When I was a senior in college--I think it was the winter of 00-01 or something--we had a winter for the ages...it was more snow than I had ever seen in my life. We had storms (the plural 's' being the operative letter) where I can remember numbers like 26, 24, 28 when it came to inches. I have some pictures and I should dig them out. Well, if there is one thing that will get Americans to shut up about a scandal involving footballs missing a few pumps of air, it is an impending blizzard. Americans are 'onto' the next drama. My professor, David Watters, who is a congressman now, emailed us the night before a big storm to tell us that a) class was canceled for the next day and b) we should read this poem by Robert Frost. It is a magnanimous poem, and you should read it too....

Amanda, tomorrow, begins her training for her second half marathong, the Maine Coast Half sponsored by Shipyard beer. She has been getting in some runs outside. Sometimes.

The other day at school, everything was going nicely, and it was sunny outside, when, all of the sudden, at about 130 or so, the world looked it was going to end--we got a snow squall of epic proportions that probably dumped two inches of snow in like ten minutes. It was amazing. My classroom window looks out onto a football field and then acres of woods/trails...so it is always majestic to look out and see a good snowfall...

Maira has been dying to have Brittany come over and play with her. So, finally, the other day after school, Brittany came over. Maira set up all her animals ahead of time, got "Clarice" (her WICKED fast horse-on-a-stick), and dug out some books she wanted to read aloud to Britt....

Final random picture of the day is this: This was taken the night of the Ravens/Pats game when Amanda and her girlfriends were away, and the kids and I went to watch the game with Andy and the girls. I snapped this at halftime, while they were reading books and playing games and, apparently, drinking bottles of IBC root beer. I joked to Beth and Amanda: Fast forward twelve years or so and this could easily be a college dorm room....right?

Hope to get pounded with snow almost as hard and the Pats will pound the Seahawks with touchdowns next week! Go Pats. All this silly witch hunt has done is make me love them even MORE.