January Storm Number Four

The stocky old gray and white pitbull with the gigantic head was smiling and tugging a small tot on a plastic red sled. Everyone was out and laughing, all the kids were shovelling in all directions. Another snow day. I was at my studio window.

In the afternoon I went out in my orange sweatpants and day-glow "onion bag" highway-department-style vest. The neighbor girls asked me if I was a crossing guard. I said no, I just wear this when walking my dog at night so I don't get run over. I explained that these colors and the reflective tape show up brightly at night. They said they were building a fort. An igloo like the Eskimos? We talked about igloos and tipis and the ice motel. Then their brother came and decided to help me shovel out. The girls were playing house in the snow. I overheard them talking about packing their snow suitcases. I heard the street plow go by making a three-foot icy pile of snow at the end of the driveway, and I was glad I didn't live where I'd be snowed in miles from other people. When I came inside after an hour of shovelling I was hungry for leftover hambone 'n' pea soup!

Here's a cheap fun cat toy: I found a life-sized plastic Easter egg, filled it with a few pieces of cat kibble, closed it up and rolled it - Sammy went nuts! We're calling our new cat Sammy "The Pez" Perez.