Evidence

There were no witnesses to see the moment of Frosty II's death. One minute he was there, and the next he was gone.

The blizzard of snowflakes falling quickly buried evidence that could have given clues to any violence that occurred.We were puzzled and sad. How could one so very new, meet his death so prematurely?

As the layers of snow slowly melted away, one day at a time, there remained a tell-tale lump, more densely packed, where he once stood. But the earth and grass were still obscured by white.

But by the end of a rather sunny and mild Saturday, all was made clear.

It appears that Frosty II may have been prone to clumsiness, for he fell, flat on his face, and presumably suffocated.

Smothered by snow, a most embarrassing death for a snowman, so I'm told. They much prefer to be seen as strong symbols of the joyful time, standing upright until the end of their melting.

Poor Frosty II.

And why is there a ladder propped up against the porch roof, you ask?

We had a chimney fire in the middle of Friday night. Our first 911 call in 12 1/2 years of marriage. A sleep-less night which included two fire engines,  one command rig, half a dozen Firefighters in and out of the house, up and down the stairs, climbing in and out of the attic, and two kids that slept through the entire ordeal.

And thankfully, there was no damage to the house (unless you count the water-logged woodstove). We are pretty sure that we will have to re-line the chimney, and may have to get a new stove (ouch!). But we have electric heat to fall back on. It could have been so much worse.

2012 can only get better from here, right?