What a Difference a Week Makes

What can I say? There have been lots of changes at the House of Payne in the past seven days. The first of which is the weather. Last Sunday was a balmy 68 degrees, so Andy and I took the opportunity to take a nice stroll through the neighborhoods of Old Town. We were surprised -- and frankly, more than a little disturbed -- to see blossoming trees and blooming flower baskets around every corner. To Steve and Lauren: we see your green bud, and raise you a fully flowering tree.




Mother Nature clearly enjoys keeping us guessing. Here we are today (Sunday) -- one week after the above pictures were taken -- and seeing snow at last. In the course of a week, temperatures have plummetted 40 degrees from 68 to 28. Hardly seems possible, but here are the pictures to prove it:




While definitely the most alarming change, the weather was not the only major change at the House of Payne in the past week. Following the unfortunate demise of my old college futon, and the newfound workplace freedom coming my way soon as a result of my new job, Andy and I decided to revamp our office/library. We decided to paint the room a light green color -- if you believe Robert DiNiro in Meet the Parents, geniuses choose green. In the course of 24 hours this weekend, we taped, painted, and assembled our new bookshelves. Quite a lot of work, but we're thrilled with how it came out.

Before:



After: