Rain, rain, rain

Yesterday we had our first bona-fide snowfall. There was enough accumulation to shut down the schools in Richmond, but around here, it was no big deal at all. Today we're back to pouring rain. I must say, the weather this fall has been consistently crappy. Nice days have been few and far between since the beginning of October. I was prepared mentally for a long, cold winter, but I wasn't expecting fall to be so gray, wet and miserable. It's more like Vancouver than what I imagined Ottawa would be like. My coffee consumption has crept up to four cups a day as I struggle against the urge to curl up in bed and hibernate until spring. I miss the bright, crisp fall days we enjoyed in Virginia, where autumn is by far the nicest season. I think things will be better once winter is fully underway. It will be freezing cold, but I'm looking forward to playing in the snow with Henry.

In other news, I lined up two days a week of daycare with a woman who lives a block over. Tom and I have done a pretty good job juggling primary responsibility for watching Henry, but we decided we needed more time to get things done. Now Tom will be able to spend more time on campus, and I gain the time I need to really concentrate on my job search and do more freelance work. My friend Chris has been feeding me a steady stream of work from his new employer, amazon.com, so I'm making some money. Most of what I'm doing is anonymous product descriptions, but here's an article I did on MP3 players, if you're curious.

And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to get some housework done every once in awhile. But no promises. . .