Stupid computers.... stupid weather.....

It is positively freezing outside today..... as it was last night. Too cold to let the cats sleep on the screen-porch, so all three were inside last night. Let's see.... AngelBoy woke me up at 3:30, Mickey Kitty woke me at 4:30, and last but not least, ShadowBaby woke me at 5:45. So much for a good night's sleep. I had a female calico cat for years and years when I lived in NY... never once did she wake me up in the middle of the night. Proof positive: male cats are high maintenance.

As for computers.... I switched over to the "new and improved" blog format this morning. I was crossing my fingers as I filled in the little boxes and hoped that the Google site wouldn't lose everything I've written for the past couple of years. I don't completely understand why they're changing the format, or the website, or whatever they're doing, but according to the blogspot page, it has to be done before the end of January. Seems to be working just fine, and The Blog Powers That Be have sworn that the service will be better. I'm hoping that everyone who was keeping up with Sprinkles will be able to still get to it.

So cold today that I haven't been out..... except to go into the yard to let Gracie out there. AngelBoy and ShadowBaby also went out for a little while, but it's so cold outside that they didn't stay but ten minutes or so, and then they were both on the deck waiting by the screen-door so I could let them back in. And where are the cats now? Sound asleep, of course, so they'll be wide awake between 3:30 and 5:30 in the morning....

Our around-the-corner neighbor V is coming by this afternoon, to give our tree a look-see. We're going to her Christmas party this weekend, and she's busy getting ready for that, but she wanted to see our tree on her way out to do some last-minute before-the-party errands. V's big tree in her living room is filled with Christopher Radko ornaments, all of them bought at after-Christmas sales or given to her as gifts. She has so many Radko ornaments in her house that she has begun filling clear glass vases and bowls with them. V also has lots of little trees around her house, which display the smaller Radko ornaments. And Santas... V has the largest collection of black Santas that I've ever seen.

V and her husband gave a small Christmas party last year as well, the week after we had our huge Open House party. My husband and I were invited to that party, and I felt badly that I hadn't invited them to ours the week before. We just didn't know they were so into Christmas. We're careful who we send invitations to.... we don't send Christmas party invitations to people unless we know that they "do" Christmas, and we don't send Charades invitations out to people if we know they wouldn't be comfortable at that kind of a party. We have been inviting V and her husband S to all of our Charades parties since we found out they enjoy any kind of party, so I guess I've made up for not asking them to our previous Christmas parties.

I tried (once again) to read Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" this week...... for whatever reason, I just can't get interested in that book. I know it's a classic, and I know it's been very popular for over a hundred years, and it's probably never gone out of print, but I just can't get into it. This was my last try........ I had bought that book at a yard sale for just a quarter.... it's a vintage hardcover which I've even tried to sell on eBay. Now that book is on my give-away pile... it will end up being chosen by one of our party guests, or I will donate it to the local library. Sorry, Louisa, but I'm just not that into you.

Here goes.... this is the first entry that I will post to the new system. I hope it gets from here to there without getting lost along the way.