Chilly Dogs with Everything.

Those of you shoveling snow right now will want to hit me with a shovel (if you can still lift your arms) when I talk about the Cold in Florida, but it did get nippy last night. The dogs did NOT approve. Murphy is the skeptic - he refused to believe that it was as cold in the front yard as it was in the back. He'd been in the backyard and it is Obviously Malfunctioning. The heater is broken. If we go out front it'll still be 70 degrees! He demanded a walk repeatedly last night, Mommy was a total wuss and kept putting him (by picking him up and placing him out there, he wouldn't go voluntarily) in the cold backyard. He remains convinced that this is a backyard malfunction and I'm an idiot.

This morning Murphy really had to pee, he'd been holding it quite a while because he didn't believe me that a walk would be miserable in the cold wind, so he went out, gasped in shock, did his business and hustled back inside. Dudley would not budge from my bed, where he'd made a nest in the blanket and the light down throw we drag out for these occasions. He squeezed his eyes shut when I called his name. The dog was sleeping, don't bother him. I finally coaxed Dudley to go out and within two minutes he was throwing himself at the door like Godzilla was chasing him. Both dogs nestled into their beds and did not budge. They did not want treats. They did not want anything. That tile floor is too damn cold on small terrier feet.

Normally I give them a second pee break before I leave the house for work - this morning I did the cheery, "Okay boys, let's go outside!" and two dogs looked at me with utter contempt and did not move a muscle.

It's almost 50 now. Poop while it won't freeze to your butts boys, it's going to be really cold again tonight. On Friday it'll be 80. This is just enough to damage all the flowering plants that are budding early because it has been so warm.

I was tickled by this article: Sex and the Single Boomer. I am not alone. I'm a freaking cliche, but at least I'm not alone!

This was the money quote for me:

American women in their 40s and 50s are better educated and more affluent than any previous generation of women at midlife, and that has transformed the way they view dating. They don't necessarily want or need to center their lives on a man. In the AARP survey, only 14 percent of women said their most important reason for dating was to find someone to live with or marry, compared with 22 percent of men.

I was nodding along with some of the women quoted in the article - they want a "flex time" relationship. I fully understand the wisdom of the great Katherine Hepburn, who thought men and women should live in separate houses and visit. I didn't get that 25 years ago. Now it's the wisest concept ever.

For boomer women, this freedom at midlife may turn out to be an unexpected benefit of the feminist movement of the 1970s. "People used to say to me that because of all these changes in our society, a lot of women were going to end up lonely in their old age," says Coontz. "Well, you couldn't prove it by the ones I know." Single women in their 40s and 50s often have vast friendship networks that they've developed from college through years in the workplace and community activities. "They take vacations to meet up with friends and they have very rewarding lives without a partner," says Coontz. "It's a stunningly new ball game."

I totally identify - but it's so much more complicated than looking for a man to save us from the "terrible loneliness of the single woman." I kind of feel sorry for men who are trying to find their way through this, especially since so many of them (at least the ones who hit on ME) are looking for wives and I'm not sure I want to be a wife again. This single thing is good too.

So, yesterday I was overcome by the Special Olympic Knitting Spirit and cast on a special bonus project. I have four skeins of a really rich purple Cascade 220 in the stash and I realized it's enough for a toddler sweater. I'm halfway up the back. Sweater courtesy of Sweater Wizard. I don't know why I buy knitting books when SW and a few basic pattern books and stitch guides have created all of my projects.

And tonight is Westminster.

Oh, and Dudley's parents have a new litter - mostly girls. And at first I thought "I prefer boy dogs," and then I'm driving home from work and the name "Chloe," popped into my head. I'll wait until I see pictures of the litter, to decide if there is a Chloe there.