The dog drank water on her own yesterday and even licked dog food off her paws. But our six inches of snow have not melted, and the pile of unsplit logs is snarling at me. I have a million desserts to bake for an eighth-grade fundraiser and an eighth grader who is mad at me because I took away his computer privileges. At least the other two family members are still more or less congenial, and we have electricity and running water, and I didn't forget to bake bread yesterday, and the poodle loves me, and we have plenty of coffee, and I get to read Milton's Areopagitica today. Talk about crabby: even Paul can't beat Milton.

P.S. Regarding Carleen's request for the cake recipe: I doubled a basic marble-cake recipe, but instead of mixing the chocolate and vanilla in each pan, I made 2 pans of vanilla, 2 pans of chocolate. I alternated the layer colors, frosting them with a cooked fudge frosting that I lightened and extended with some confectioners' sugar. Then I pressed M&M patterns all over the outside. I hope it tasted good, but I'll never know because I was at the vet with a giant floppy depressed dog.