sunshine and snow

 we woke to a beautiful blue sky and a glistening white world.

 walkways and driveways were untouched, even by toby's footprints. she doesn't run outside into the cold like she used to. she's happy to be in a warm home.

does she look a little worried here? i barked at her to get her attention. maybe she's concerned that i'm having an identity crisis.

 warren is all ready to start shoveling snow . . i forgot that when one has a house, there's lots of snow shoveling to be done. what softies we apartment dwellers are.

 this person is totally oblivious of the work that needs to be done . . or just very good at ignoring everyone's preparations to go outside.

 warren is operating his new gadget here, except it really isn't new anymore. he's probably had it for a good four years. 

 the year he received it, they had snow past the car roofs and it really became a necessity. when one passes sixty years old, i think there's only so much snow shoveling per season one can do.

 though, i have to say, pushing and turning this machine takes a lot of strength!

 after a delicious breakfast, greg and i headed out to pick up chicken soup and visit my mom for lunch.

 we took another walk outside, and napped in the sun in the gazebo for a good . . half hour? maybe not that long, though it felt that way, and it was certainly warm enough with the sun shining so strong. we were chased away from our vitamin d bath when the clouds rolled over and sent a chill through the air.

today the fireplace was working which cheered us all. i'm surprised at the warmth that it sends out. it must have something to do with the special glass cover . . somehow it radiates heat through the top and bottom vents. today mom was much happier with her lunch and ate almost all the chicken soup, albeit very slowly! before we went back to the other side of the assisted living complex, we visited the upstairs library and i tapped into facebook on the computer up there, to share photos with mom of my cousin johnny's visit to moscow. he travels all over the world attending chimney sweep conventions. being a knowledgeable chimey sweep, he gives speeches and classes about new techniques and protocol.

pictures and valentine flowers on my mom's dresser.

 mom and santa claus . . with my sister in the background (i love this pic . . it's just so perfect) . .

 and her wedding photo.

 these are the two boxes of chocolates my nephew sent, along with his valentine's card, which i think is incredibly cute.

 we said good-bye to mom and left her by a window in the activity room, along with the other residents (she wasn't happy about this today . . ) and stopped at whole foods for lunch for this guy . . i was a little hungry too, and had a vegetable sushi with peanut sauce.

this is the necessary chocolate heart to go with the jasmine green tea . . 

 greg is buying chocolate bars that were on a special sale right in front of our table . . just so tantalizingly close that he couldn't resist . . 

often when i play back these videos i'm surprised at how loud the background machine hums are. i also took this video as i was struck by the passage of time which i noted because of the song that is playing. it's chrissie hynde singing with the pretenders, brass in pocket, which came out in 1980, my freshman year of college . . thirty eight years ago . .

on the road home . . i'll be back soon.