The long weekend where I stayed home, ate like a goddess and didn't have to do dishes.

My youngest sister spent the long weekend with me and I am basking in 'our' accomplishments.  She is one of those people who is artistic, musical, organized, fun, energetic, and a damn good cook.  And, yes, she is mine and you can't have her.

Thanks to her, my meals were bumped up six levels, my pantry was cleaned out and organized, I can account for all of my dried comestibles, and my spices, oils, vinegars and oddments are organized.  She would have tackled the refrigerator and my clothes closet if we had had the time.

We also rearranged furniture, swapped out rugs and hung the rest of my artwork.  It's surprising how exhausted you can get from supervising.

A rather poor view of our work.

There was a great deal of hullabaloo about the approaching Snowmageddon on Saturday, so extra firewood was stacked inside, water containers filled, critters battened down and...we got three inches of snow.  We did get an additional three inches over Sunday, but it was a far cry from all the dire predictions.  I am not complaining.  And the food!  Saturday was broiled salmon with a light glaze and cilantro sauce, coconut rice and green beans with tamari and almonds.  Sunday was baked, stuffed acorn squash with a chopped salad.  Monday was fresh gluten free fettuccini (from Aldi's) with a mushroom stroganoff-like sauce.  Egads.

I was loathe to put her on the bus today, headed back to the City, but she has bigger fish to fry.  She has been part of a band since 1979 and they are still at it.  Next month is their 40th anniversary!  Who need the Stones!

My sister is on the far right, top and far left, bottom.
Original members, with the exception of the bass player.

In other news...

I picked up my car from the body shop and it is better than new.  Other than the fact that  I discovered a nail in a rear tire that had been picked up from the shop floor.  When I mentioned it to them, they demanded to know how I could be sure it was from their shop.  I pointed out that the nail was a very particular kind of nail that is used in older brake drums.  Pfft.  (That bit of information was given to me by my old garage mechanic, who fixed the tire.)  Honestly, I wasn't about to sue them.  I just wanted them to be aware that they should keep a sharper eye on the state of their floor.

I am getting one or two eggs a day from my chickens, thanks to judicious use of their coop light.  It has been so cold at night that I have to leave the light on.  While an egg a day does nothing to alleviate the spike in my electric bill, they are worth the cost.  I just can't face store-bought eggs.

I finished my final pair of fingerless mitts for the year.  (Remind me I said that.)  I am now onto more interesting things, having found at least six unfinished projects - just the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure.  February is fast-approaching, so I have lined up my grid paper and garden notebook.  I am looking forward to planning this year's garden, but I am also wondering where all the 'bonus' time is/was/will be that I always expect every winter.