We have lived in Maine for almost 12 years now, and this morning I found myself looking at the coldest temperatures I have ever seen in my life. This photo was taken at about 630 this morning. Needless to say I did NOT ride my bicycle to work this morning...haha....

It was so cold that it actually hurt--like, it hurt your hands and your face. Not in a 'oh my gosh, it is cold' kind of way, but in a physical 'assaulting' kind of way. It is a different type of pain. And as someone who spends a lot of time outside in this cold--running, snowshoeing, or whatever--I can tell you that the cold just sucks the life right out of you--I am no chemistry expert, but it is almost like the air has less oxygen or something; I just can't get the energy on my runs that I usually can....

But this past Sunday, it hit 33 degrees! It is kind of sad to thin that this felt like an absolute HEAT WAVE. Neighbors we havent seen in months were literally out on the streets, emerging from their winter-dens, talking and laughing and raking roofs and chipping ice off their driveways. For the first time since the beginning of January, we saw what the asphalt on our driveway looks like. I did a short run and then raked some of the roof and most of the garage and breezeway. I tried to clear off the back deck--which has been hit not only by the deep snow, but also the legendary wind-drifts. The back deck gets a lot of sun, so my idea was that if I could clear it off, the sun would help melt some snow. But then we woke up less than 12 hours later to sub zero temps. So, like, yeah....

But I got to soak up some rays and enjoy the tropical heat....look at the snow in our backyard....six feet and counting....our whole back is mostly like this...I venture it will be the end of May before it is gone!

My buddy Brad turned 40 last Thursday, so, after Amanda got home from work, I went over to TheLastUnicorn in Waterville to meet him for a drink or five. We also had some fabulous dinner. You know in the intro to THE FLINTSTONES, where the waitress puts that huge slab of beef on Fred's car, and it topples the car over? Yeah, Brad had that. I, on the other hand, had the Thai-Sizzle Catfish, which was unreal. It was spicy and made me sweat. My mom used to hate when I would eat spicy food, because it used to make me sweat like crazy. If she ever read this blog, which she doesnt, she would probably laugh.

Our friends Fred and Amy own TheLastUnicorn, and Sasha, Amy's sister, sometimes waitresses there. Fred always has the greatest beers on tap, and the ambiance and just flat out 'space' of the restaurant is very cozy and warm and comfortable. You should go. Great soups too!

Below, Amy and I pretend to tend the bar. Actually, she really does tend the bar. I just pretend to tend. Too many 'tends' in that last sentence. I will suspend-the-tends....okay I'm done....

And CartoonBrad, the best looking forty year guy in the whole picture! We had a stellar time with some great conversation that centered around writing, art, ambition, beer, running, and just about anything else you can thin of...a great night! Oftentimes the last minute/hastily planned life events turn out to be the most memorable and profound. Good stuff.