Snow dog

Before we get too far into spring I guess I ought to post this photo of the snow dog my niece and I made when Mr. A and I visited Utah last month (click the photo for a closeup).

Was it really just last month? It seems like such a long time ago.

Anyway – there wasn't much snow on the ground when we got there, though it had been storming just a week or so before. The snow that was left was sloppy and kind of grainy, not the easiest material to work with, so instead of the fort or the giant snowmonster I had been hoping to make, we instead created a small community of miniature snowpersons, all between about five and eleven inches tall (three of whom are visible in this photo). Then my niece started to get bored with that and asked, "What else can we make?"

"How about a snow dog?" I said, thinking of Tater. I was missing him already.

She enthusiastically latched onto the idea before I had really thought it through. How the heck do you make a dog out of snow? My first thought was to make a dog lying down, but that seemed too easy, too boring. I wanted something more dynamic, something with some life. Then I realized that this melty, sticky snow would be perfect for making hard cylinders and put her to work constructing the basic shapes from which I then assembled the dog you see here, standing. Then each of us made one ear, and then she chose three little pebbles to use for the eyes and nose. I think it turned out great! My first snow dog ever.

I was lucky to get a picture of it, though. Apparently four-year-olds like to smash things made out of snow, even things they love. Interesting! And just as well, really, because how long can a snow dog last anyway, on a day like that? It was sunny and warm (for February) the whole time we were there. Other trip highlights included sledding with my parents, brother & family – Mr. A's first time ever on a sled! – and a dinner at my aunt's house, where I got to see a bunch of relatives I don't get to hang out with nearly often enough.

And now it's spring. I still have extra blankets on the bed, but within a month or so it may well be too hot to sleep at night so I'm enjoying every drop of rain I can get right now.

The sugar challenge is going well – though I will admit to having accidentally ingested sugar on more than one occasion since I started, mostly in the form of secret sugars hidden in foods like ketchup, sushi, and even my favorite canned peas. I'd love to know whose idea it was to add sugar to so many things it doesn't belong in. Probably the same person who added caffeine to all the drinks that never used to have it, not that I've ever been in the habit of drinking soda, anyway (it makes my teeth feel like they're disintegrating). So I'm basically down to eating mostly things I cook for myself, and drinking nothing but water and my occasional infused thing – tea, or various steeped herbs. I also have a small Meyer lemon tree that's covered with fruit right now, so those are making their way into lots of things, as well.

Just for future reference, any time I start writing about what I'm eating or not eating, it's a good sign I have nothing of interest to say and am grasping desperately at straws. I love good food but am much happier eating it than writing about it.

That said, I am off to dinner.

Listening to: The Eagles – Take It Easy