It's snowing! And sticking! Good thing I worked in the yard early today. I raked some leaves, replanted a hosta that the deck guys had unearthed, gathered up the rest of the wood they left behind, filled in some holes around the posts, and picked up several large rocks that had been dug up when the posts were buried. We began the whole deck buying process last March, but ran into zoning issues and had to get a special permit from the town for "an extension of non-comformity" (don't ask). Now it's completed just in time for the snow. Aieee.

My back hurts now.

Yesterday evening I went to the farm to pick up my final batch of veggies for the season. I'd done the community supported agriculture thing, but I don't think I'm going to do it next year. I'd bought an "alternate week share" which meant I picked up every two weeks. So, one week I'd be swimming in vegetables and the next week I'd have none. Plus, my husband isn't into veggies so it was up to me to eat them all. I put by what I could, but a good amount still went into the compost bin. It was a good experience, and I like the idea of supporting an organic farm, but it just doesn't make financial sense right now. I do prefer to buy from the source, though, and there are plenty of farms around here I can support by buying vegetables when I need them. Still, I felt kind of guilty last night when I saw the farm manager.

I went to K-Mart earlier for gloves, decongestant, and makeup sponges. I left sans gloves but with a 6-qt. stockpot and expandable, stackable shoe racks. While I was there I saw an animatronic, singing reindeer head "on sale" for $95.00. Who buys this stuff? Likewise, at B.J.'s (a Northeastern warehouse club) I saw someone buying an inflatable yard decoration of a snowglobe. The box was about 3'x3', so I can imagine the thing is monstrous when inflated. Apparently it could be plugged in and and the snow inside would blow about. Hello, we're in Massachusetts; we have real snow. I didn't catch the price on that item but am sure it wasn't cheap.

Last night, armed with a calculator, I spent some time--too much time, according to my husband--looking for a cheap source of the dog's favorite treat (Greenies). I got it down to .41/treat, including shipping. I was pretty pleased with myself. I don't think the dog was impressed, though.

I-Bonds are the talk of the financial blogosphere lately. I'm thinking of buying one. Also looking into DRIPs. So much to learn.