Today was a bit of a clumsy day on a couple of counts. Firstly, I wore terribly impractical boots while running errands because -- I shamefully admit -- they were cuter than my other pair. The universe punished me accordingly; while everyone else was striding securely through the slush, my boots and socks were soaked and I was slipping all over the sidewalk. Secondly, I met up with sarsar and another friend for coffee at Starbucks, and promptly knocked said coffee all over the table. That was pleasant. But at least I got a second cup on the house...

Before hitting Starbucks, we stopped for lunch at Subway. Funny story about Subway. At a Subway several years ago, in an unfortunate Freudian slip, I requested hot peckers on my sandwich. Sometimes I wonder why I even try...

Have been torturing myself by browsing through profiles on Petfinder. My sister found this wee soul she's got her heart set on adopting:

Even with two lovely kitties of my own and no plans for any more, I can't help perusing all the little lonely faces needing homes. Volunteering at the local humane society a couple years back broke my heart, seeing all the little ones crammed into cages through no fault of their own. The worst was seeing the dogs, so full of trust and love and perfectly healthy, and knowing what they didn't -- that many would never find homes, and would be euthanized to free up limited shelter space.

Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!

Speaking of our animal friends, today was my last day feeding Sigmund Freud (Siggy), Mindy and Daisy, cats belonging to acquaintances who were out of town for the week. They're funny little demons. Siggy is very round and contented, Daisy is smaller but of similar temperament and shape and Mindy is completely black and sleek and a bit of a bully. Yesterday I had the bright idea of running over to feed them rather than taking the bus. Getting there was fine -- a bit chilly, but I soon warmed up and found running on snow and ice surprisingly manageable. Going home, however, was another story...in the hour that I was with the cats, the temperature dropped about ten degrees and the snow started swirling. It was excruciating, and I think I got frostbite on my ear -- it's been red and hurty since. At least it hasn't gone white and numb and fallen off, so I guess it's not too serious. Only in Canada would people see sidewalks encrusted with half a foot of snow and think "Looks like a great day for running..." I was questioning my sanity when I encountered another running fool, which made me feel at least somewhat validated.

Finished up a short story that's been lingering on the back burner. I'm extremely pleased with it, but was annoyed when I found that the perfect short story competition -- held by the Toronto Star -- had closed just days before. Garrrrr...ah well, there are countless sparkling contest-fish in the literary sea.

Rented Wimbledon and loved it. Paul Bettany is yummy in an atypical, sun-bleached, long-lean-jeans-clad way. It helped me to remember that summer exists, and how it feels...