Hope springs eternal

Yesterday my seeds arrived in the mail, just exactly at the time I needed to start some of them in the mini-greenhouses.  I won't start tomatoes and peppers yet, but I have some cabbage and cauliflower seeds that can be started right now.  This is an immense boost to my spirits.  
Cliff took the day off yesterday.  He has only four months left to work, and four weeks of vacation time coming:  Obviously, he can pretty much take a day off any time he pleases.  He sowed clover seeds on the pasture while there's still a little snow on, changed oil in at least one of the tractors, and in general, puttered around the farm and the shop all day, coming inside only to eat dinner at 1 P.M.  I fried the last bag of catfish that was left in the freezer, figuring our fisherman neighbor will be fishing again in a month or so.  In spite of the fact that I occasionally fry something we shouldn't be eating, Cliff has lost exactly twenty pounds, and he's not done losing.  I'm still at this phase of losing one pound, gaining two, losing two pounds, gaining one; you get the picture.  I've lost fourteen pounds all told, but I don't think any more excess weight is going to budge until I can get outside working in the garden.  As I've said before, as long as I can hold my own, I'm ahead, this time of year.  


My dog, Iris, tends to have a doggy odor about her most of the time, but I usually just put up with it because I know it isn't good to bathe a dog too often.  Yesterday, though, she spent a lot of time outside, and now that our snow is turning to mud, she was a very dirty doggie by the day's end; so I gave her a bath.  Trouble is, she'll be getting this dirty every day, now that the temperatures have moderated and snow is turning to mud; I suppose from here on, I'll simply be hosing her off like I did last summer when she kept diving in the filthy little pond chasing frogs.  It's rather cool for that, but if she's going to be in the house, I have no other choice.
        
I've been reading a lot of library books lately, thanks to my Nook.  Funny thing is, once in awhile a library book seems to disappear during the process of moving it from my computer to the Nook.  Other times, the book shows up just fine.  I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong, I just don't know what, since it works most of the time.  One thing about it, it costs me nothing.  The book just disappears from my computer (and the Nook) after two weeks.  Still, I'd like to figure out this mystery of what happens to some of the books.  
The more electronic gadgets I have, the more mystery I seem to have in my life.