We're in the 25 degrees above zero zone today. Feels a lot better outside than yesterday, and it SEEMS to feel better inside, even though the thermostat keeps the house temperature constant. When it gets really cold - in the range around zero - we close the curtains over the big windows in the living room. Our chairs to watch TV are by those windows and there is a bit of a draft as the cold air comes off the windows. When we were burning wood, it didn't matter that much, but we are more conscious of things like that this year because we're doing an experiment burning oil this winter. I'm sure you're asking, why now? The quick answer is that while we have a full supply of wood, after having the house winterized a couple years ago, we wanted to find out how much fuel we may be saving. Last year we burned less wood; so this year we wanted to find out how much less oil we'll need. It's a lot less work, and may turn out to be about the same as buying and burning wood. Last winter we were going to try using just oil, but I missed the wood fire, a lot! This year, I'm being resolute.

Rumors were flying yesterday that Ned Hamilton, who has a cottage on West Shore Road, and lives in Florida, had a stroke or perhaps a heart attack. I have just spoken with his brother, Doug on Edgewood Ave, and he said it was a slight stroke, that happened a week ago Saturday. Ned is home now and doing very well. He has some vision problems that are preventing him from driving, but the doctors say his vision may improve with time. Other than that, he's fine, and that's really good news. Doug talks with him daily and said Ned is very upbeat, even though he won't be driving or flying for a while. Only time will tell if he'll fully regain his vision, but for now Doug said if we send him e-mails, be sure they are printed in larger than normal font. I recently changed e-mail to a larger font, too, when I realized how much easier it is to read.

Fred's been out to snow blow this morning so we're ready for whatever weather is coming in our direction. We had another 2.5 inches of snow during the night, and right now it's just overcast, but the prediction is for more snow later today.

Now I need to get back to the historical society website. I'm working on a page about the Bayley-Hazen Military Road that crosses the Town of Cabot from Rt. 2 at West Shore Road to Rt. 215 very near the Walden town line. Lots of history there.