Deep Freeze.

This is Tom. He rode his bike over to the bungalow tonight for some Sunday night stew and relaxing. He gives hard core a new meaning. When he arrived he sort of shrugged it off as not really a big deal. He has a toque, his warm jacket, his bike is decked out for this sort of thing... he even had a bottle of wine in his pannier! Now that is a good friend.

Don tried to take a picture of Tom out on the walk before the bike got put away but my Rebel Canon was giving the maddening "Error 99" and the precious warm air was quickly escaping from the house. No bike shot. But you guys get a Tom shot with ice in his beard. He said the only part of him that was actually cold was his thighs.

You guys may have seen my tweet. It was -37C/-34F at one point. It was COLD. I had these elaborate plans to bring Dexter and select ingredients over to my friend's place for a day of Christmas baking. I didn't go. Opted for baking at home with the baby and Dougal instead, and I made good progress on the state of our bungalow basement too (gearing up for holiday entertaining).

We made biscotti.




It's the domestic life here. No need to trouble myself with running around when I'm perfectly happy to nestle into the bungalow for hibernation when it's that cold out. Not to be a baby, I just don't want to fight it and I didn't have any imperative to be out and about.

So I content myself with drinking hot chocolate out of my new strawberry cup.




We're up to other house stuff like swapping my music studio and Dexter's bedroom, which meant needing a new lamp for the piano. It wasn't expensive nor is it fancy, but I get excited about this kind of thing.




If I would have gone out, Dexter would not have had the opportunity to wrestle with his toy worm.




And moms out there, try not to judge. I'm doing everything I can (believe me) to keep Dexter's face immaculate. He's teething. And he loves self-mutilation. Hence the face scratches.




And Dougal. He couldn't go outside for his walk, even a short one, without his boots and coat on. Disclaimer! These are all from my mom. I have never gone out to buy Dougal dog-clothes before, with the exception of the time I got him a shirt and tie. But, it was an actual toddler's shirt and tie. Not dog clothes. He had been invited to an outdoor wedding and I wanted him to be dressed appropriately. Ironically, the shirt and tie combo sort of made him look like a telemarketer.






Like every year, we will survive these times. And when it gets springy and warm we'll all go insane with appreciation.

Good thing I really like my bungalow. You'll be seeing a lot of it in the months to come.