Bigger snow

It snowed on top of snow, so we actually had enough snow to go sledding. I haven't been sledding since 1986. But, before fun, we had to shovel our sidewalk (part of our civic duty) and our driveway. The city doesn't plow our street - I guess we're in an extremely low priority area. So, we added to the mess by throwing our sidewalk snow into the street. Our neighbor boys, the itinerant shovelers, weren't out and about when we cleared our sidewalk and driveway. Darn.

Our front yard before we trampled all over it.

I shovel the driveway. Check my expression. Very dedicated to my task.

Bob poses between scoops.

Bob is ready to go down the side of the levee by the Great Miami River.

I'm ready for another run. Going down is much easier than climbing up.

Oh the weather outside is frightful ....

Well, it's not that frightful. It's just snowing. Here are some January in Ohio pictures.

Frozen leaves with a dusting of snow on top.

Bob shovels the driveway (any snow-removing boys are at home, because it's night).  I stood in the garage in my bathrobe to take the picture.

The front of the fireplace is the demilitarized zone. Ed and Isabella bask without fighting.

Winter wonderland

We were out this morning on a walk. 10 degrees. My nose was cold. The sun is out, though, and that lifts our spirits. Plus, we try to remember how HOT it was in July.

Here are a few more pictures of an Ohio winter.

Icicles in our neighbor's downspout.

Kiser Lake, partly frozen.

Snowy branches near Kiser Lake.

Mom's first try-out of her winter clothes. She's not sure about the boots yet.

This cardinal says, "Really? I could have flown to Florida."

Mom's preferred hang-out in her sitting room.

Winter finally arrives

We've had a very mild winter until now. It got much colder and snowed on the 12th & 13th. There's not a lot of snow - even now, the grass is poking up through the snow on our front lawn. Good sledding? Nah. I've included a few pictures of our "blizzard."

Snow begins to fall in our back yard.

Entrepreneurship lives! Neighbor boys shovel our driveway and sidewalk for a few bucks.

Upside squirrel eats suet (commercial, not homemade).

Isabella's latest check-up

We traveled to MedVet in Worthington, Ohio, for Isabella's check-up in the Cardiology Dept. She had an echocardiogram and they checked her blood pressure. Dr. Nguyenba was very pleased with her progress. He saw only one premature ventricular contraction and it was not paired with another (couplets are especially bad). She's doing well on the beta-blocker, atenolol, so we'll stick with the twice a day medication schedule. The technicians at MedVet really like Isabella, too - she's so mellow, even when she's anxious. Good news all around. We'll go back to Worthington in early May.

We're so fortunate to have found Dr. Nguyenba. He was featured on an episode of Animal Planet in which the dog breed, bichon frise, was highlighted. In the episode, a bichon needed heart surgery - so of course, it was Dr. N. to the rescue. See this link if you'd like to watch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByRAVCAUWYI.

The "Isn't That Clever" Award for 2011

The "Isn't That Clever" Award for 2011 goes to Bob. When our bathroom door mysteriously started shutting itself (the impish door-closing pixies?), Bob came up with a very clever door-stop. He found a toy dinosaur whose little tail fit nicely under the door, thus preventing any closing motion. See the pictures.

Function plus cuteness. Does it get any better?

The little tail part tucks right under the door, stopping it from moving.