The day was tough for the kids, I think. They've been at each others throats all day. Cabin fever. Maybe the holiday has lasted too long. Maybe we've had more than our recommended dose of togetherness. Maybe we're all grateful that their school resumes on Wednesday. No maybe about that last one.

Snow fell throughout the morning, but not in the quantity or style that smooths out the world's rough edges, masks our errors and brings joy.There was enough for snowballs, but not enough for snow men or snow sculptures. No need to shovel the walks -- the snow didn't stay long enough. The sky was cloudy all day. No buffalo roaming, no antelope playing. Nothing. Gray. Followed by gray. As gray and intractable as the locomotive the boys and I visited the day before Christmas.

A few brighter notes: (Hey! I'm under no obligation to be subtle here) I've had a lot of fun playing with the digital camera, and I'm beginning to learn to use the software that Sony provided with it. I can still forsee the need for PhotoShop, however.

And last but not least, a mention of Taylor's continuing ability to charm me. He had kicked back after dinner to read the front page of the newspaper. You know, eight-year-old peanut, a newspaper held before the face to insulate him from human contact, coffee stain on his shirt, cigarette dangling from his lower lip, belt loosened to make room for dessert -- the usual picture, right? Well, probably not. Anyway, as he was cruising though a front-page article that was written by a new staff writer for the local newspaper, he correctly identified one grammatical error and one spelling error. He also guffawed at an absolutely vapid quotation in the same article with the remark "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Sites:
MyImager
a clipart place
a clipart links page
ann-s-thesia a graphics site.

Reading:
A New Yorker (Jan 10) article by Pete Hamill on Evan Hunter (Ed McBain).

Reading that was recommended to me:
Plainsong by Kent Harouf.

On and off throughout the day, Owen and Taylor watched the two Jurassic Park movies. There are only two, aren't there?