Wintery weather

We're having cold north winds and a little snow, enough to barely cover the ground.  About a month ago we had a slight snow covering, and here's what the traffic cameras showed, over on the Kansas side.  Cliff's mom always told us you can't trust Kansas drivers (but she substituted another word for "drivers").





I've already heard of one school closing.  I suppose if people are going to have this much trouble on a slight covering of snow, we'd better do what we can to keep the children safe.  
I've been enjoying "U is for Undertow" by Sue Grafton.  It's been awhile since I've read one of these books, and I am enjoying it thoroughly.  I read until the words run together in a blur, then I make the print larger on my Nook and keep on reading.  In the evening I read until I begin dozing off in the middle of the action.  Not that the story line bores me, I just can't stay awake, reading in the evening.  
Sue Grafton has almost gone all the way through the alphabet with the Kinsey Millhone mysteries; "V is for Vengeance" is already on sale.   I wonder if she will start over with the letter "A" when she gets to "Z".  
Here's one problem I have with checking out e-books from the library:  You can't just immediately check out the books you want; you usually have to place a hold on them and wait until you get an email saying they're ready.  So I put a hold on two or three, hoping that will keep me in a steady supply of reading material.  Sometimes I end up with three books at once, and only two weeks to read them.  It's no big deal, I suppose, since it isn't costing me a cent.  I can always return one without reading it, and check it out later.  That way somebody else on the waiting list can have at it.  I should probably just put a hold on one at a time and give myself a break between books.  The trouble with that is that lately there is NOTHING new on television worth watching, and as long as I have something to read, that takes the place of TV.  
If these are the biggest problems I ever have, I had better count my blessings, don't you think?  


Oh, I'm sure most of you have noticed my goofy header picture.  David has been at it again, thanks to another KC blogger's encouragement.  I'll leave this one up one more day and then put the normal picture back... that is, if the space aliens don't carry me away first.       

Reading

I'm doing a lot of reading; since getting the Nook over a year ago, you could say there's a renaissance of reading around here.  The ability to check out library books from home is an amazing gift.  
When I check out a digital library book, it's mine to read for two weeks.  This gives me plenty of time to finish it.  If it's a good one, three or four days is all I need. 
I've also found it allows adequate time for Cliff to read the book after I've finished.  When we went on our road trip, I started reading John Sandford's "Buried Prey" aloud, but I didn't even get a third of the way through it.  I finished it yesterday, and now Cliff is at it.  I'm sure I've read books by John Sandford before, but it's been a long time.  Once the action started, this book held my interest just fine.  It reminds me of the television show "CSI", only not so ridiculous.    
Sometimes, as I'm reading a book, I'll say to myself, "Cliff would really like this."  
I haven't been wrong yet.  
This actually works out OK, since I do most of my reading in the morning before Cliff gets up or during the day when he's outside.  He reads in the evening.  I can't concentrate if the television is on, or if music is playing; I'm too easily distracted.  Another problem is that in the afternoon and evening, I tend to fall asleep when I try to read. 
So the sharing works out fine.  Cliff reads when I can't. 
Still, I think it would be nice if we each had our own Nook.  
Oh Santa?  

limbo

I know that spring is coming; it's just around the bend.
I'm sure that warmer temperatures will visit us again.  
Next weekend, so they tell me, the weather will be nice
But now things are in limbo, the world as cold as ice.   


Sonya left a comment wondering what I'm doing, with Cliff gone.  Let me assure you it's nothing practical!  I imagine most housewives would take this opportunity to straighten their closets or deep-clean their cupboards.  Not me.  This return of winter weather has me a little depressed; after only two days of springlike weather with buds swelling and seeds in the garden popping up, it's as though it never happened.  Now, I realize this little pause in springtime is a good thing:  The peach tree has blooms on the verge of opening; had those blooms opened up before this cold snap, we would have lost this years' peach crop.  
This does little to help my mood, though.  So I've gone into hibernation mode.  
Of course I spend time on Facebook's Farmville, although I must say I'm getting a little tired of it.  Once spring is here full force, I'll probably do as I did last year and leave my farm untended, blocking it from view.  Zynga has messed with my little Farmville world more than I would like anyhow, giving me a new farm in England.  However, crops will only grow on one farm or the other, so I have to stop all development on my old farm if I want things to grow in England.  I think this whole England thing was supposed to breathe new life into the game and get people interested, but it's making me lose interest rapidly.  My apologies to my readers who neither know nor care about Farmville, but I thought I'd throw that in.
    
I've been reading a lot.  I am so glad that Jeanie steered me toward the Nook, as opposed to Kindle, because I am reading a lot of library books.  Right now I'm reading "American Rose:  The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee".  It's holding my interest quite well.  
Last week I started reading "The Saxon Chronicles", but I grew bored with all the blood, guts and killing and returned the book ahead of time after reading perhaps 1/4 of it.  The book had some great reviews; it just wasn't my cup of tea.  Books I have on hold are "Washington, A Life",  "Let's Take the Long Way Home", and "My Father at 100" by Ron Reagan.  Let's hope those don't all become available at once, because I'm number one on the waiting list for two of them, and number two on the other.  Even with this weather keeping me house-bound, I can't read that much!  
This morning I'll milk Bonnie, and later on I'm going to the church that we locals call "the old German Church".  A neighbor invited me for "friend Sunday".  I think the two granddaughters are going to accompany me, although sometimes they plan things for a Sunday and then decide they don't want to get out of bed early enough to go anywhere.  
When I spoke with Cliff on the phone yesterday, he sounded like he was having a blast with his brother.  This was perfect timing, since we have such incredibly bad weather; he would have been scrounging for something to keep him busy in the shop, here at home.  
So that's how my weekend of "batching it" is going.  Life is on hold until spring returns.