A beautiful late winter day in Ottawa, with bright sunshine and the thermometer bravely struggling into the + range. The snowbanks are shrinking, but not enough yet to make backing out of the driveway less of an act of faith. Home Depot is counting down the days to Spring.

Yesterday I bought the new refrigerator, dishwasher and range hood for my kitchen renovation. Yes, it was expensive, but not as expensive as it could have been because the appliance companies are marking down last season’s models.

I’m knocking off five kilometres in the mall each morning, which gets me up, dressed and out of the house instead of noodling around on the computer. Progress.