Yes, we have had a bit of snow here lately ...

... Not so much in Wilkes, after about a week of it, but up here in beautiful downtown Boone where I sit in my office this very minute it is snowing today as it has for every day in the last week or so. And the week before that. And probably the week before that, since I can't seem to remember a time without snow.

Here is the "Groundhog Day" version.

like General Patton on war, "God I love it so."

Don't hit me, Carmen!

Another disgustingly sentimental dog story ...

... for which I apologize in advance. Don't much care for the beasts myself.

I am only putting it up because Leo insisted.

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To console him from his long slow struggle ...

... with the evil,....uh no ... Herr Doktor Doktor Fluffy, we are thinking of getting a companion for the little lummox.

What do you think?

A movement just for us ....

... me, my old brother Jesse, brother Jesse the Confederate Nut, and my other brother Jesse.

It's all about being slow.

I can relate to that. Especially the little mention of the Fountain Pen Hospital.

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The little lummox has an arch enemy ...

... who lives in a little box on the porch of the house next door. He hates the cat that lives there because he regularly comes out of his little box, parades all over the lummox's own driveway, and then does slow, languorous tummy rolls. Our little lunatic has a complete meltdown.

The cat's name is Fluffy, or as I believe lummox thinks of him, "The Evil Dr Fluffy." He came to the neighborhood late one evening, with no known antecedents, looking like any old tom, and settled in. The lummox hates him. In fact the little lummox has decided that his mission in life is to protect the household and his pack (i.e. Carmen and Clemens) from the clutches of Dr Fluffy. This is how he earns the excessively good treatment he receives here.

The Evil Dr Fluffy is a striking looking cat, with a battered boxers face and a big pink WC Fields nose. He's a hard bitten looking veteran of god-knows-what.

The other day I was in the Hickory Barnes and Nobles, where we had gone just to get out of the house after days of snow and ice, when flipping through a picture book, I saw THAT FACE! Exactly. And the caption explained that it was the face of an exotic cat called ... The Turkish Van. I couldn't believe it. The evil one had a pedigree.

It's true. Here is a picture of a Turkish Van mix, which looks exactly like Fluffy, right down to his unusually fluffy black tail, and the WC Fields nose. Here is a description by the owner of the cat in the picture describing his destinctive fur:

It’s like a cashmere baby blanket, or the softest fur on the tiniest bunny you ever saw. Turns out Vans do not have the awn and guard hairs most cats do, just the silky downy stuff.

The other giveaway is his markings. The characteristic Van pattern is a brilliant white body with a colored tail and matching head, or as I call it, his toupee. As merely a VanAlike, Alfie doesn’t have stripes on his very plushy tail and as seen in pix, he’s got some big Holstein-like dark spots mixed up on his otherwise white body.

It's Dr Fluffy! I am so amazed. This breed comes from the shores of Lake Van, in Turkey, though it is really the ancient homeland of the Armenians. These cats are exotic, mysterious, high bred, with an amazing history.

So from now on it is no longer The Evil Dr Fluffy, but Herr Doktor Doktor Fluffy

Blame Canada...

(with apologies to Elliot). Ray tells us we are being hit with a "Saskatchewan Screamer", a vicious blast of cold air from Saskatchewan, Canada! Anger at our neighbors to the north has temporarily diverted Carmen's attention from "the man who brought me to this living hell."

Lummox and I are being veerrry quiet.

Sorry Elliot. Somebody has to take the fall.

Ray the Weatherman makes is official ...

... "this winter has been the snowiest on record through February 14. The table below shows the 10 snowiest winters through February 14 in Boone NC. Notably missing is the winter of 1959-60 when the winter total in Boone was 104"--most of the snow that year fell between mid February and mid March. Weather data for Boone goes back to the 1920s."

Ray is the local weather guru. Actually he is an ASU prof whose passion is meteorology and produces a weather page. Locals rely on it because it is, well, local, and so more accurate than the government weather service or the weather channel.

Things are getting ominous here at Clemens central: Carmen is aimlessly wandering around the house muttering under her breath, shaking her head and laughing unpleasantly. The cats are just yowling and running from window to window.

The lummox is very quiet. Me too.

Man, this is getting ridiculous ...

... the weather that is. The little lummox's lunatic urge to go out in the morning for a long walk, every morning, come hell or six inches of snow is well established. We are getting more snow today. Carmen bravely suited up, hopped in the Subaru and mushed off with the little beast even before the snow plow came through.

As for Boone, it apparently will snow every day until Tuesday. Even Maire of Deep Gap is beginning to complain about the snow. Even her kids are beginning to think it is too much of a good thing. And Carmen has been complaining so much that her complaints are tapering off. Or maybe they are just getting drowned out by the rising chorus of weeping and wailing from everyone else. Some considerable gnashing of teeth too.

Meanwhile, the lummox and I just lay low and keep our mouths shut.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee ...

... supposedly. There is an article on Aol.com about grinding your own coffee beans each morning for the perfect cup of coffee. I am not that much of a perfectionist. What's most interesting though is the comments section. Here is one I think I will keep. I already use 8 O'Clock Colombian. Consumer Report once rated it as the best. You grind it in the store. I have also heard that Dunkin' Donuts is good, but when I tried it it really didn't ring any bells. This guy's advice seems good:

been looking for a consistent good cupof coffee for 40 years. found the best about 10 years ago. here are my findings: 1. use cold fresh water in a basic drip coffee maker, like a $12 mr. coffee, avoid gadgets and bells and whistles, you may mess up the brew. keep the pot clean and dry. use brown unbleached coffee filters. measure coffee and water precisely. keep plastic filter holder clean. 2. coffee- have tried just about every one. forget most canned coffees, grind is wrong and coffee is consistently stale. best is 8 oclock 100% columbian bean in the brown bag, grind it fine in the store. when you open the bag of beans make sure it has a strong coffee smell , better if the beans look a little wet/shiny- coffee oils are fresh. carefully reseal the bag after the coffee is ground. make sure the grinder is clean clear of old coffee and not loaded with the smellof artificial coffee flavorings. 3. 2d choice in coffee brands would be the only canned coffee that ive found is excellent- melitta 100%columbian, already ground fine. 3d choice would be folgers columbian, already ground. 4. found best over the counter coffee is dunkin donuts original. 5.only good decaf ive found is dunkin donutsoriginal in the bag .

Several other commenters suggest adding a pinch of salt, in one case specifically kosher salt, to the coffee before brewing. I'll have to try that.

Anybody else have any advice?

Carmen says this looks like her old dog...

... Melvin (whose twin brother was named Gibson). I think so to, except for the benign look in this little fellow's eye. Click in any command you want and he will try to carry it out. Whatever you tell him, DO NOT tell him "kiss."

Washington DC, our old home town, is in the news...

... and here is a cartoon comment posted on that other blog.

brings back memories.

Oooops! I forgot.

Happy Birthday!

Carmen insists the title of that last post ...

should be "GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!"

The little lummox and I are enjoying it, however. I even volunteered to take the little beast out for his morning walk. It had been sleeting and snowing all night and now had turned to freezing rain when he and I went out, dodging the plow as it came up our street. The lummox loved it. Wanted to run, hop in the snow, roll around, and other signs of his impending nervous breakdown. And it is remarkably beautiful with snow coating every little branch and phone wire.

I got thoroughly wet and took a long hot shower when we got back in (the lummox wanted to keep going). After the shower I was thinking of having a brandy when Carmen brought me some hot tea and cookies. Much better.

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Weather Report for Today....