Winter

Christmas is over, the lights are down. There's snow on the ground; the car has a layer of salt-grime on it that is an exercise in futility to wash off because it'll just be covered again within a few blocks of leaving the car wash.

In other words, welcome to winter. This is the time of year I just hunker down and endure; grateful for my furnace and electric lights.

I welcomed the quiet pace of this past weekend - no people, no events, just me and my dirty house. Laundry and cleaning got top billing for the weekend's activities - there was something nice about the return to routine.

My new counter tops got here in mid-December, just in time for us to have a decent surface for our annual cookie baking marathon. They're a welcome change from the temporary one I'd been making do with for the past eighteen months.

For one, they actually cover the cabinets below. While it was handy to reach down into the top drawer of the island without opening it to grab silverware, the convenience was outweighed by the crumbs that found it a convenient landing spot. (The cabinet doors will have to wait either until spring or until I get heat out in my workshop - it'll be a close race.)

And, I'm back to battling with the cats. Yes, I'm still allowing them in the BOXWITHWATER. (It's back, it's back!)  But. They can't easily jump directly to the sink like they used to, and have decided, since they have to cross the counter top to get to the BOXWITHWATER anyways, it is a good place to linger. They also like to check the contents of any dishes on there along the way. I don't like them to linger on the counters, and I don't like them to check out my food. You see the problem here.

I've spent a lot of time these last three weeks chasing them off the counters. They think it's a game, and try to make it to the BOX before I can dump them onto the floor. I've made a little headway - sometimes, when I walk in, they start to leisurely walk to the edge of the counter before I can yell at them to get off.  sometimes.

Ah, well. Chasing them off will give me a place to vent my impatience with these dark days of winter.

Happy New Year!