I'm freezing cold ... and I'm not going to take it anymore!

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, something I didn't think was possible a few weeks ago. It has gotten cold, with nights well below freezing, and the rain continues. We're having to drag Casey out of the house for the walks that she used to beg us for. We'll walk out of the house and she'll stop dead in front of the car and look at us as if to say, "Don't you think a drive would be a better idea?"

We tried to heat things up by trying once again to replicate our favorite Texas fast food restaurant, Chipotle. We met with the greatest success we've had to date. Chilli corn - check. Lime-cilantro rice - yes. Carnitas - perfect. Salsa and guacamole - flawless. Did we write down any of the recipes? No. Lightning in a bottle, I guess.

We've been a little remiss with updates recently and that's because our beloved MacBook spent the week fighting for its life. Having already died and been ressusitated twice, it lost the third of its nine lives via a full glass of wine and a clumsy dog. We were completely hamstrung and unable to function. We were trying to write Christmas cards, but the addresses were in the computer. Trying to study for the driver's exam - no access to CD-ROM, computer is out. Want to look at photos - sorry, computer's down. A little disappointing that lack of CPU can cause such distress, but we're 21st century digital creatures.

I did pass my driver's theory test today. It comes in two parts, 50 multiple choice questions followed by 14 video clips of normal driving scenes where you have to click to identify the hazards. You need 43 out of 50 on the multiple choice and 44 out of 75 on the hazard perception. I scored 48 on m/c and 63 out of 75 on the hazard perception. I now know that you are not to use your horn in a built up area between 11:30pm and 7am. The world is a safer and better place. And now on to the practical ... and good luck to Fiona, who writes her test on Monday.