Mohindar brought over a festive box full of decorated holiday cookies that Rajinder had baked. This has become a seasonal ritual for Rajinder. Mohindar wished us a Merry Christmas,  Happy Holidays. I reminded him we're Jewish and of course they're Sikh, and we had a good laugh. Irving wasn't home at the time. He had gone out to pick up the part he needed to replace in our snow thrower. So I used that opportunity to get out in his absence, to shovel out the walkways at the front of the house.

We had both gone out earlier in the day, before breakfast to shovel the walkways in the backyard, for Jackie and Jillie to be able to get around with ease. The snow, which has been removed countless times, was about six inches in height, thanks to a snowfall last night. But it wasn't simply snow, since rain succeeded the snow. What we shovelled was snow saturated with freezing rain, and it was heavy.

It's been a dark day with lots of weather activity of all kinds raging around us. This gigantic weather system that stretches across the United States and at least half of Canada has and is bringing with it, unseasonably mild temperatures and unseasonably cold temperatures, along with winds gusting to 70 km/hr and higher, with precipitation falling in the form of freezing rain, sleet, rain, snow pellets, snow, and all kinds of variations in between.

The trees everywhere that had been covered thickly in snow since the last snowstorm a week ago were bared of their snow by the rain and the wind, and soon hoarfrost took the place of snow coating the trees. The streets are mix of slushy ice and snow and rainwater, but the major arteries have been cleared, and Irving had no problems picking up the snowthrower part needed to make the machine workable again. For a relatively new machine it demonstrated a surprising vulnerability in lasting power.

Once I was back in the house again, the usual routine took my attention. I had decided I'd bake something I haven't baked in ages; apple dumplings. They're cored and peeled apples wrapped in a pastry and baked in a cinnamon-butterscotch sauce. Warm or cooled to room temperature they're lovely. Irving will probably have his with a twisted topping of whipped cream.

The weather may be raging outside, but we're comfortable in our house, fireplace taking the icy chill out of the day, soothing our senses, relaxing with Jackie and Jillie. They're snoozing and we're reading books, newspapers, ogling web sites, what-have-you. The irresistible fragrance of dinner -- chicken shoup, chicken thighs in mushroom gravy, is wafting through the house. Outside the snow is swirling in great gusts of wind, and the temperature keeps steadily falling. Much more snow on the way tomorrow.