Are we all frozen yet?  Our thermometer on the patio door reads -5.  Mom has a couple of letters to mail and I told her that I will put them in the box when I go out to collect the incoming.  I really don't want to go out more than I have to.  I thought about taking some pictures but decided not to.  Instead, I will treat you to something more cheerful and colorful.  I just finished this rug (after having to take half of it out because it simply didn't want to lie flat.)  Then I had another brainstorm thanks to the site I linked to a few days ago, Dollar Store Crafts.  

This is the back side where I attached a non-stick shelf liner.  We have already tried out the rug and it really is non-skid now.  The shelf liner works beautifully.

Here is a close-up view.  I decided to crochet the rounds together and am rather glad I did.  I may have had an easier time if I had simply stitched them together but the crocheting provided more stability.  The yarns are all a washable sayelle so it should be easy to maintain (always a good thing, to quote Martha Stewart.)

We now have bright sun outside.  It won't do much good as the temps are not supposed to break zero at least not before tomorrow afternoon.

This item from the BBC is depressing.  What is more depressing is that I have seen similar items from around the world over the last couple of years.  The nationalities of the victims change, the destinations change but the story is the same.

I don't follow sports unless the story intersects with other interests, which is seldom.  This one from CBC, however, has such an intersection.  The costs involved with hosting an Olympic Games is mindboggling.  When I lived in Colorado the pricetag and concerns with financing torpedoed Denver's attempt to vie for the Winter Olympics.  Citizens there voted it down.  (I was one of them.)  I hope Vancouver's experiences aren't omens for Chicago's future.

Mom just called me to look at the results of the snow removal efforts.  I think the piles of snow out front range from 3 ft to over 6 ft.  I caught a glimpse of what they are using to clear the parking areas out back--a front loader.  I don't think we will see the corner where they are piling up a new Mt. Everest till spring.  I will show some pictures tomorrow.

It looks like Congress is getting ready to pass the extension of the S-Chip program that Bushie vetoed--twice.  I am very glad that they are going to do that.  However, I am not glad about their source of funding--tripling the federal tax on tobacco products.  First, Mom smokes.  The new taxes will add $6 per carton to her budget.  Second, the sin taxes never bring in all the revenue they anticipate.  People do exactly what Mom plans to do--cut back.  For anyone who thinks that she will benefit dramatically from quitting--she is 78, healthy, and likely to live past 90 without quitting.  Of course, the big question is whether the Senate will go along.  I am sure some of those ideological fossils will kick up a fuss.

I think it is time to go on to other things.  Stay warm and safe.