Winter reprise

 

It was chilly and overcast Thursday, but thankfully those street workers finished not just the tail end of the patch in front of my house but also the ones down the block on the side street... so it turns out that for once the weather and the work coincided.

Friday morning I went and got my hair cut, as it had reached the "driving me crazy" stage again.

For those of you who remember how "March Madness" I get, yes, it's happening again this year.  I watched three games of men's NCAA tournament Thursday, including the one where Oakland upset Kentucky.  I do not fill out a bracket or bet on games, but I enjoy watching the winnowing process, the Cinderella stories that can end in simply being "spoilers" or actually in Cinderella wearing the crown.

Thinking of my old Galloway coach, I watched Creighton and the Oregon Ducks advance... he went to both schools, both won their first round games on Thursday, and they played each other on Saturday with Creighton coming out on top.  Since I had a cousin who played for Creighton, I'm fine with this.

My own alma mater, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, lost on Friday evening, against Texas A&M, the school that recruited away our athletic director.  The Husker women won against the Aggies, though, then went on to lose their Sunday game.

I usually look for Syracuse University (I took some grad school courses there) as a more likely winning team... but they aren't even in the round of 64 this year.  At least not on the men's side... the Syracuse women are there, at least in the first two rounds!  They lost to UConn Monday night.  

But the big draw for the women is the Iowa team with Caitlin Clark, and I watched them both Saturday afternoon and Monday night, but fell asleep before they pulled off the Monday night squeaker.  

Outdoors, Saturday has brought us snow, and after The Prisoner went out, he came back in with an extra coat that was rapidly melting.

Of course he will be in for the shocker of his old age when Ember shows up next weekend.  

Tuesday morning, we awoke to a dusting of snow, cold temperatures, and a Winter Weather Advisory that lasts until 10 a.m., with gusty winds.  I will be heading out to work out with the trainer 

Ember's breeder posted a video on Monday of the litter (including a glimpse of her in the mix) experiencing their first snow!  It is apparent that Ember might be lonely when she comes to me, so of course I had to order her a Snuggle Puppy, that has a heart beat and heat... hopefully to help her sleep in her crate.  Again, all those wishes for "good luck" with this new project are appreciated, and might well be needed.  Fantasizing about a puppy and actually training one are two different deals.

It's been five years since I worked with Carl as a puppy.  It's been thirteen years since I said my last good-byes to Diamond as she was put down.  I'm sure that Diamond would be happy to have my heart grow to include Ember.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!