The weather is still disrepaired here in the Swamp.
HOWEVER, the I.R.S. processed my taxes (finally) and my Big Fat Tax Return appeared in my checking account last night. Y'all know what that means: time to buy building materials!
The bad news? We cannot PAINT (and thus cannot MOUNT) the walls until the temperature rises above 50 degrees. Look at our backyard:
Do you even remember what 50 degrees looks like? I vaguely remember the color green...like, growing out of the ground, not just the normal moss-growth on the Swamp-dwelling people. Bah. There isn't 50 degrees in our forecast for at least a week. Bah, bah, bah.
However, here's something I can say nice things about: Purpleness.
It's so warm, it's cool. Dig the insulated purple overalls (locally referred to as "cuvvies") with the matching insulated purple jacket? Oh, yeah. I'm a huge fan of Carhartt gear, but they haven't quite got the hang of purple yet. "Raspberry" isn't "purple", y'all, anymore than "dirt" equals "chocolate." Right?
Jim's enterprising brothers teamed up with Santa Claus in December and got me really-o, truly-o purple cuvvies and a jacket from Rods!
I was hopeful, but slightly skeptical. Could they possibly wear as strongly as Carhartts? Could they possibly keep me warm and dry, even in the cold wet Swamp? Guess what? They can--and they do! I'm loving these garments. They are "work-wear sized," which means they don't cling or bind...and they fit over my jeans or my riding breeches or my jammies. The pockets are big enough for tools, a flashlight, my camera, and a fistful of horse cookies. (The pockets also keep my stuff dry, which is important to people who want to use the camera or the horse cookies a few hours later!). The hood fits over my riding helmet. Machine wash + dry. I saw a teeny bit of shrinkage at the first washing, but not after that. I've pretty much worn them every day since I unpacked the box under the tree.
And hey: they're purple. Eat your heart out, Carhartt. (they come in pink, too). Here's the link.
Purple insulated thermal gloves with rubberized palms! Wahooooo! I got these at my local farmer's co-op, but I see that the brand is "Bellingham"...uh, as in my hometown? Sure enough: the gloves are from a commercial fishing company based in Bellingham, WA. How cool is that?
I admit: I bought these gloves because they're purple and because my hands were cold that day. But I've returned to the feed store and bought a bunch of extra pairs of them because they actually keep my hands warm and relatively dry (i.e. dry if you get rained on but not dry if you immerse them in a water tank to retrieve something your goofy horse tossed in). The rubber palms make it easy to hold onto a leadrope with one hand and open the gate clip with the other. And they're purple, which is important. And also under $10, so I can buy lots and not feel bad when I lose the left one.
(always the left, don't ask me why)
I love them.
The LFS Marine store online is a little wonky, and I found plenty of Bellingham gloves on the website but not the purple ones. Blue, black, and dayglow yellow (Jim got those, because they are difficult to lose), but not purple. Me, I'd contact the LFS store if your feed store doesn't have these amazing gloves. Here's the link to their contact info.
As for me: well, the delusionists at the National Weather Service seem to think our weather will improve soon. Slightly. Probably. Well, kinda.
Can we all just think warm thoughts for a few hours? Maybe that would help.
Warm thoughts...and purple clothes. It can't hurt, I'm thinking.
Luna and Mimsy (above) 
the neighbor's cat 
the goats (above) 
My little truck is snuggled into an out-of-the-way parking spot until all this nastiness melts. It has good tires, and 120-pounds of bagged sand in the bed, but it does not have four wheel drive...and it does not do well in slippery road conditions. So, I'm stuck at home for a while--um, using the reverse Scotty Factor on current weather predictions, I'll be here 2 to 6 days! 
At least it's pretty. 
