Denver can certainly get snow, sometimes measured in feet, but the last couple days we have seen temps in the mid-70s. Karen and I are riding up Mt Carbon every day. It's a little 900' ascent on a paved trail that starts near our house, about 16 miles round trip. The best 90 minutes of our day! Gives me hope that I can lose a few more pounds of holiday excess!

Feeling gloomy today, too long shut indoors without leaving the house -- I haven't been anywhere since this past Friday. This is one of those days that I'll just have to white-knuckle my way through. If I can just find some kind of project to lose myself in, maybe I'll be okay.

Bill-- 18 cm. sounds like to much to me!

Jessica-- I hope Carter is okay. It could also be his neck as that is another place dogs get pain. I've had many dogs exhibit similar symptoms with neck pain.

Saef-- a good project..... hmmmm..... I have a beautiful planner from Erin Condren that I love to decorate... doesn't help you. Another picture projects you could do? Work on an album with old photos? I see you changed your avatar name-- got a chuckle at your expense-- hope you can change it soon....

Saef - do you still have your sunlamp? That might help with the gloomy.

I'm also a little gloomy today. DH's health scare from Monday turned out to not be anything serious, though we still don't know what it was. That worries me, and I'm distracted by that. With that on my mind, I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with one of my employees. He hasn't been well lately, and hasn't been able to work. He had a heart cath on Monday and has to have a double bypass. He has no family, only a couple of cousins. Not many friends. His mom had Parkinson's and he took care of her from when he was very young until she died a few years ago. He's in his house alone and terrified, can't sleep because of panic attacks, and has no one to talk to or call to come sit with him. His only outlet is an online support group he is a member of for family members taking care of people with serious illness - he has known those people for many years, and they are the closest he gets to family I guess. It just made me sad.

Jessica, good luck at the vet. My current dog does the exact same thing with the smoke alarm beeping as the battery dies. She also started doing some fear behavior at night regularly, and it took me a while to sort out - in her case, it was car headlights coming down our street and reflecting in a new mirror that I had hung on the family room wall. But as you say, it could be a medical not behavioral problem so it's good to have it checked out.

saef~I've recently taken up knitting. I'm on my second baby blanket and should be finishing that up tonight. It's quite relaxing and nice to see something appear from the pattern. A hobby like that might help. There are a lot of free patterns for just about anything on ravelry.com.

shannon~that medical scare from your DH did sound scary. I hope it doesn't recur. And it is sad about your coworker. I heard from my office assistant yesterday. She started the conversation by saying "I should have listened to you." Apparently the morning after her sister arrived from Sweden, she collapsed and had to be taken to the ER where they admitted her, kept her, transferred her to rehab and now she's home, using a walker. All because she hadn't eaten for so long (and hence why she should have listened to us telling her to go to the ER!). She is on the mend and eating again.

Jessica~hoping Carter is okay. I have to take Bogey to the vet this afternoon, not because he's sick, though. Yearly exam and rabies shot. Sounds easy? Not! He gets so anxious around other dogs. I'm going to give him Rescue Remedy before we go and then dress him in his Thundershirt and have an ample supply of treats to distract him.

Chris~that bike ride sounds great!

I had another golf lesson yesterday and I think I've finally "got it" in regard to a few of the things he's been trying to teach me. I can't wait to get on the course this weekend!

Shannon-- that is so sad about your employee.... how lonely he must be. I hope your dh is okay!

I just had a very wild 30 minutes with 2 kindergarten classes and an awful sub. She hadn't brought the library books with her, she hadn't taken attendance... she was just awful. My library looks like a tornado went through.

My dd texted me that she went home sick after puking at school (she's a teacher-- fun) with a migraine. Poor thing.

I'm debating my exercise today. I'm such a creature of habit/routine and I hate for it to be disturbed. We have a staff party from 3-5 today. I usually go to yoga at 4:30 or a gym class at 4:30. I also have to go home to let Dewey out/ feed him at some point. I *think* what I'll do is go home to let him out before the party, plan on staying till 4:30 ish, and go to a zumba class at 6:15. The only problem with that plan is that I don't like eating late and I'll be eating after 7:30. And I don't want to be tempted by junk at the party. My other option is to just make an appearance at the party and sneak off to one of my earlier classes. Hmmmm....

In other disruptions to my schedule-- dh was trying really hard to be home for Valentine's Day as he has missed a bunch of them lately. He is coming home tomorrow but leaves again a few days later. He is then returning on Feb. 14-- hooray, right?! Not really.... his family is throwing curveballs into everything. His parents arrive on the 13th-- not sure who is getting them from the airport as they assumed he was but he won't be there. So it may be me but the timing is off as I'll be at work. His brother and family are also flying in from Hong Kong but I don't know what day/time they're coming-- am I responsible for getting them from the airport or are they getting a car? No one is filling me in. To top that off, younger dd wants to fly home to see everyone and wants to come home on the 13th-- with me picking her up too-- doesn't look like a romantic Valentine's Day, does it? Oh well.....

saef--computer games? I mean adventure games such as can be found on Big Fish Games... I feel like I'm suggesting a descent into dissipation, but I find them a good distraction. The puzzles can be quite challenging, and some are actually educational. Anyway... FWIW. You can download a sample of most games to see whether they are anything you'd want to do.

Saef, do you do crosswords or anything like that? My grandmother was pretty much housebound for the last 10 years of her life, and she spent a lot of time doing crosswords, sudoku, things like that (along with reading and watching TV/movies). If you need any TV recommendations I've been really enjoying The 100, season 1 is on netflix.

Minecraft?

Crochet?

saef - I feel guilty for even suggesting this because this particular site/hobby cost me a lot of sleep prior to DS's arrival in the household. Look up crackerboxkits dot com. Some day ... I WILL go back. Got a little sweaty just looking up the website.

I'm afraid to even look up what crackerboxkits is! I don't need any distractions from my jobs. Although, here I am!

Shannon, that is so sad about your co-worker. Sounds like depression/anxiety and nothing to be fooled with.

Saef, if you weren't feeling cooped up, you wouldn't be normal. This has been a long time and the fact that the snow messed up your PT didn't help, of course. Hang in there.

Michele- bad subs! Ugh! That's the worst part about missing a day is that the subs rarely follow the plans you have painfully written out. We've got some good ones at my school, but I've had plenty of bad ones in the past so I know what you mean. But not taking attendance? That's like the first thing you do! Well, in high school you do, not sure about K. We have to submit it right away so they can look for skippers.

Dagmar - yay 100%! I'd like to get a masters in that subject!

I was delivered from my discontent and frustration by an email from our public library: The DVD for Season 5, the final season of "The Wire," finally came in from another branch. I got my mother to pick it up right away by giving her directions to a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken, which she's been craving badly.

I adore "The Wire" and think in its scope and ambition, it's even better than "Breaking Bad." I spent today watching three episodes, practically back-to-back. Seven more to go, bittersweet because I'm sorry it will end.

You all have no way of knowing this, but I hate crafts, puzzles and games and particularly video or online games.

But I am crazy for good fictional narratives, though TV never particularly delivered them for me until recent years. I was always reading or watching movies.

Devious and hilarious!

Saef, do you have Netflix streaming for TV or computer? My new guilty pleasure is the Bletchley Circle. Smart women solving mysterious crimes in a post-WWII world - it's wonderfully addicting. It may also be available from your library.

Saef, I know you're not working but are you doing any other writing at the moment? Now could be the time to explore other areas again and, in doing so, to improve and widen your writing styles or just keep your hand in.

How about reviewing some of the films you're watching? Not only reviewing but also posting your reviews. We'd be a keen readership, of course. (You could have your own thread - I'm sure we'd see it as contributing to weight loss as it's part of your rehab.) Or you could post on film/movie sites. Or just open up a anonymous (or not) blog.

If not writing reviews, then some kind of analysis and writing which isn't work-related.

I'll tell you what I'm doing at the moment as an illustration.

To improve my ability to analyse and write I'm exploring two areas. One is a history of art project in which I'm using a very densely written book as the basis for a wikipedia page and a website. History of art is interesting but it's not really my area. This project is annoyingly difficult so I'm obviously learning quite a lot here. The other area is translation (mostly Italian, French, Spanish) which is a very satisfying and challenging occupation. I've been working on a political website and, out of the blue, the Italian has led to a very part-time job teaching final year university students. Both are difficult in their own way and I welcome this.

(Laughed at using KFC to get your ma to collect from the library!)