It has been a few days since I last posted anything here. My only excuse is that I've been tending to the business of writing. We had thought we might meet on Monday - the book committee that's writing the history of West Danville, that is - but we all agreed our time might be better spent writing since none of us has a completed chapter to discuss right now. Our meetings are always productive, even when we aren't sharing what we've written. Patty has usually discovered something new while researching, and Dot has found the answer to some question about the stone sheds. As for me, I'm admittedly up to my eyebrows in the notes and pictures and sub-chapters that make up the puzzle. Sometimes I'm so engrossed in the chapter about Joe's Pond I forget to eat. That's extraordinary for me; usually nothing gets between me and food. Fortunately I have a very patient and competent husband who understands when I get "lost" in a project and never pushes. If he gets hungry, he knows his way around the kitchen pretty well so he can get things started and I can then come in for the big finish!
    Yes, I'm still on the Joe's Pond chapter. When I say "Joe's Pond chapter," what I'm talking about is really substantially more than one chapter. It's a dozen or so sub-chapters, designed to in some way capture how the pond and the community around it has evolved over the years. Of course, the Joe's Pond Association is a big part of the later years, but the years previous to 1921 were huge for the pond in many,  many ways. And of course without the pond, it's likely West Danville would never have been settled. These past super-cold days have provided me a legitimate reason to stay at my computer and write, and it's been productive. 
    Today was near 30 degrees and I couldn't resist heading out a little before noon when the sun came out for just a few minutes. It was lovely to stretch my legs and get some fresh air without the sting of sub-zero winds. Tomorrow will be a different story because the temperature is going to drop dramatically again - but I have important work to do and will stick to it - inside. 
     A few days ago we learned that Ray Rouleau had a close call in Florida recently when the car he was riding in was in an accident. Ray was wisely wearing his seat belt and was ok - one or two of the others in the car were not wearing belts and were injured (not Cyndi - she wasn't in the car).
    I looked up Florida's seat belt laws and found drivers and passengers in the front seat must wear their seat belt; children under the age of 18 must wear a seat belt and young children need to be in a properly installed child's seat. Apparently, passengers over the age of 18 riding in the back seat do not need to be belted. Ray was in the back seat, but very wisely, had belted up. Good thinking, Ray! We are so glad you weren't seriously hurt, and hope everyone else is recovering well.
    We haven't heard much from any of our friends who are away from the pond, scattered across the nation this winter. I usually have a picture or two arrive just as we're "enjoying" miserable weather - always smiling, tanned faces enjoying food and drinks at some lovely beach-side restaurant (sure, I'm a little envious!). I did have occasion to talk with Jack LaGue this week - he was golfing that afternoon, so we had to keep our conversation reasonably short. It was just tying up some loose ends concerning last year's dues records, so it didn't take long. He said he and Sue are having a good winter golfing, enjoying the warmth, although he said it was chilly there, only in the 50s (!) Both are well and admittedly glad they aren't being subjected to our cold weather. 
     We've had a little snow off and on today and the temperature is beginning to head down (27F) - just like the forecast predicted, snow squalls that haven't amounted to much more than perhaps an inch or so. I haven't heard how thick the ice is, but there are plenty of fishing shacks and fishermen on the ice and I'm betting it's in the vicinity of two feet or more. Those cold nights we've just had must have built it up considerably. Perhaps someone will let me know what the depth is, and I will post it here.
     Our cousin in Rhode Island sent me this picture - her caption was "Brrrrr!" 
     Notice the little puffs of steam from each tweet!