Do I have to mention that Newtown is taking a beating with the winter weather? Most residents had just gotten to the point where they had finally cleared a path to the mailbox after last week’s amazing snow dump, when freezing rain and sleet were added to the piles this week. Do they make Yak-Traks for cats? I need to get a grip… Really.

The winter has been “ruff” on local canines, including Dottie and John Evans’ springer spaniel, Molly. “Molly is accustomed to sleeping in doggie luxury on two LL Bean pillows stacked against a sliding glass door in our porch,” Dottie tells us. “Snow has piled three-feet-high outside the door and a monstrous six-foot icicle has formed on the gutter above. From the inside, it all looked very dramatic out there, but Molly seemed quite cozy as she slept on her cushions, safe from winter’s icy blast. Apparently not. Unbeknownst to us, a very slow leak originating from the icicle had begun to drip, Chinese-torture style, onto Molly’s bed. When I spied a large wet spot on her fancy LL Bean plush cover, I mistakenly assumed the worst — that our dog was becoming incontinent. Only when I removed the bed to wash it and noticed the entire floor underneath was also wet did I suspect foul play. Then I heard the plopping sound of a drip hitting the tile floor and all became clear. So Molly is exonerated and we will move her bed to a dry corner for the duration,” she says. And Molly, I guess, is out of the doghouse.

A Good Samaritan got C.H. Booth librarian Kim Weber out of the doghouse, last Thursday, when she got stuck at the end of her driveway the day after the big snowfall. “I was digging myself out as quickly as possible, because my car was 90 percent in the street,” Kim says, “when out of nowhere, a young man in a red pickup appeared. He had a huge bushy beard, and an axe. He dug me out of the snow bank and then pushed my car until it was dislodged.” Kim doesn’t know who this cheerful, easy-going young man was — other than he told her his name was Paul. “Do you think his last name is Bunyan?” muses Kim. Kim wants Paul to know how grateful she is, as her driveway is at the bottom of a curvy hill on a very busy side street. Personally, I’m going to keep my eyes open for a guy with and ax, and an ox. I’m thinking that this mystery man is quite deserving of a Good Egg Award, so Paul, caps off to you.

Paul is going to have to share his Good Egg this week with Marion Thompson. I hope he doesn’t mind. Marion was nominated by a friend who lauds her quiet and unassuming involvement in numerous local organizations and activities. “Marion is a member of the Woman’s Club, is involved in SNAN, helps at Ashlar, and on and on. She gives of herself to the maximum,” says Marion’s friend. “She is just so good-hearted.” And a Good Egg, I might add. Congratulations, Marion.

Casey Rose-Kearns, Casey Hill, and Melissa Destaphano, the three Newtown High School student photographers who are represented in “Six Views,” the current exhibition at The Gallery at Hunt Hill Farm, are scheduled to participate in a gallery talk this weekend. Casey, Casey, and Melissa are three of six students whose works have been selected for the show, which also includes photographs by three Brookfield High School students. All six have mentored under professional photographer Laurie Klein. (Eliza Hallabeck wrote about the program and the exhibition in the January 7 issue of The Newtown Bee.) The show opened last weekend, and the photographers will be back at the gallery on Sunday, January 23, at 2 pm, for a talk. The gallery is part of The Silo/Hunt Hill Farm, at 44 Upland Hill Road. Watch for signs off Route 202 or call 860-355-0300 for additional information.

I get a lot of junk that I have to paw through each week, but a link that came into my e-mail box this week caught my eye: www.cleaningforareason.org. Sponsored by Hoover (as in vacuums), Cleaning For A Reason is a site to help cancer patients find some relief from housekeeping while undergoing therapy. Patients submit a simple form from their doctor confirming they are in treatment, and if there is a participating home cleaning business in the area, patients are eligible for one cleaning a month, for four months, for free. It’s worth checking out, as it is the day-to-day activities that can become neglected when the focus is on getting well. Someone pointed out to me that a snow shoveling and handy man link would be equally useful in this situation. Now there’s a thought. Is anyone out there?

If you aren’t too good at shoveling or dusting, here’s another way you can help. Kevin Stoyak, a Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company firefighter, is participating in the St Baldrick’s fundraiser in February, by having his head shaved, to raise money for and awareness of childhood cancer. Then in April, Newtowner Chuck Magoulas will undergo the same “heady” experience for St Baldrick’s. Both men are looking for donations to support this cause. Go to stbaldricks.org and do a search for either Kevin or Chuck (or both) to make a tax-deductible donation.

I have to give these guys a lot of credit. In this weather, I think I would rather not shave off even a bit of my fur.

While it is unclear whether Lexington Gardens has permanently closed or is on a bit of a winter hiatus. A set of signs posted on the front doors of the boutique nursery at 32 Church Hill Road this week made reference to the business being closed last Tuesday and Wednesday, January 11 and 12, due to heating issues and weather. The driveway to the boutique was left unplowed until this past Sunday, however, and now there are rumors circulating that the owners may have closed up shop. Among the countless things this means a possible end to is the 30-plus year run of SCAN Color in January Exhibitions. The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown announced late last week that the show had been canceled “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

There are certainly no winter doldrums around this office. The ladies of The Bee were quite startled Wednesday to find a life-sized Santa Claus in one of the restroom stalls. The unexpected visitor elicited one or two squeals that were heard up and down the hall. No one is owning up to the bit of mischief…

Hang tight. January is more than halfway over. And even if I have to dig myself out of another snow storm this weekend, I’ll be sure to gather enough tales about town to make it worthwhile for you to… Read me again.