weekly revue.

this week, we youngest three offspring have held down the fort whilst the parents are away for some sunshine, a conference, and some friends. this arrangement is not uncommon to us, but this week i've taken the approach of: "be their sister and not their mother," as i have learned from past experience that the latter does not bide well with teenage brothers. that being said, we've had plenty of fun!

weather-wise, it's currently -12F, with a windchill of -24F. our cold water pipes have frozen twice thus far; from now on, the faucet remains on drip! even that didn't entirely help us yesterday. my brothers are becoming quite skilled in thawing frozen pipes.

i went for a walk today in the sunshine. wool socks, fur hat, scarf over nose, and a brisk trot all aided in my successful arrival home. it was fairly brutal, but not deadly. for a while i was wishing that i was skiing instead... until i rounded the corner and the wind hit my face. at that point, i was glad to be in the neighborhood and sailing my way home as quickly as possible.

i've cooked every day this week, so every day i've had to handle a different variety of raw meat, of which i am no great fan. i'm not really scared of it anymore- i just still don't like to touch it. maybe it's the germ thing. or the frozen thing.

while my brothers are genuinely fairly grateful for whatever i serve them, each meal has come with a barrage of interesting comments. i'd say the oblong pancakes and clumps of bacon this evening were probably the most remarked upon of the week. we also had an incident with a sparking jar of nutella in the microwave- immediately removed, of course. but they valiantly and/or absentmindedly lended a hand!

the drumset, my large amp, and three pairs of shooting earmuffs have taken up residence in the living room, amidst 7 guitars and amps and piano and couches and tables and lamps. it's fairly noisy, but pretty fun! i love silence and i love music, and this week i've gotten plenty of both. i even had a nap today- in between drum sessions.

i got my drivers' license renewed today- for my current one expires in a week! birthdays are always strange. but i like them anyway.

i started reading a book yesterday, because it's been sitting on my shelf since this summer, waiting for me to pick it up. so i did, and lo and behold- i've read it before. weird. you'd think i would have remembered the title, or cover, or something! anyway, it's nice, and i don't remember too much of it- it's like dreaming a familiar dream again. [ok, we watched inception the other day.] speaking of deja vu, i know i either dreamed about Vevey, Switzerland, or read a book about it. seems like maybe both? cannot remember the book for the life of me. this trying-to-remember thought has been in my mind for several years now, i think. i'm reminded of it everytime i make a malt at work. Nestle is based in Vevey. and they make malt powder, which resides at eye level on the shelf! anybody know a book about Vevey? that's on my bucket list of places to visit. 

etc: i think the parents come home tomorrow. i wonder when my visa will come through. it's fun to look at [residential] flats online; although i suppose the shoe variety would be nice as well. spin pins are a great improvement on bobby pins for the securing of a side braid. eddie bauer winter socks are worth every penny. i still can't tell radiohead from four tet, but i'm learning. i hope it doesn't snow too much before i go to work tomorrow. i wonder how long the drumset and amps will survive in the living room before being evicted. i just finished 1 timothy, which was great, but i'm really excited to get into 2 timothy. and my platelets appear to be stable. ptl.

xx is the new xo.