Treasure Island

The side roads are thick uneven layers of ice topped by puddles of water as it warms up or rains or both!..and now the temperature has headed down again ....if they hot mopped the road outside and I could skate (two big if's there) we'd have a great ice rink on our doorstep :0)  (actually come to think of it I do remember a Winter where the local teenagers played ice hockey on the road in front of the house...)
As it is you just have to wear ice grippers on your boots and get on with life.

Oh and you can read the Alaska trail entries like this one for amusement...
  "Trails still bulletproof/bombproof/drive a truck on them-proof as of 2-4 p.m.
If you want real skiing, do laps on the Gasline. If you want icy skiing, that's really not too bad considering the conditions, do the lighted loops. If you want to ski on a lot of tree debris, do the TOA trail (or the uphill half of Spencer). If you want to see your life flash before your eyes, do the Spencer Loop."   I think Spencer must be more than a tad icy....


Anyway It's obviously time for a good book and as I had some chores to do and because I've never actually read an unabridged version before I listened to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and really enjoyed it... it was more violent and exciting than I remembered and was  "A Jolly good listen."

from wiki

The version I listened to was this one Treasure Island  which was a "Playaway" from the local library.
You add an AAA battery and your own headphones and you are off. The player is smaller than a pack of cards and fits handily into a pocket ..you can pause/play/jump backwards and forwards by chapter. It really worked for me.

Now as the weather doesn't look set to improve I'm off to chose another title :0)

A Cold Wet Day....requiring an sws

An sws is a Special Weather Statement ..and this is ours today (Courtesy of NOAA)

Well as you can now tell we are having interesting weather. We had a deep layer of snow and now it's raining on it! Yuk.
This makes travel somewhat treacherous ..puddles on ice..and the wind is blowing.
So it's time to hide indoors by the stove and read.

Today we ventured out to restock with reading material at the main library..that was when we realized how yukky the weather had become. Still we had a nice visit and we made it  home safe ...just!.....It was a little bit of an adventure getting home ..two bus rides and a walk..alternately sliding around the streets and post holing in the snow banks... even getting drenched by certain charming cars (but most were careful) but anyway we made it to the wood stove, mugs of hot tea  and a tasty supper.

When we went out I forgot to take my reading glasses...I think now that it was that kind of day...
but anyway we found cozy chairs in the children's section of the library and Laura Ingalls Wilder books were right next to us on the shelf , so I picked up the first and read it. It was Little House in the Big Woods (1932) and it was a very pleasant, easy read (great print size too :0) ) It was the first installment of her recollections of her childhood and was lovely. It's a simple tale of simpler times with interesting domestic details and a few amusing episodes (the pig accidentally hitching a ride on a sled springs to mind) Her father made a living by trapping animals in the Winter and selling their furs and by farming and the like in the summer. Panthers, Wolves and Bear feature in the stories as does the fun to be had from living simply ..her father could and did play the violin and sing, told stories and played with his children. The girls learned how to make butter and cheese, preserve meat and vegetables, and how to load and look after a rifle.

It was a very satisfying read and well worth the afternoon  to read. I'm now quite curious to read the next installment. But for the moment I'm content to drink tea and warm up by the fire!

Laura Ingalls Wilder photo from wiki

Twelfth Night

We could read Herrick

We could make a Cake

We could listen to Shakespeare's play "12 th Night"

We could have a Party

You know I think we'll go for moderation ..pack away the decorations and make a cake...and while we're making it listen to the play.

After the flu bug managed to work it's Christmas magic ..if we have the energy to complete those tasks we'll be happy :0)

The Party will have to wait for another year!