I was absolutely amazed to be looking through linkware sets and find one that looks just like my front yard...and my back yard...and my side yard.  After our week of incredible snow, which came to about 4' in the flat parts of the yards when all was said and done, about 6' in the snow plow berms along the roads and up the stop signs and about 3' in the area where the dogs packed it down creating their little running paths, everything just *stopped* and we began getting these ridiculously sunshiney days, up in the high 50's and 60's.  That has caused a great deal of meltage and now we are down to a few feet of slush everywhere.  I still have to climb walls that are about 3' tall to get to the mail boxes, but I can jab my toe into the side of the snow wall and just make steps all the way up.  I have to be careful because the heat has left the snow not as firmly packed down, so every now and then as I am walking along the snow wall (it's about 3' wide now, down from 5-6'), my foot will hit a less stable patch and in  I go.  It's actually pretty humorous to watch, I'm sure.  That's where the recently acquired leg strength comes into play.  (Yayyyy me!)

The skies are bright and blue and the weather is very springy and warm...except that there's a ton of snow on the ground.  If you go about a mile down the road (which is also about 2000 feet down), they don't have any snow...just the springy weather, so THOSE people have their nice daffodils and crocus and such.  Mine are up, having been faked out by our prior warm weather, but are snowed over.

I did get my computer fixed!  I called our "local" computer shop in Placerville, which is about 35 minutes away, and they told me that they have a little geek squad that will come to your house and fix your computer for $75-95 an hour.  She suggested that before I do that, I "cycle" the computer. Now I know about cycling satellite dishes and cable TV boxes and such, but I had never heard of cycling a computer.  Since I was off to work in about 20 minutes, I unplugged it from the wall, ran upstairs and got dressed, came down about 10 minutes later (I am so completely not a girl when it comes to getting dressed.  That 10 minutes included clothes, hair, moisturizer, clarifier and make up)!  When I got back downstairs, I plugged it back in, fired it up and it worked great.

Bizarre.

Guess either it needed a break or I did.

Eric and I watched "Westworld" the other night, a movie that I remember loving many years ago.  This time, it left me flat. I kept getting bored and noticing how big Yul Brenner's ears are.  Now I am wondering if I will get bored by my other favorite Richard Benjamin movie, "Saturday the 14th."

Valerie, Josh and the grandbabies were up this weekend and it was a really good visit.  I can't believe how big they're getting.  The good news is that since Josh got back from New Mexico, they have been spending a good bit of time here, so the kids are getting used to us and finally recognize us as family.  They were super-cuddly this weekend and that's always fun. 

Eric only has to work his mail job this week, so he leaves home later in the morning and gets home earlier in the day.  That will be a nice break for him.  I went to bed for a nap around 4pm and forgot how much I hate that.  The sleep was good since I was a little drowsy, but it leaves me feeling groggy and kind of hung over for the rest of the night.

I feel adrift, as though I am waiting for "real life" to engage.  I don't know if it's doing the mail and always having a 6 day a week obligation (I have not missed a single day since I started Nov 15, including 3 weeks in December when I also had to work Sundays) where it's nearly impossible to plan anything else.  I don't know if it's because it's Winter and by nature, we are more stagnant during that time.  I don't know if it's because the Mercury retrograde is ending and we are going to be moved back into action again or perhaps because Mercury is going direct in Aquarius, which is a kind of offbeat, dreamy, other-worldly sign.

I am grateful to have weathered this retrograde with a minimum of disruption.  There were definitely some incidents, but all were resolved without tremendous upheaval.  I was thinking about the year we moved here to Grizzly Flats.  We got here on March 29th and there was no snow anywhere around.  When Eric first checked out the house on March 7th, there were a few patches of snow around, but no more fell that year except for a few random days where we'd have a few inches fall that would all melt away the next day or so.  Pics are here. 

That made me consider that since this is the 5th, it's possible that our major snow for the year is done.  Mind you, based on 2005 and 2006, it's not likely, but it's possible.

Wouldn't that just be a hoot?  I can't wait to welcome spring back!

I just came out of the spa and evidently, Eric really pounded in the chlorine because I am itching like mad!  Guess it's shower time (followed closely by bedtime!).

Take care and by all means (you know what's coming), BE PARTICULAR!