Ice. Everywhere. Beautiful to look at, dangerous when power lines are down. And cold. For days.

The first day it was like camping out. Bundled up in layers of fleece, woolen socks comforters and extra blankets. Were we not the pioneers?

The second day the power came on...for a short time. Enough time though that we had the false sense of longevity. Enough time for a shower and two cups of hot tea.

The end of the second day, bundled up again, in bed at dark, 5:30, I thought about Little House on the Prairie. Golly, I mused, this seemed so much more romantic when I saw it on TV.

Last night, before the power came on again around 2 AM, I thought with gratitude about the men and women out in the freezing cold in the middle of the night, high off the ground on poles, not dancing, but continuing to restore electricity to homes, our home as it turned out.

And I was very grateful. And that's what I think about it.

I received a call from a regional recruiter/fundraiser from my Alma Mater who wanted to meet with me while he was in town and with my husband and my daughters, both of whom are alumnae.

Since I now have a grand daughter who will be attending the school in the Fall I did not think it wise to blow him off.

But we knew ahead of time that his visit with us was not going to net him a big fish or allow us naming rights to a new campus dorm. Or even a table in the cafeteria as in the little bronze plaque attached to the side reading, 'the funds for this table (but not the chairs) have been most generously donated by Patricia Thomas.'

My husband, ever hospitable, asked me before our meeting if we should ask him, the representative, to lunch. I hesitated, "What if we don't really like him?" I threw out for discussion.

Have I told you how intelligent my husband is? Here is just one more example. Jim said that we could evaluate this guy's likability and if either of us felt like we would like to invite him to lunch we should weave a password into the conversation. That way we would know what the other was thinking without having to have a side conversation or furtive raised eyebrows as a signal.

Jim picked out the clue word. If either of us wanted to continue our conversation with this guy over lunch we should find a way to use the word Odessa in the conversation.

My husband, intelligent but not practical.

And that's what I think about it.

A friend of ours celebrated his 80th birthday today. His finance, of ten years, had a surprise party for him....yes, I agree, it was risky.

This friend raises chickens. And sells eggs. All in a residential area.

One of the toasts today was given by the local sheriff. His department has come to know my friend well since they have often been called by locals to complain that the rooster is waking them up at 4 AM and earlier.

My husband has breakfast with a group of men on Wednesdays. Our 80-year old friend is part of this group. When the staff at Cracker Barrel sees the gang enter that morning they begin gathering the scraps of food from diner's plates, placing them in a bag for my friend to take home to his chickens. Where some people, like me for example, might be embarrassed to collect left-overs from other restaurant patrons, our friend happily collects from table to table, explaining the while that his chickens will eat well that day.

What do you get an 80-year-old as a birthday gift? What else? Fifty pounds of chicken feed.

And that's what I'm thinking about (and also that the cake was delicious).

For those of you who emailed me regarding the chicken cameras in Massachusetts, the address is hencam.com.

What could be better

I have to agree with many of the American people that the election of an African American to the office of president is a milestone in America's history.

There are two more milestones I look forward to.

One, obviously, will be the day in some January when we inaugurate a female president.

The second, which would take us as a country back further to our deepest roots and correct to some extent our deepest shame, will be that day in some January when we inaugurate a Native American as president.

And then an African American woman; then a gay; then a female Native American...and the list goes on.

But we have started down a path upon which John F. Kennedy took the first step a few decades ago, being the first Roman Catholic president.

And that's what I think about it.