sunshine & valentine's

Miss Winnie Dixon in a big patch of yesterday's sunshine

The beautiful (and huge) wool remnant crazy quilt is from the cowboy's childhood. A quilt that his mother made long ago and perfect to tuck in under watching our movies* each winter's evening.

The sun is just up and beginning to pour it's gorgeous golden orange early morning light upon everything and it's looking like another spectacular sunny, blue sky day. The sisters and I walked very early this morning, under the stars, the air crisp and cold - as good as that second cup of coffee in making you feel awake and alive. We have a regular route we follow that begins along the harbour on a path in the snow maintained by dog walkers, the only ones crazy enough to walk where the wind blowing in over the ice is almost always sharp and cold. It's a treat for the girls because of the immense olfactory sensations hiking on a trail used daily by other canines so I bundle up in my fleece and down and stand and look at the stars or the brightening sky as they both pause each morning to gather all the details of those who've come before us.

Then around 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon we do it all over again, lately in bright sunshine under the bluest winter sky followed by an abbreviated version just before bedtime.

My friend Rachel from across the pond, most excellent cat mother of Miss Millie with the Black Nose (truest love and betrothed of Oliver) pondered in the comment section here yesterday What's going on in the basement now ? Thorough and tres meticulous (sighing) are tattooed somewhere on his body ... the cowboy's been insulating the foundation of the beautiful clean and dry basement (with the help of Oliver who's given up his design job here at the TTD preferring to hang out with a guy). The cowboy made a shelf (sill) for the one and only very sunny basement window - a place so the cat's can sit and bask as cats so love to do. He (the Prince oATG**) has been dropping hints about my upcoming Valentine's Day gift. He's been planning and scheming a way to dismantle the money guzzling and potentially unsafe propane hot water heater (in the dead of winter) that's currently hooked up to/with my oil fired boiler (in affect heating the water in this old brick house twice). I catch him often shaking his head in wonder and tsk tsking under his breath. When he's finished with our basement it will be dry, clean, warm and super duper efficient. Sigh. We (les Gang and I) could not ask for a more perfect Valentine.

* a few movies recently watched
Julie & Julia - fantastic !! I LOVED it !!! (could watch it again in an instant) - from the library
5 Easy Pieces - weird and strange in a very good way - from the cowboy's movie collection
Rescue Dawn - an amazing true story - from the Walmart $5. movie bin

**oATG - of All Things Good