Tuesday, Jan. 05, 2010 - 8:45 a.m.

Finally got a water filter (Pur, in case you're interested) for the kitchen faucet, only a couple months after listening to this. I find though, that my morning tea is not quite as tasty without the fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

IN other water-related news, I've taken to sleeping with a leak-proof waterbottle on my bedstand so that when I wake up parched in the middle of the night, all I have to do is roll over and take a swig, rather than get up, go to the bathroom, rinse out the water cup (or don't rinse it, and hope against hope that there isn't a house centipede lounging in it) etc etc...anyway, it's been working pretty well, a great convenience. I recommend it. Today though, I would add that this approach is best when you are careful to put your mouth on the bottle where the water actually comes out. Otherwise, you end up dumping a generous swig of cold water down the side of your face, neck, shoulder and onto your pillows, and spending the remainder of the wee hours in a sadly soggy state.

Right now it's 6 degrees outside, and there's a bit of snow coming down. A couple of years ago my mom got me a book on snowflakes--"A Field Guide To Snowflakes". Apparently the crystal forms change significantly at the different temperatures. I actually kinda have an urge to rush out there, collect some, and inspect them for a few minutes before running screaming back into the house.

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