Rejoice! THE END IS NEAR.

Of old man Winter anyway. To me the official start of Spring happens when I place my first order from a seed catalog. I can hardly wait until the Tasti Lee tomato seeds arrive; new variety for me, but they're good enough to have their own festival in FL and I'm told the supermarkets charge a premium for them.

That's another reason I garden besides organic safety - supermarket produce prices except for bananas are enough to give me a heart attack, especially in a remote rural area where we have to absorb higher shipping costs.

Today I've been hearing snow slide off the roof, and the underground frozen town water mains should thaw soon so I can have running water again. I'm getting sick of bird baths. By the middle of next week, betcha I can do laundry and run the dishwasher again, too. Tonight I cooked the ground venizon that I plan to add tomorrow to a good hearty stew of onions, potatoes, and carrots. Since I can't afford to wind up with ALL my cookware dirty before water service resumes, I'll be making enough for 3 days. The very thought of going to the store for tv dinners horrifies me. Although come to think of it, I have a perfect excuse for buying at least one package of chimis. I could live on those things.