since then, I thought we were due for a recount.  The final number?  617.  

Not quite the thousand that this comic which hangs on our living room wall claims, but we'll get there.  :)

Spread Out

A quick administrative note. If you're feeling like you're not seeing as many posts from me as you're used to, you are in fact correct. I blogged less here on Hodoeporicon in 2010. However, I have been blogging more in general. And look, I even have proof!

Here's how many posts I wrote on Hodoeporicon over the last few years:
2006: 152
2007: 168
2008: 145
2009: 104
2010:  just 76

BUT, if you add 67 at Wer Ond Wif and 57 at Museophilia, then I posted 200 times in 2010. So make sure to check all three of my blogs (the other two are listed at the top right under "My Other Slates").

Trust

Image from Hyperbole & a Half

Had a bit of a scare yesterday with the pup.  I must not have fastened her leash properly before we left the house and after she leapt over a snowbank & shook the snow off her coat, off it popped!  Realizing she was free, my sweet pup tore ass down the street in a burst of joy.  She looked very much like the dog in the above comic (who is also a bluetick coonhound).

Now, I haven't had a dog in awhile, but I know enough not to chase after a dog on the loose, unless they're in imminent harm.  Since we were still on our own street, which she knows like the back of her paw, I just walked a little closer & started calling her (after exclaiming "shit, shit, shit" to myself).  She raced a bit down the street, looked back to see if I was chasing her, ran a bit further, looked back again, then circled around to the other side of the street.  I took a few more steps towards her, kept calling her, and crouched down to pat my knees in encouragement.  And darned if she didn't trot right back to me!

Someone got a heap of praise, a nice long walk (after I made sure the leash was well & truly secured), and a treat when we got home.  It was a bit scary, but it also made me realize how well she responds to me, even in a stressful situation like that.  I've been leery of taking her to an off-lead dog park, since she's a hound & might be tempted to take off after a scent.  But after the episode yesterday, I think it might be worth giving it a try.  :)

Snowpocalypse 2011

Scenes from my walk down the road with Sadie about an hour ago. Hard to believe that downtown Boston is only about 14½ miles away.

I'm not going into work today, as you can imagine. And there is just nothing better than a big snowstorm with nowhere to be. I'm working from home at the desk in the guest room (cozy in my pjs), listening to a good music mix, savoring a second cup of coffee, and gchatting with Justin. And the dog is sleeping in a ball on the living room couch. Bliss. :)

Inequity

My husband's forecast for tomorrow:

Plenty of sunshine
High Temperature: 60°F
Low Temperature: 46°F
RealFeel: 61°F

My forecast for tomorrow:

Blizzard conditions with strong winds, low visibility and heavy snow, accumulating 8-12."
High Temperature: 29°F

RealFeel: 5°F.

Of course, he'd much rather be here than there, so I guess it's a trade-off.

Musicophilia

My friend Heather tagged me in the 25 random songs thing on Facebook back in December.  I put the list together that very day, then waited weeks to actually post the songs.  Sorry, Heather!  :)

I have to say, about 3 years ago, this list would be a lot less diverse.  Thank you, husband, for your gift of a music player and Zune subscription!  You've definitely broadened my music horizons.

1. Silversun Pickups, It's Nice to Know You Work Alone
2. Cold War Kids, Something is Not Right with Me
3. Franz Ferdinand, The Dark of the Matinee
4. Band of Horses, The Funeral
5. Interpol, Slow Hands
6. TV on the Radio, Wolf Like Me
7. The Strokes, Last Nite
8. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gold Lion
9. Matt & Kim, Daylight
10. Kaiser Chiefs, You Can Have it All
11. Arctic Monkeys, Crying Lightning
12. Airborne Toxic Event, Gasoline
13. Spoon, The Mystery Zone
14. G. Love, Baby's Got Sauce
15. Violent Femmes, Promise
16. The Pogues, Fairytale of New York
17. Kings of Leon, Beach Side
18. Rancid, Disorder and Disarray
19. The Decemberists, Sons and Daughters
20. The Dead Milkmen, Surfing Cow
21. The Talking Heads, And She Was
22. Dropkick Murphys, Tenant Enemy #1
23. Florence and the Machine, Cosmic Love
24. The Mountain Goats, Lovecraft in Brooklyn
25. Modest Mouse, Little Motel

Paw Prints

Sadie in the snow!

I'm posting this in part because it's cute and in part because its very cuteness is helping me not kill her this week.  ;)  She's grumpy that I was in NYC for a few days without her & has been acting up ALL WEEK.  Like with some kids, it's a damn good thing she's cute.

2010 in Review

Whew! 2010 was a roller coaster of a year. I've pulled together a sampling of the first posts of each month & it really reminded me of that. If you have a little time to kill, read through them & see what I mean. Fear & worry, joy & love, death & marriage - my 2010 had it all.  

• January:  Visit from a Muscovite (kinda, sorta)
• February:  They're Boys Not Books  :) 
• March:  Brothers . . . 
• April:  On My Mind
• May:  And so it goes . . . 
• June:  All Systems A-OK
• July:  Snapshots from a Wedding
• August:  Home Again (& Wedding Pics)
• September:  A Quarter Century!
• October:  That Time of Year Again, Soon
• November:  See You Next Week!
• December:  Sadder than it means to be . . .

I'm thankful that here in January 2011, I've come to rest in a warm house, with a beloved husband.  He may be far away right now, but he'll be home in the fall and we can begin our lives in this house in earnest.