It's been bitterly cold and the city is always uglier in the cold. All the dirt freezes, and somehow frozen dirt looks worse than unfrozen dirt. It's paler, dustier, stranger. Like a bit of desert.

I have been seeking out the last remaining cat each night to bring him into the warmth of the cellar, like a 19th century homesteader bringing in her cattle. I discovered shredded paper makes excellent cat litter, particularly the kind that is cross-cut into one inch bits.

Mr. Crazy continues to amaze, mathematically. He can know divide fractions. 1/3 divided by 5/6! Once you know the tricks, it's not so hard, but I can see that he is conceptualizing it alongside simply doing the calculations. And now that I have the cheapest of cheap phone plans I can call my math genius sister for help. Glamor Girl is doing well in math too, about two years ahead of where she ought to be, but is not as precocious as Mr. Crazy How I produced numerically clever children is a baffling mystery. Although a woman can pass on her sister's gentic traits while not displaying them herself?

I'll have to ask her.