It's so cold I have to have our ceramic heater on the table to keep my hands warm enough to type, 19F (-6C) with the wind howling at 15-20 mph, and of course our heat pump doesn't work in this kind of cold. I took Pacha out at 6:00, and we didn't stay long. It's the coldest morning here since Jan. 29th, 2005, not a comforting thought. The wind howled all night and by morning had blown most of the water out of the bay, so we are sitting very low in our slip and stepping up to the dock to get offf the boat. Needless to say, in these conditions one is extra careful about getting off the boat and walking on the dock. One slip could be fatal. One sort of sadistically-comforting thought: It's a helluva lot colder in Toronto and Ottawa than it is here, and our temperature will moderate a bit tomorrow. Anne just commented, "Next year we'll be in Florida," and that's quite likely true. Meanwhile, we'll hunker down, cook some nice food (soup?) and stay close to the heaters. Maybe we'll go to a mall today.