Dec 29 - a very busy day ...

Let's see ...

• I helped David make chili, which percolated on the stove all day.  We'll bag it up today. 
• Lauren and Emma made the Usborne castle
• David, Jeffrey and I cleared the driveway, each of us taking turns with the snowblower
• Sandy and Kylie made bread, multiple loaves, using the stand mixer ... the first time that Sandy has actually used it; Kylie has been the user before this
• The girls, and David, did some sledding out the side
• Jeffrey and David took turns on the 4-wheeler.  I'm sure that with some coaxing, I could get the 3-wheeler to start but didn't try very hard
• David and Jeffrey went into town, hitting up the liquor store for beer and scotch.  The X5, with it's clearance, four-wheel-drive and snow tires didn't have any problem with the foot of snow on Osprey Road
• Sara and Jeffrey, in shifts or together, tended Matthew and Zoe ... Matthew hasn't been outside yet !  
• Come to think of it, Sandy, Sara and Matthew haven't been outside yet; Sandy the longest.
• Cassie bounded around in the deep snow, often deeper than her with the drifts, keeping her one tired puppy
• I went over and said hello to Claudia and Don; apparently they are heading south today as Isaac needs to get back to Niagara Falls, and then they'll be back for New Years Eve.  Also apparently the Troupes and their friends will be up for New Years Eve
• Right about now, or perhaps already, Osprey Road should have been plowed; I'd talked to Pat a couple of times
• As usual, Sandy did the prep but I did the grilling -- rainbow trout on the barbie; Sara had turkey :).
• As usual, Sandy did French Toast for the kids for breakfast; everyone fended for themselves for lunch, as usual
• Games were played upstairs and down; the TV got some use; electronics were in evidence everywhere.

There's probably more worth mentioning but that's all that comes to mind.  

It's about 18F right now and, by the looks of things, the temperature won't get above freezing for the rest of the time that we're here, nor will it get very cold.  There is no more snow predicted, save some flurries, a cm or two.

Jeffrey and Sara are planning on going into Sudbury today with Lauren, Emma and Zoe.  They'll pick up a couple of grocery items, some DEF (my <1000 and="" came="" destination.="" hit="" just="" left="" main="" miles="" north="" on="" p="" science="" their="" warning="">
As for the DEF, that might be as a result of the reserve tank freezing, so nothing is pumped into the active tank, so the sensor detects a low level.  I'd added the better part of 2.5 gallons on the way to Florida, which should have lasted 10-15,000 miles so this was unexpected ... but if it's not being pumped from reserve to active, that would account for this. Rats.   I've got a baseboard heater under the car but perhaps it hasn't done its job.  Oh well.

Zoe got up around 6:15; David at 6:30 ...the action is starting already.

When Pat called yesterday, he and Sandy were laughing on the phone about "chief cook and bottle washer" -- of course she's the chief cook and I'm the bottle washer.  Keeping the counter clear is a constant thing with a gang here; the dishwasher gets a lot of use.  If you had this kind of gang around all the time, you'd want two dishwashers, one of those big sub-zero fridges and the 48" stove with six burners.  The all-fridge downstairs is a vital part of having a gang here; the stove is adequate; the kitchen space so-so.  Our kitchen in Florida is larger, or seems so.  The one here is designed around the post-and-beam and does the job. 

If we had to do it all over again, there are a few things that we'd do differently, perhaps:

• the basement windows would be lower; 
• the roof overhang would be longer (12" was silly)
• the living room would be larger, extending forward a foot or two
• there would be lighting on the beam at the edge of the loft, providing light for the couch in its current placement
• that basement door would either be wider or not sliding doors !

There's probably more to this list. The bedrooms upstairs are huge, for example, perhaps we could have had four bedrooms up there with a different arrangement ?  We might down-size our master bedroom a little, upsize the den, put in a connecting pocket door ?  Anyway, random thoughts.  We did pretty well and we're not doing it again !

Onward with what we have !