Frozen tuesday

We are definitely feeling the chill here too! We love to play outside, but today our paws  were too frosty to be out very long! Stay warm!

Well, I really can't complain about our weather since it's balmy compared to what many of you are experiencing.  It's in the low 40s, grey and drizzly.  

Julie, I watched "Sherlock" last night.  So good!  You were right about the drunk scenes:  hilarious!  Especially funny was when Mrs. Hudson said, "You've only been gone 2 hours!"   The wedding toast was great, too -- just what you'd expect from him.  Cringe-worthy, yet thoughtful.  I think I'll watch the episode again, because I know I missed some witty remarks!

My car is in the shop for an oil change.  I told my mechanic the heat has been barely warm for a few weeks, no matter how high I set it.  He said Passats are notorious for getting clogged up heating cores (or something like that).  And at 11+ years old, it's likely mine needs fixing.  The problem is the repair is about $1K, largely because of a ton of labor, due to having to take most of the engine apart to get to it, I guess.  I told him I've got my heated seats, I'll wear gloves and warm shoes to get through the winter and think about repairing it later this year.  Of course, DH's answer is "get a new car" when these high-cost repairs happen, but I think spending $1K a year is better than $500+ a month for several years for a new car!  I love my car; I don't want to buy a new one!

It's cold. The sun is shining, but it is just plain cold.

I'm with you, Tracy. $1000 is cheaper than a car payment, especially if you consider a lot of cars cost as much as a small house.

Yeah, drive the existing car to its death imo. Cars (or dog-mobiles) are really not affordable anymore. I would love a new car but try finding something under $30k these days that will cart 3 dogs+ around. Forget it!

So glad you liked Sherlock. I'm going to watch it again too. I know they replay it at some point, just need to figure out when. It got some scathing reviews because people felt the plot was lacking - no real crime solving in it other than the one which was pretty weak, but the point was about the characters and their relationships imo which I thought was really well done. So sad that there is only 1 more episode then we have to wait again for another season! It's totally not enough.

Cold here today, although it's finally made it to NINE degrees.  Of course the windchill is still in the negatives......tomorrow *might* get into the teens.  But, I hear that parts of MI are colder AND getting buried in snow, so I guess I don't have much room to complain.  I do wish though there were some way for me to really dress for the weather when I'm wearing dress clothes.  Warm winter tights don't compare to my longjohns and those are far too bulky.  I layer, of course, but only to the extent that still "looks" ok and certainly not like I do on my own time.

Satan's Spawn has discovered shoes.  Mine, and my wifes'.  Strings are to pull and chew, leather tastes good.     He got my wife's new winter boots  (new last year) and left a tooth mark.  I told my wife to just get a new pair.  She said they were new-last year.  Only had one season on them.  This is from the woman who still has the hiking boots she had when we went through the Boundary Waters  Canoe Area-45 years ago.

Training is exciting.  He follows Piper out, does his thing, runs to the door for his treat.  I bought a new bed for him.  This one fits in the crate, where he is going to be spending some time every day.  He has absolutely no shame, proudly leaving piles in front of the door when we are distracted.  Did I mention that I bought a case of paper towels.  I hope it's enough.

I have to work tomorrow.  First time in over a week.  My hands have cleaned up and stopped hurting.   I may enjoy retirement.

Cold here with a bit more snow this morning, but not as cold as it is in MN and MI!

Doug, it sounds like the puppy is keeping you busy!  Julie, I love your term "dog mobile" because that's what cars are, right?

OK, I'm off to the ferry to head to work.

Kate I cannot imagine taking the ferry in deep cold winter, brrrrr

Hmm I have a different philosophy towards cars - I too call mine the dog mobile - I try to buy a 6-12 month old car with a good warranty & that holds value, I use them then sell prior to the warranty running out - this keeps the value up. I have done very well with my last two cars & am now researching for a change.  I should be able to sell my current vehicle for about 4k less than I paid 3 yrs ago. All I have done is oil changes & a couple of filter changes.

The trick now is to find a car that offers all that I need (warranty, room for the Beast, holds value) and gets good mpg. I am doing so many miles now it is crazy.. I was leaning towards a Golf TDI but they are stupid overpriced and only have a 36k/3yr warranty so the search continues

Doug your puppy sounds like fun!