Patti came over today (I had a nice envelope for her) and we took a soak in the hot tub.  Her neck's been bothering her (along with a few other body parts) and no surprise that she felt much better afterward.

Joel's birthday was Thursday, and when Patti talked to him he told her it was so cold that day in North Dakota that the guys didn't work.  He's apparently loving it up there (?!?) though I'm thinking it's possible that the novelty of winter may <g> wear off one of these days.    And of course he's not having to drive in any snow or ice, or disconnect his battery to bring inside every night and then hook it back up again in the morning, or do any number of things "regular" folks living there have to do in those sub-zero temps.  In the meantime he's hopefully stockpiling lots of $ so he can buy a reliable (maybe even new?) car when he returns.

Meanwhile here's it's such a lovely day that we have the doors open!

Between several stints in the hot tub, time on the heating pad, and time stretched out on the couch I'm thrilled to report that my back is feeling MUCH better!  I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to work on the quilt, but with this much progress today I could/should be able to sew again tomorrow.