Snowy, dusty Christmas

The downstairs drywall project is rounding the home stretch, though Chris might insert “never ending” in there somewhere. What a messy, dusty, and seriously unrelenting job.

Chipper and I avoided the dust and camped out upstairs on the new weeHouse sofas on our last visit, which coincided with the two-year anniversary of the landing of the beautiful pre-fab on Dec. 22.

We arrived to at least a foot of fresh snow, which I love, because it’s so easy to see the footprints of all the critters passing through. 

Summers at Loveless are full of energy and color. But I'm finding I relish the stillness of winter -- especially when sipping a cup of coffee inside the toasty weeHouse!

Numb and number

I lifted that headline from meteorologist Paul Douglas, who says we’re off to the coldest start to December since 1996. And we Minnesotans/Wisconsinites are in a foul mood because of it. This week Mr. Douglas' forecast made references both to “arctic sun” and “Siberian sun.” Perhaps a reminder that even though sunlight is scant as we approach winter Solstice, we should show a little appreciation for the heavenly orb. Sunrise at Loveless today: 7:41 a.m.; sunset: 4:27 p.m.

One of my most clever colleagues wrote on Facebook today: This is my last winter in Minnesota.*

Ice in!

Even in these northern climes, it’s rare to see a lake that’s ready to skate on without the aid of a Zamboni, water hose or some other form of human intervention. Usually it snows, which wrecks the ice for skating. But we scored one of those precious occurrences at Loveless Lake this year, and Chris and I did not let it go unenjoyed.

After living here nearly 24 years now (how did that happen?), I hope to never lose that thrill of skating on a frozen lake. I’m still an arm-flailing novice, as I seem to manage just a couple of outings each season. But my motto is this: As long as it’s cold, let’s play. And what a great playmate I’ve got with Chris.

Ever the hockey player. (The weeHouse project is straight up.)

Practicing pirouettes.

Lounge time

It’s not quite Better Homes & Gardens, but we’ve now got a couple of sofas to lounge on, thanks to the strong arms of pal Nora and the enthusiasm of her faithful hound, Emma. 

Nora’s what you might call a nesting goddess. She loves this kind of stuff. Rubs her hands together, gets a glint in her eye and starts cooing over all the creative options at hand. That’s good news for me, as I tend to get overwhelmed with all the home décor choices (and price tags), and then fall into a funk because I’m certain I’ve irretrievably screwed things up.

The three of us piled into the truck for a recent Loveless daytrip, assembled the Target BluDots and had a weeHouse picnic before heading into St. Croix Falls to check out an art show. Not bad for a day’s work.