Hunkered Down

Mason's book of choice? Steinbeck's "Tortilla Flat."

With temps topping out today at 17, and tonight down to 7 degrees so far, headed for zero or so, nothing much besides complaining happened today. Burning our little wood stove nonstop, we were able to keep the main floor of our cabin at about 58 degrees. The biggest concern was making sure the crawl space under the cabin stayed above 32 degrees, so that no water pipes burst. Tonight, we'll close off the other bedroom and turn on a propane heater in there so that our wood stove has to heat less area to make sure we stay warm enough. So far, so good ...

We did brave a walk with Nick around noon; he clearly remembers his Minnesota days, because he was all fired up, racing about the light layer of snow that fell last night. I covered a few plants with old sheets, and then we retreated inside for the rest of the day.

We all hunkered down in the loft, spending the afternoon reading and OK, maybe napping ever so slightly. Nick, who only recently was granted the right to get onto our bed (only with permission and never during the night), quickly realized how incredibly soft my new afghan is. My sister crocheted it for me for Christmas and I absolutely love it! (Thank you, Maggie!)

Nick, cuddled on my new, gorgeous blanket.

After an hour of yoga as the sun went down, it seemed the perfect time to bake some cookies and accidentally leave the oven on, 'til Mason caught on. Busted ...

Then I made some homemade chicken meatballs, served up in a homemade broth laced with lemon and rosemary. All in all,  not a bad day.

OK, I'm no food photographer. But it was delicious.