Well, it's one of those 18-percent-gray days out there today. Here's what the yard looks like:






A muddy mess, basically. Now that the snow is gone, you can see that we didn't manage to get the leaves raked . . .

And here's that tree that was so resplendent covered with snow:






These pix were taken at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Basically, it's been one of those days when I've needed the lights on all day; I opted not to do some cleaning in a dark area of the upstairs bedroom, because the ambient light wasn't good enough.

Makes me want to claw through the clouds, the way that an underwater swimmer running out of air claws their way to the surface.

Other than the dismal weather, it's been a pretty productive day. I got several errands taken care of, including getting the health insurance from my employer instated, so we've now got coverage again. (We lost our insurance, which had been provided by Emil's employer, on January 1.) That's a big relief to me. The house is now pretty well clean from top to bottom, so I have no more procrastinatory projects to keep me from working on my classes for next semester . . .

It's not looking like Emil will be unemployed for very long, thank goodness. He has another interview set up for Monday. The down side there is that the job pays substantially less than his old one (and it's a long commute, too), but there are other, more lucrative, prospects out there, too, so even if he takes this one, something better may be just around the corner. And even so, the job for which he has an interview pays a lot more than unemployment.

The news from Youngstown is less than ideal today. Uncle Joe is in the hospital; they suspect a small heart attack, and also, he seems to have a lingering infection from the hip surgery he had last May (when he broke his hip fixing a neighbor's washing machine). Emil's father says that Uncle Joe has had small heart attacks before, so he's not too worried - and if they can treat the infection, maybe Joe will recover mobility (and lose the chronic pain) in his hip, which would be a good thing. So this could all turn out to be just fine. Still, it does give you pause when a 90something gets admitted into a hospital . . .

Well, darkness is falling, so you can't see the clouds, thank goodness. I better go put the groceries away (and maybe I'll clean out the fridge while I'm at it). And then, really, I have to start my class prep. Really.