Warm day, thanks to basketball

With daughter and grandson both gone for the long weekend, Oliver the dog and I had little to do today---after our walk lasted only one square block, due to the bitter cold---except watch basketball on television. The skies were blue, the sun was shining brightly, but the temperature was in single digits, and it was cold. I'll run the car into the garage head-first again tonight to protect it a bit from the weather. I don't want to have to hike five blocks to church tomorrow morning.

That was quite a half-hour along about 4:15 this afternoon. First our hometown USD Lady Coyotes kayoed the nation's #1 team, undefeated North Dakota, on one channel. Then on another channel, #1 undefeated North Carolina crashed AT HOME after barely escaping a pair of lucky wins in the past week or so. Then a few minutes later on yet another station, another team I love to see lose, #4 UCLA, lost AT HOME to USC. To make the day complete, a couple hours later, our USD men stormed North Dakota on the road, and my all-time favorite college team, Duke, rolled Clemson.

Now tonight Oliver is at my feet, and I'm going to curl up in the living room lounge chair, keep an ear cocked to Florida-Kentucky on television, and read Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and another Nicholas Sparks book.

Thanks for checking in, whoever and wherever you are!