It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

...and feel a heck of a lot like winter. There have been several dustings of snow here, amounting to only a couple inches. There is nothing quite like waking up on a Sunday morning, having your day planned in a relaxed fashion... only to go take a shower and receive no water... finding that the intake pipe from the well has frozen because of defective heat tape. My friend Matt P. was incredibly helpful, he threw on his rubber boots and waded around in 8 inches of mud, water & ice... helping me to strip the old insulation off the pipe and put new heat tape & insulation onto it. We had the water working again by the time it was dark. Oh yeah, in latest news... I've taken on a couple of sublets (friends of mine, including Matt P. who is seemingly handy in all things home-repair related), it was another unexpected occurence that happened on short notice and due to dire circumstances in their lives, but it has been a blessing for all of us; Pepper included because he now gets more socialization and play time when I am not home. Speaking of which, he sends Season's Greetings to all of you!

Pic credit: My Dad

What A Difference A Door Makes....

....when you insulate it... that is... an unused & ill-fitting steel outside door within a crooked frame in one's bedroom. After stapling a couple layers of cardboard & plastic over the entire outer frame I no longer feel a 15-degree difference when walking from the center room into the bedroom and the ever-present chilly breeze blowing across my face when trying to sleep at night... is not there to wake me up anymore. Interestingly enough I slept better last night. Coincidence? :-p

I still feel a bit overwhelmed by the length of the to-do list of things to fix on this old cottage/cabin, but it is slowly becoming more manageable as I triage it in my head and plug away at the most urgent tasks. It also helps that I have an old friend who is extremely handy with all things home-repair-related moving in as my sublet.

Mt. Ascutney Hike

I had my friend W down for the weekend and we both decided to take a hike up the Weathersfield Trail on Mt. Ascutney on Saturday. The hike was beautiful (if not a bit hazardous due to ice & bad traction in many places). Want a bit of an adventure??? Try hiking in 6-12 inches of fresh snow on a trail where some genius decided that the blazes should be WHITE!!! (I thought that blue was one of the most universal trail blaze colors???) We ended up having to pause every 50-100 feet in order to spot the next blaze... doing this against a backdrop of freshly fallen snow and searching for white blazes on trees which in some cases already had numerous whitish natural coloration from lichens & whatnot. It was a refreshing but slightly taxing hike... we never made it to the summit due to our slow rate of progress, it would likely have been nightfall by the time we made it back down. I don't mind getting lost in the woods in warmer weather (with camping gear in tow), but getting lost in the woods in sub-zero temperatures and with no appropriate overnight equipment is entirely a different matter.

A sampling of the terrain

White Blazes + White Trails = ???

A lovely natural ice sculpture in the 'Little' Cascade Falls Ravine

A perspective on the size of the ravine

W and I

My ever-so-delicious homemade soup, You are now pwned!!! I am teh soupmaster!!!

Harassing 'Spud', my roommate's cat (who is obviously so pleased to be lavished with such attention, hehee). Doesn't he look adorable in that silly sweater that she made him wear!!!?