We decided against boots for Jackie and Jillie for their afternoon ramble in the ravine, since the temperature was 0C, and we thought boots wouldn't be required. And they were fine for the most part,though a chill wind made it seem much colder. The trouble was that there was so much loose, powdery snow about. Which meant that at that temperature the warmth from their pads contacting the loose snow produced a build-up of snow and ice on their little paws and eventually it did affect them.

In the meanwhile, they pranced about happily enough on our walk. No sun but light snow came down in little drifts from the cloudy sky, and the landscape was admirably handsome, as it so often is with that combination. Again, we came across no one else throughout our walk on the forest trails, but when we emerged from the ravine after the last long climb toward street level we did come across several of our ravine acquaintances just entering with their dogs.

A brief bit of rollicking about for Jackie and Jillie with their friends. Because they were without boots we picked them up to carry them home since the road had been salted and was a thoroughly murky mess of sand, salt, melting ice and snow. Jackie was beginning to shiver, and both he and Jillie ahd tucked their tails in, a sure-fire sign they weren't quite comfortable, so carrying them resolved the problem. Little dogs are just that much more vulnerable to weather extremes. Once home, warm water applied on their frozen little feet helped to dislodge the ice packed into their pads.

And then my husband decided he'd bake a bread. A whole wheat loaf with cracked wheat. He's a dedicated bread-baker. And he depends on his trusty old breadmaker. Not me -- though I'm willing enough and he keeps refusing my offers to bake his bread myself by hand -- but the electro-mechanical breadmaker that he's used for years and more latterly has hauled down to his workshop to effect a few repairs upon.

It's a bit wonky, even after those repairs. It mixes up the ingredients and 'kneads' it all just fine, but when it comes to the baking process there's much to be desired. The end product invariably is a bread with a crust hard enough to saw through like a thick plank of wood, and the interior is uneven with large air gaps making the bread sometimes difficult to cut through and come up with a clean slice.

Finally, he listened to me. I had recommended he just extract the bread dough when the machine was finished kneading, and pack the dough into a loaf pan, let it rise there, and bake it in the conventional oven. He was skeptical and reluctant, but finally agreed he'd take that route. And the result was a perfect bread, interior smooth, the crust just crusty enough.