We're in the middle of another stretch of freezing weather. It feels like -11'F out there right now, so we're all inside. It's been so cold that Dad's old car is having trouble running, so he's got our car for work --- keeps us around the house, anyway. Thankfully, we've had some snow over the past days, and that always works as a sort of insulator. Dad spent the weekend putting those little black "foam jackets" on the plumbing throughout the house.

Something that is sure to brighten any day is Flowering Tea. Gramma Gail gave us a fabulous little set of flowering teas for Christmas, and we're in the middle of having the second one right now. :) There were six different kinds of tea included. We drank something called "Shooting Star" last week (see picture below) and are getting ready to have one that is a mix of black tea and jasmine. One kind is called "Dragon Lily", so Elizabeth and I are saving that one for the day that we get The Hobbit 2 on DVD. How much better can you get than Dragon tea while watching Bilbo talk to a dragon? Not bad at all! Hot tea does amazing things for your morale in this freezing cold weather. The poor little birds. Elizabeth has to fill all of her feeders two or three times a day! They are all puffed out with the cold.

The cats are getting adjusted to life without Monika. Max, Beatrice, Oliver and Iveta took to it in hardly any time. Actually, almost no time. Sammy, Frodo and Avis are having a harder time. Even though they only got picked on by her, they aren't adjusting easily. They are pretty nervous.

Elizabeth and I have had some chances over the last week to work on our scrapbooks. I've gotten all caught up with the latest Prince George news, so now it's time to wait for another picture to be released or the anticipated Aussie/Kiwi trip.

Gramma also gave us each a gift card for Amazon (a place where E. and I love to shop!) for Christmas, and one of the things that we picked was a set of behind-the-scenes books about The Hobbit. They are called "The Hobbit Chronicles" and are done by Weta Workshop. So, I spent time this weekend reading all about the making of The Shire, Mirkwood, Laketown and The Lonely Mountain. I was so engrossed on Saturday afternoon that the oven buzzer going off made me jump! More later.

Last week was along week. God was with us the whole time, and we came through, but it's certainly a week that we were all glad to see come to an end. Dad was able to get the well and pipes defrosted on Tuesday afternoon. However, the pressure of the water coming in from the bottom burst the hot water pipes in Dad's bathroom. 9:00pm at night and the dinging room ceiling was bowing and cascading a whole fall of hot water. Elizabeth and I had everything that could hold water on the floor trying to keep damage to a minimum. The rug was pretty wet and has just finished drying out. The most damage was done to one of the hutches, as the hot water ruined the finish on one side. Guess that will have to be on the project slate for this Summer!

Dad took the day off on Wednesday and spent it working on the plumbing. He's a pretty handy guy and was able to get it fixed by the evening. We were even able to get water into all the bathrooms that night. A lot of sediment came up when the water was finally running, though, so that breaks the flushing kits in the toilets. It also broke the cartridge in our kitchen faucet (which is only a few months old!). The toilets are easy to fix, because Dad just buys the stuff at Lowe's. The cartridge for the faucet has to come in the mail, so we have a teensy-tiny bit of cold water coming into the kitchen, but lots of hot!

After three nights of sleeping down in the living room, Elizabeth and I were finally able to move back into our bedroom. Sleeping on a sofa-bed mattress in the middle of the floor is not my idea of fun! Besides, getting up every hour and a half to stoke the fire means that it isn't really sleeping --- it's more like lying down.

To make a sad end to a very long week, we had to put Monika to sleep on Saturday. We had her for eight years (since she was four months old). She was Elizabeth's cat and had lots of personality. We called her "Sugar Lump" and "Lump the Grump". She was just like the little girlie in the nursery rhyme: There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good --- but when she was bad, she was horrid. That was M-Girl. She was adorable. When she was by herself. She just didn't like any other cats. She loved people. She had a really cute little "chirping" meow that she used when she was watching birds in the window. She also chirped every time someone sneezed. It was really cute.

Monika and I did not get along. She didn't like me, and I was scared of her. Most meetings between us ended in blood --- always mine. That aside, she was cute and not like any other cat we've had. She knew her name so well that it didn't even matter what tone you spoke it in or how loud you said it. She was pretty smart. Her funny quirk was that she didn't know her back feet were her own. She would chase them when she was lying down, and she would grab her back foot and bite it until she yelped. Silly babe.

No matter how much you get along (or not) with a cat, it's always sad to see them go. It didn't come as a surprise, as we've expected something for a year. She had gotten thinner than usual (and she was already pretty thin!) and really aggressive. She bullied the other seven cats all the time, and even though she was usually a grumpy cat, she hadn't always been a mean one. In the past months, we had also noticed her chewing on things, pumping her jaws, and occasionally pawing at her mouth. Sure enough, she had the same tooth disease that so many of our other babes have died from.

This leaves our cat family down at seven. Sadly, we're all feeling sorrier about M-Girl than the felines. They are settling into their old habits at a fast rate and seem to be happy that no one is beating them up or hissing at them all the time. Of course, Oliver is just as much of a cute little pest as always! Although, you would never guess it by the sweet little picture, would you?!

The weather has warmed up over the weekend, so we were able to go to church yesterday. That is wonderful, as we haven't been able to get there since the Christmas service!

We were all pretty tired and low yesterday, so we made a day of it and went up to see The Hobbit with Dad in the afternoon. This makes it the fifth time that Elizabeth and I have seen it, as we went with Mom on Friday evening. It only gets better with each viewing, too. We were pretty happy, because the last of our "Hobbit souvenirs" that we had gotten for Christmas arrived this week. Genuine "Thorin" keychains with a miniature key to the Lonely Mountain and a small map on them. Can't beat that! We wore them to the theater --- just for the "authentic" feel. They came in really cute little boxes, too (see photo).

It is pretty warm today, and we had rain on Saturday, so all of the snow is gone. Just lots of mud. Elizabeth and I are still working on some of our miniature dolls, but we're hoping to be completely caught up with orders after this week. More later.

Here we are . . . it is 2014 and it has sure come in with a bang! As this cold weather sweeps the country, Ohio is not left out. We are in below-zero temperatures this week with wind-chill factors making it in the thirties below zero. It is freezing! Sitting right up next to the woodstove you still feel cold. On top of that, something in our water pump has frozen, so we have not water. Ugh. Dad is trying his best to fix it, but we might end up having to call in the repair man.

Saturday was our last warm day, so Dad and I had the fire roaring and the house all heated up. Wouldn't really know that now, since I was up all night and this morning working hard to get the temperature in the living room up to 58'F!

Since the weather was nice on Saturday, Elizabeth and I took advantage and went to the movie theater again to see The Hobbit. That was very enjoyable, and it only improves with multiple viewing. Mom and Dad gave us some "Hobbit souvenirs" for Christmas, so we each have our very own key to the Lonely Mountain! We've also gotten some really fun letter openers (or, as Elizabeth calls them --- "mini swords") that are shaped like the different swords in the movie. All in all, we've been having fun with The Hobbit!

We've also had orders for more Minikin dolls, so that has been keeping us busy as well. We're doing pretty well getting caught up. Elizabeth is hoping that we'll actually be able to get a few made in advance. Well, I'm absolutely freezing, so it's time to go sit by the fire and warm up! More later.