Our first January thaw, followed by a day of rain, revealed this beauty in granny’s garden.

This flowering kale had been buried in snow.  It grows in a protected spot near the basement wall, where it sheltered from most winds.

It is so good to see these brilliant colors among the white and brown that seem to characterize our winters.  It was snowing when I took this shot, and yes, that is snow on those lovely leaves.

I particularly like the textures of snow and kale in this closeup shot.  It also makes me glad to be sitting back in this warm office.

The cable came from the satellite dish into our house.  (We don’t have cable TV here in the country.)  We’ve returned their equipment to DirecTV.  After adding a new a new online service, we’re saving over $100 per month.

This is not a complaint against our satellite TV service provider.  They were very good and their equipment worked fine.  Life under that system was actually easier.  However, we can handle a bit of inconvenience for $100/mo.

We use a Roku streaming device to access Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.  That same device also connects us to Sling TV, where we get the cable channels that we want for $25/mo.  For another $5/mo we have an online DVR with a 500-hour capacity.

For over-the-air (OTA) TV, we use a Magnavox DVR.  That allows us to time shift even the sub channels.  (I particularly like the Johnny Carson reruns on Ch 17.2, which I couldn’t get on DirecTV.)

Thus far, the new setup has worked very well.  Sylvia and I are happy campers.

Today is my ninth blogaversary.  For some time, I posted at least once a day.  I’d spend hours at my computer.  I don’t do that anymore.  Many of my friends from back then have vanished.  In those days, the typical blog lasted no more than three or four years (if that long).

Fortunately a few of those friends are still around and active.  I am particularly grateful to those hardy folks who are still making their presence known in the blogosphere.

Lots of cold weather here lately, and tonight I hear the wind blowing.  I’m grateful to have a warm home and a loving wife.

Frosty mornings have greeted us with scenes like this one.

Unfortunately, the camera utterly fails to capture the scene as the human eye does.  Yet, there is beauty in those silver-frosted trees.

Sylvia joins me in wishing you all the very best in 2018.