Janet's Blog

When I was walking with Jackson the other day, near Northfield Park, a man in an over-sized pickup stopped and rolled down his window, leaned out, and thanked me for picking up after my dog. (I guess it was obvious that the translucent bag dangling from my hand contained Jackson's poop.) I think I raised my mittened hand in acknowledgement before he continued on his way. I didn't quite know what to think about that unexpected interaction, because I was just doing what I always do. No matter the season, whenever I walk with Jackson, I always tie a couple of plastic grocery bags onto Jackson's leash before we set out. After Jackson does his business--usually two or three times each walk--I put my hand inside a bag to pick up his poop, turn the bag inside out, and tie it at the top. Then I carry the bag in the same hand as the leash until I toss it in a convenient trash can along the way. In the winter, the hardest part of the whole process is untying the bag from the leash wi...

A few days ago, Bill went to Menards to buy Levi some warm gloves to replace the worn out pair he had been using when he shoveled snow. While he was there, Bill also bought Levi a new stocking cap, and he picked up a pair of soft, warm, double-layered socks for me. It was cold and extremely windy last week, so I was glad to have some new warm socks. I rarely wear shoes in the house. Bill considers this to be almost sacrilege, since he is never without shoes unless he is sleeping, and sometimes not even then. In the summer, I go barefoot in the house, and wear sandals outside. In the winter, I wear socks. Bill wears shoes and socks year-round, inside and out. When the temperatures hover in the single digits, or even below zero, and the wind is blowing a gale, even our new furnace is unable to keep our house comfortably warm. We have decided that we need to replace our old, single-paned, west windows, which are original to this house, with new, energy efficient, double-paned or even ...