The sky has been alternating sun and spritzing snow all day with a gusty wind that makes us wish we had installed a fireplace or wood stove when we renovated the house. I am investigating pellet stoves for the kitchen, between the two north windows where there is currently a rickety and unattractive little desk that no one ever uses. I'm not keen on a wood stove. I had one out in the garage and there was always a mess around it -- ashes and bark and schmutz -- and I hated cleaning it. Pellets are much neater. So we'll see.
My other plan for warming up the kitchen: oriental rugs. My sister-in-law Fran told me she had great success buying Oriental rugs on ebay. So I bid on one and won it. It came today and I love it. Instant warmth for not a lot of money.
Clara was home for just one night to print out some photos for her portfolio and pack up some more belongings for her new apartment, so I spent the afternoon hemming pants and looking through my stash for fabric to cover a bench for her. It was a brief visit, but it is always fun to have her at home. I've also been doing a little Christmas shopping on line as well as gearing up for creating my own website -- a daunting task, but one I need to address.