days like this makes me wish i had a car. normally when it rains there are brief lull periods where i can make my escape. but the rainstorm hitting the boston area this sunday wasn't such a storm. the weather forecasters keep on calling it a "nor'easter," which is a word i hate (whatever happened to "blizzards"?). whatever you call it, the rain and wind didn't stop. it's also that cold rain (temperature 40 degrees), making things that much more miserable. all my modes of transportation - walking, bicycling, motorcycling - involves me getting wet. i see people driving about in their cars and i envy them. 

fortunately my mother happened to be passing through the area on her way to pick up some groceries. i managed to get a ride with her back to belmont, bringing my two potted rosemary plants with me to go live in a nice sun room for the winter. looking out the glass wall while paying at the market basket register, we could see that not only was it still raining, but it was snowing as well. the weather just went from bad to worse. after visiting the cafe, my mother dropped off some food at my godmother's place before going home.

hailey was whining to go outside so i let her out into the backyard. she immediately started running around chasing after the large clumps of snowflakes falling fast from the sky, making dog tracks in the already muddy lawn. normally it's hard to get her back inside the house, but now it was impossible. i tried grabbing her as she ran by but she was too slippery from the rain. not even bribes of dog treats had any effect. finally my sister and i trapped her in a corner of the yard before getting a leash on her.

59-0 was the final score as the new england patriots had their way with the tennessee titans in a snowy gillette stadium. the pats needed one of these, after so many of their recent games have been close calls. next sunday they play in london!

after dinner i played the 4 episodes of modern family i'd downloaded. both my mother and sister loved it. hailey was being especially unruly, trying repeatedly to get my attention and barking, until we realized she just needed to go to the bathroom. afterwards she came back inside and slept soundly on the couch. my father gave me a ride back to cambridge.

mad men: betty discovers don's secret! don's starting to realize his schoolteacher girlfriend has some baggage and a bit clingy. something different about peggy - is it the hair? or is she getting fat again? baby number 2 perhaps? no sign of salvatore, although next sunday we might be seeing a bit more of joan judging from the preview. a much nicer don this episode ("i hate it when that happens"), although he doesn't realize just yet that he's in the crosshairs.