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  • Be Warned… Major Whine.

    Nobody likes a whiner. But, the truth is, I don’t really care right now. It’s my blog, and I’ll whine if I want to. You’d whine too, if you’d only left your house once in the last 13 days. I’ve been snowbound, and on kid duty, to two kids who won’t admit it, but who desperately want to go back to school. They’ll get their chance tomorrow. I’m working from home, so I won’t actually get out til Thursday. But, since I’d only be going to the office on Thursday, I’m not really complaining. I’m frankly not looking forward to the nasty commute on slushy, snow-narrowed roads. Today my husband spent a total of 3 1/2 hours in the car.

    Our neighborhood itself has been cleared for a while, but we have no sidewalks here, and since the lawn still has more than two feet of snow on it, our mail carrier has been refusing to come. We get mail about once every three days. And I have a couple of packages that were due here a week ago from UPS that still haven’t found their way here. So, except for spending unreasonable amounts of time on sites like Facebook and Ravelry, I’ve been pretty much cut off from the world.

    You know what really irks me? I actually wished for this. A week or so of unplanned downtime was what I needed, I said. And it was good, at first. I cooked like crazy for the first week or so. I even made Indian eggplant. I thought I might get caught up on sleep, but it turns out I’m a crappy sleeper, no matter what. Dr. Phil really got on my nerves, and I got pretty tired of seeing all the stars of Valentine’s Day making the rounds on every single talk show.

    I will say that my daughter and I bonded over The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, which was a good, easy read, though the subject matter touched a few raw nerves with me over the loss of my father. We’ve been a little lukewarm about the Winter Olympics, enjoying some of it, but I found myself wishing for more comprehensive coverage like we used to have when I was a kid. On the other hand, we were sorry to see the end of the Jay Leno Show, because even though he’ll be back on at 11:30 again, that timeslot is something that my daughter and I cannot do together.

    I suppose there is one good thing about being home a lot over the last week or so:

    Long stoocking cap with stripes nearly done
    Long stoocking cap with stripes nearly done
    I did finally near the end of my Elf Hat, which should have been done at Christmas, but at times seemed not ever to be done, no matter how much I knitted and knitted and knitted. Today, I can say it is finally off the needles! The pom pom for the end of the hat is done as of tonight, too, but it still needs to be attached. Plus, because the hat is striped, there is a mountain of ends on the inside to be woven in. I’m half toying with knotting them down and leaving them be, especially the ones wwwwaaaayyy up near the point, but I am sure the knitting police would surely strike me down, so in time, it will be finished.

    Now the question is what to do next. Yes, I have lots of unfinished things. But, truth be told, not one of them is exciting me at the moment. I need something new. I opened a mitten kit from Knit Picks earlier this afternoon, as Kelley Petkun is hosting a KAL on mittens, but alas, I didn’t have the energy to start anything today. I do have a sock and a scarf on the needles, but neither of them are making me happy at the moment. I’m feeling the urge to make a sweater. Yes, I have one on the needles, but I haven’t been happy with it for a while and I am thinking I need to frog it and start over. My buttonholes are a mess and I don’t like it that it’s sloppy. Still, I need to think of something by the time I leave the house on Thursday, because the very idea of a potentially very long commute with no knitting is scary.

    Back to that again. The long commute. You know, the last of the Big Snow fell here a week ago, and many of our roads are practically impassable because the snow piles are so big that it has been impossible to move enough snow off the roads far enough to make all lanes completely usable. So our already crowded roads are severely gridlocked and it is very unpleasant.

    So yes, I wanted some extra time with the kids, and some extra sleep, and some time for knitting, and napping. But now, it’s been so long since I’ve been to work that I’ve frankly forgotten where I left off, and I dread the size of my e-mail inbox tomorrow. I was behind on stuff before, but now it’s much worse, I’m sure. So, I’ll be digging out… in more ways than one.

    *Whine*

    The end.

  • More!

    Snow hanging off my porch roof
    Snow hanging off my porch roof
    The teen daughter snapped this photo of our back porch roof tonight… It almost looks like a big hunk of snow was about to fall off and then it refroze, right in place. All in all we haven’t had a lot of melting going on. It’s still cold here and many, many of the streets in the area are impassable still.

    And, get this. We’re supposed to get anywhere between 5 and 15 inches of additional snow tomorrow. No, really. I’m not pulling your leg. It’s going to snow more tomorrow into Wednesday. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the new snow as much as I was looking forward to the weekend snow. It’s starting to get a little old. I’m betting that the schools will be out for the rest of the week, and frankly I don’t know if my sanity can stand it.

    What’s supposed to be worse than the snow itself is the wind. We’re expecting fairly heavy gusts through the worst part of the storm. We were spared a major power outage the first go round, and I hope we get lucky again.

    As for me, the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow. I am glad of this because there is no way we’d be able to get all the way downtown from here. Not only that, but with the kids off it makes it harder to get work done, so I’m glad I won’t be charged with a day of leave. I’m sure that won’t be the case for the rest of the week I’m sure I’m going to have to take off. I’ve been making minor progress on my knitting, and am itching to start something new. Still I am determined to finish my hat first. And John and Diana were able to make it out to the grocery store tonight, so they got fixin’s for homemade pizza. Looks like I’m cooking pizza sauce tomorrow.

    It’s all good. I’m dreaming of Spring, but it’s good.

  • A Few Flakes

    Top of yardstick sticking up out of deep snow
    Top of yardstick sticking up out of deep snow

    Ok, so more than a few! Yes, that’s a yardstick, showing how many inches of snow we had in our yard this afternoon. The snow started with a quick shower at about 10 a.m. on Friday, and then began in earnest at right about noon. The kids got out of school early and John didn’t bother to go in since we pretty much figured he’d have to turn right around and get them anyway.

    The snow blew fast and furious through the night, in a way that I don’t think I have ever seen in my whole life. Blizzards are a rare thing in these parts! The last storm with this much snow all at once happened more than a hundred years ago. 30 to 38 inches was common all over the area. We had just under three feet, I think, and goodness knows when we’ll be able to emerge from the house again. The driveway is slowly getting done but it will be a bit more time before John can dig the vans out.

    It’s all good… we’ve got Netflix on Demand, lots of hot chocolate, and no shortage of toilet paper around here. I’m reminding myself often that this is the sort of thing I’ve been wishing for, a few days where I have no choice but to stay home and make myself enjoy it. And enjoying it I am!

    The one downer is that my wheelchair charger failed last night and so my batteries are rapidly dying. I do have a spare chair but it hurts my back in an awful way. It’ll probably be the end of the week before I can get to where the wheelchair place is, which is about an hour from here. There always has to be something…

    Here’s a gallery of photos of the snowfall around our house. Please do ignore the fact that I did not do my hair or my makeup this morning… I figured no one would be seeing me today. This’ll teach me! (As usual, click on the thumbnail to see a larger photo.)

    And here’s our video of the snowfall:

    The rest of the weekend (and probably Monday, too) will be for cleaning up and digging out. And more digging, and more digging… but that’s ok. There’s a steamy pot of chili waiting.

    Chili cooking on the stove
    Chili cooking on the stove

  • Saturday Snow Day

    A peaceful, snowy day
    A peaceful, snowy day

    It’s the middle of the night here, but since I haven’t been to bed yet, it’s still Saturday to me and so I’m writing as if it is Saturday, even though it really isn’t. But that’s our secret, ok? Please don’t tell my mom that it’s 2:11 a.m. and I haven’t been to bed yet. I’ll never hear the end of it.

    We awoke this morning to the promise of snow and a heavy gray sky. The sort of morning where the barometer in my joints was telling me that yes, it is going to snow. Guaranteed. And, we were not disappointed! The surprising thing, though, was that we got as much snow as we did, since they were only saying just a day or so ago that we could expect a scant two inches. It snowed all day and into the night, though, so I was actually surprised that we didn’t get more. In the end, I think we have about 7 inches on the ground here. But I suppose it could have been worse.

    Thankfully everyone here was content to stay inside and watch movies or play with new Legos, because it was really too cold to do much playing outside. We were amused watching our cat run from window to window at breakneck speed, we think so she could check and see if it really was snowing outside of every window. She’s nearly 18 years old now and has never really been outside, except for maybe once, about 15 years ago, when she decided she wanted to see what snow was. For the most part, our other cat, Tegan, slept all day at my feet, as usual, which was fine by me. It was a good day for napping.

    I spent several hours today finally watching Michael Jackson: This Is It and several of the video “extras” included on the Blu-Ray disc. Man, I was blown away! I had wanted desperately to see this movie in the theater when it came out, but never made it to see the movie. But, I was grateful for my flat screen TV and stereo speakers, which delivered an amazing view of the film. As I watched, I found myself becoming a bit sad, not for Michael Jackson, but for all the young people who were the dancers, and musicians, and the crew for this amazing show. I felt sad for them, for what was not to be. Then on the other hand, I was so grateful that those two cameras were on hand to document the rehearsals. I am betting that perhaps the actual concerts, if they had happened, would have been turned into a movie, and that maybe this stuff that was the movie would have been nothing more than an interesting aside.

    Instead, even with the rough footage that was shot, what I saw was a real gem. The true talent of Michael Jackson came out, with his attention to every detail and the amazing technical artistry that was planned. And the dancing! Oh my, that was really something. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, even if you’re someone who doesn’t love Michael Jackson? It’s worth it. It is a truly amazing thing to watch, in bits and pieces that we, the public, rarely ever get to see.

    I put on a pot of spaghetti sauce for dinner tonight so that the windows would get all foggy from the steam and it would feel extra warm in here on this cold day. It was good, too… and I have some leftovers for a day or so, but I’m going to cook something else tomorrow so I can steam up the house again. If the weather’s nice enough though, we may get dinner from Olive Garden as a celebration for the teen daughter, who just brought home another straight-A report card this weekend.

    Tonight I watched Sleepless in Seattle and intended to get some knitting done, but for whatever reason that didn’t happen. I think I got too wrapped up in the romance! Why is it that I love that sappy, ridiculous movie so much? Ever since seeing that movie I’ve wanted to visit Seattle something awful, which makes NO sense at all, because going there would probably send my SAD into a total meltdown. I really do hate rain, so I imagine that the real Seattle would probably not be good for me except for short visits. But, in that silly little movie, even the rain looks all cuddly. Weird.

    Ok so as you can tell by now, today was one of those days that was incredibly full of absolutely nothing. It was the sort of day I often wish for, and I guess the reason why I’ve put off going to bed this long is because I didn’t want it to end. Alas, the sleep is now overtaking my eyes, and I think I’ll sign off.

    I hope that you, too, had a peaceful day.

    Snowy Trees
    Snowy Trees

  • A Comfy Pillow…

    Tegan finds a comfy pillow
    Tegan finds a comfy pillow
    The sight of this photo is going to make cat lovers say, “awww!” But I know all you Yarnies out there are cringing.This is Tegan, my 16-year-old tabby, curled up on my desk. In a pile of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. My DH quipped that Tegan probably thought my mohair needed “mo’ hair” in it. But alas, this is a definite testament to the yarn’s softness, that she would choose it for a pillow. She’s still sleeping on it now, and I fear that her individually uniquely stripey hairs are now permanently entwined into it.

    Perhaps, in a weird way, this isn’t an entirely bad thing. Tegan is my little shadow and when I am home, she is rarely away from my side. It has always been this way, much to the chagrin of our other cat, but she is my constant companion. Many mothers I know complain that they can’t get peace, even in the bathroom, for their kids following them in there. For me, it’s the cat. She’s always on my desk pawing at me for attention, and constantly walking across my keyboard if I don’t respond fast enough (“fast enough” being a half a second shorter than, “now!”). Of course walking across the keyboard over and over again can cause havoc, especially when I’m trying to code HTML or something, and often I find myself saying something cross in exasperation.

    Tegan is getting older now, and she is thin and not in the greatest health. We do our best to provide for her needs as an elderly member of our family, but we know that the day is coming that I won’t have the constant meowing in my ear or the special coding generated by kitty paws taking yet another stroll across my keyboard. I know that I shall miss her terribly, but at least now I know that someday soon I will have a Kid Mohair wrap to snuggle up with and always remember her. And I am sure I’ll be forever finding tan and black individually striped hairs… and I shall smile when I do.

  • Book Review: Gorgeous Knitted Afghans

    Recently I got the book, Gorgeous Knitted Afghans: 33 Great Designs for Creative Knitters. And I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. This book, written by Fatema, Khadija, and Hajera Habibur-Rahman, is not your ordinary afghan collection. There’s a lot to choose from in here, from simple stitch patterns knit with lovely, unexpected yarns, to complex patterns that offer a bit of a challenge and yield lovely results.
    There aren’t many projects in here that I wouldn’t knit, given the luxury of limitless knitting time. I am especially enamored of the mitered afghan on the cover, which is called “Fascinating Rhythm”. (I checked; it’s not listed in Ravelry yet. Perhaps I should start one of these so I can get the pattern listing going, eh?) But, even if you don’t care for that gorgeous afghan, there’s something for just about every taste in this book. Whether you like simple, mindless knitting, or want to try something new, there’s probably a project in here for just about everyone. Whether it’s colorwork, motifs, lace, cables, or simple stitches in gorgeous colors, I’m sure just about any knitter of any skill level could find an entertaining project in this book.

    I grew up in a home where scrap afghans crocheted in ripple patterns or the traditional granny square afghan could be found. These creations were never anything more than functional, as the typical 1970s earthy color schemes with an occasional fire engine red could just about make your eyes bleed to look at them, in their dizzying mishmash of color insensitivity. The afghans in this book more than make up for the sins of our grandmothers, though, because they are all simply stunning.

    The book includes an introductory section that goes over some of the special techniques covered in the book, including the embroidery stitches that are required to complete some of the projects. And, the instructions in the book seem clear. However, a quick internet search leads me to believe that there may be some errors in this book, for which I can’t yet find the errata information. When I do, if it exists, I will post it here. However,
    I am not deterred from trying the patterns in this book.

    My only regret is that I don’t have 50 sofas in my house to drape them all upon. A home can only have so many afghans. How am I ever going to choose? But, I am certain that more than one of these will be in my future.

    Update on my Christmas Elf Hat: Yes, I’m still knitting away at this project. Just like the last time I did this pattern, it’s looking like I’ll be done by the end of this month or maybe early February. I should know not to start my Christmas knitting in November because no matter how hard I try, it will never be done in time. But, I hope to be posting a finished photo soon! Wish me luck. Maybe a good stint of knitting this weekend will be all that’s needed; I’ve been decreasing away and the rounds are going much more quickly now.