Green Bay, Birthdays, New Cars

We had a quiet weekend in Green Bay; Monday is my mother-in-law's birthday, so we surprised her with a trip to the wilds of Wisconsin, full of heavy snow and doggy adventures.


And, as always, Penelope is the star of the show, the one who shoes up, fur-laden, thrilled at bounding everywhere she pleases.


I love the way he runs with them, as if he were a part of the pack as well.


The days are sunny, the weekend long and wide open. I love this blue sky. I love the sheer tunneling of the snow. So much, everywhere.


And something I couldn't post about until now: we traded in the minivan. The soccer mom-mobile, as everyone tended to call it, my husband's hand-me-down from his parents, a lovely vehicle for the dogs and for carpooling with friends [only one designated driver], but certainly not very efficient for his hour long commute. We now have a VW Jetta, a diesel manual. I haven't driven stick since I was sixteen, on an old Honda with a nasty shift, but I did take it around my in-laws' block twice, stalling it twice. Sheer ice too, and a sort strip of highway.


I was able to also play with one of my new attachments, the macro, with little plant leaves:


And we celebrated Sue's birthday with cake and plenty of good things wrapped messily: