Today we got the stormy weather as forecast. Fred estimates we've had maybe eight or ten inches of new snow. We seemed to get mostly snow today, with a little sleet or freezing rain yesterday. We went to St. Johnsbury to do our errands. The roads were pretty good, though. As usual, I drove going down; Fred drives on the way back. We've been sharing the driving like this for years because Fred says it's important for both of us to retain our driving skills, especially in winter. The weather was wild when we left home around 9:30, but got much better as we neared St. Johnsbury, and the sun even came out. Coming home we lost sunshine somewhere east of Danville and by the time we reached W. Danville and Joe's Pond, we were back in blizzard conditions. No surprise there, really, although it still amazes me that there is so much difference in the span of about 10 miles. The snow is quite nice, though. Fred made the rounds with the snow blower one more time after lunch, and then took some pictures for me. The snow had tapered off by late afternoon, and tonight the sky is almost clear and the temperature has dropped into the single numbers - again. It's going to be much colder for the next couple of days.

We're ready for the cold, though. It was just before Christmas that we had the weatherization crews here and we've been noticing subtle changes in how the house feels when it's really cold outside. We're burning less wood in our soapstone stove, which probably means that instead of a year's supply of wood piled out in back of our house, we have more like 18-20 month's worth. We hope. We'll see how the supply in the garage lasts before we make any predictions, but there does seem to be quite a difference in the amount of wood it takes to keep the house at a comfortable temperature.

Today we finished what I think is the last step in our winterizing process. We followed through on a recommendation of the weatherization guys and purchased some clear vinyl to cover the basement windows that are single-pane glass. The stuff is called "Tyz-All" and comes with stick-on channels that have a chine that snaps into place to hold the vinyl tight. It's very easy to install and can be used again and again. The channels stay in place all year, you fold up the vinyl to store it and just reinstall it in the fall. We also did the window here in my office. It's double glass, but for some reason it seems less tight than the other windows in the house. I usually pull the drapes when I come in to work at my computer on cold days or nights, but tonight I'm comfortable - no draft at all - with the drapes open. In here it certainly makes a big difference. We did three large windows and two small ones in the basement and this large window in my office for a little over $40, including postage. I was pleased that it's reusable. I don't think I'll need the big stone we've been keeping on top of the wood stove any more. Sometimes when my feet get too cold I bring it in and stick it under my desk and rest my feet on it. When I was little, I remember having heated stones like that in our automobiles in the winter, and we'd cover our feet and knees with a big heavy "horse blanket" or fur robe. If the cars had heaters they weren't very efficient. People used those big heated stones in their sleighs, too, but that was before my time!

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THE CABOT UDAG COMMITTEE will hold a PUBLIC HEARING at the TOWN HALL during its regularly schedule meeting of THURSDAY, JANUARY 15,2009 at 7:00 PM to discuss:

APPLICATIONS FOR TOWN MEETING GRANTS FROM CABOT SCHOOL, $16,691 for staging, lighting, sound and other non-structural components for the Cabot School Performing Arts Center

CABOT COALITION, $5,218 for bikes and accessories for the Cabot Roamers community bicycling project (approx. half of grant) and computer equipment for the Cabot Chronicle (approx. half of grant)

CABOT EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE, $17,841.85 for a Life Pak 12 lead defibrillator/monitor

CABOT RECREATION COMMITTEE, $7,799 for replacement of the backstop at the Larry and Son ballfield

Total amount requested by all applicants: $47,549.85.

Total amount available for grants in 2009: $57,813.86.

Grant applications may be viewed at the Cabot Town Office.

For further information, contact R.D. Eno, UDAG Committee chair, 563-2486, or e-mail to: rdeno@fairpoint.net