Went down to the French Quarter Holiday Inn in Perrysburg, Ohio, last night. Had a great time swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool and soaking in the hot tub after going in the outdoor part of the pool in the snow. The kids had lots of fun playing ping pong and billiards.

When we got up this morning, it was snowing quite hard )last night it was just sprinkling). There were snowball fights in the outdoor part of the swimming pool.

We ate brunch, then decided to come home rather than go to the Zoo. In the heavy snow, we thought the only animals outside would be polar bears and penguins.

The yard was lovely in the snowfall. The forsynthia bushes were covered with bright yellow flowers and snow. The magnolia tree is covered with huge, pink blooms and several inches of snow. There was a flock of lovely little gold finches at the feeders all day -- we think there were at least 12, but they move around so quickly it is hard to count them.

This afternoon I watched the snow falling and listened to Mahler's Ninth Symphony. It was a lot quiter and more contemplantive than the others of his symphonies I have listened to. He wrote it near the end of his life, and it a quiet acceptance of death, with the end of the music like someone peacefully slipping away...