Remember how I told everyone that Leeds, unlike its city neighbors, didn't get snow in the winter? Hahahaha. Well, the central part of Leeds doesn't--that's why we didn't have any last year. But it turns out that out in the hills around Leeds, we get plenty of snow. It's gorgeous, and I was thrilled to see it when it started last night. But it feels seriously weird, since I've never seen snow in Leeds before, and this is coming after a couple of weeks of pure spring weather. I guess it's our big reminder that it really is still January, after all.

Nika, of course, was fascinated by the snow this morning! This is her first snowfall in nearly two years, and her tail turned into a spinning top on our first morning walk, as she darted around everywhere, sniffing everything, tasting the snow and following tiny animal tracks. When I finally called her back to me, she looked up in surprise--You want to go inside? Why?--with her head cocked to one side and white snow covering half of her black nose. It was really cute. (But I made her come back in anyway, since I needed breakfast.)

Sadly, by the time we left with a pair of friends (human and canine, respectively) for our big walk, an hour and a half ago, the snow had turned into driving sleet, which isn't nearly as much fun. By the time we got back (after ten minutes of forcing our way up a long hill, against the sleet-filled wind), we were both completely drenched and shivering. Now Nika's sitting on a chair by the fire, licking her fur dry, and I've changed into dry pyjamas. (Hey, I work at home. Why not?) Patrick's recovering from the first wisdom tooth removal, and we'll both be happy whenever the wound finally stops bleeding. (It's been about twenty hours, on and off, now.) It's warm inside, in front of the fire, and I'm done with grading. There's black bean soup waiting to be eaten for lunch, and then it'll be time to start my Viennese funding application.

I'm thinking that hot chocolate may be a definite necessity.