The Thick of Winter...
It has been a cold January thus far, and we received a nice sheet of ice early last week which kept most people at home on Tuesday. School was cancelled, buses were behind schedule, things were generally a bit slower and more slippery. Duke started classes on Wednesday, and Marc gave his first lecture of the term on Thursday. Now things have mostly thawed out after a weekend of sunshine and warmer days.
Shuwen ran well despite not training much for the Little River 10-mile Run, finishing 58th overall and 10th among women, out of 300 runners. She's been traveling to DC twice and then Princeton last week, all since Dec. 25, so it's been tough to run much.
We then spent much of this morning and afternoon pruning the crabapple tree behind our house, and hauling branches to the street where they can be collected by the town yard waste collection service. We also have a bit of firewood to supplement the little amount we bought last week. Making fires in a fireplace is something we have enjoyed a few times, and the cats love the dancing flames.
Those two are also doing fine. Sophie's still unwilling to let people get close to her, and sprints away at the slightest hint of contact. Mostly we just touch her tail. Coquette is much friendlier and seems willing to be picked up, though not held for too long (she gets squirmy). We found out there's a pet tax this week when we got the notice from Orange County in our mailbox. Who knew!