Hello Spring?

And so it begins...

I'm sitting on the couch, watching TV with Justine and from the corner of my eye I see something crawl across the floor. Holy crap!! I didn't scream but my heart started racing and I was staring at what I hoped wasn't a spider and Justine says, "Hey, did you see that? What was it?...Do we have any Raid?"  I kept an eye on the creature while she ran for the ammunition.  It was spider!  A big one...

No, not THAT BIG, but big.  I took aim...FIRE!  I pretty much drowned it in Raid.  Of course I did...had I not, I know he'd creep up stairs and camp out on my forehead till morning!!

Really? First day of Spring...first spider?! heavy sigh

Note to self:  Get to Target and stock up on ammo.

It was a Snowy Day.

Yesterday was a Snowy Day! We had a family Snow Day (Mike stayed home) and enjoyed ourselves!  We watched movies, took a walk in the snow, while it was snowing mind you, smelled the pot roast cooking in the oven all day...the only one who didn't enjoy it was, you've probably guessed, Gracie. 

 Mike shoveled once...then Joey again later.

 Aunt Bea's new hat came into good use.

 Justine joined us on a walk in the snow.  It was snowing the whole time, but that's hard to capture on a iphone camera.

 Critter tracks.

 Justine, snowy tree and frozen river.

 These stubborn leaves have hung on all winter...they looked like tissue paper.

 Even the youngest of trees can handle the snow.  

 A very bundled up couple!

 Cute, huh?

 Some of you saw this photo posted on Facebook.  It's a SNOWFLAKE! I've never seen one that looked like those paper kind you make as a kid.  We were so excited! 

 The snow makes even the most mundane thing interesting.

 "Quick, take the picture...my butt is getting wet!"

 Throwing snow...that fuzz up top is a mitten.

 Monty and Mike!

Justine called this the Lord Voldemort car.  Get it?

I learned something new too.  Usually on these cold walks in the snow, I have to pull my hand from it's comfort inside a mitten and take the photo.  As you know (or may not know, those of you with flip phones) the iphone only works with the bare finger (heat sensitive).  Well, Justine taught me to swipe the phone, to open the camera function...with my nose! Then use the volume down button to click the photo.  It worked like a charm! 

Thank You Note

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you so much for listening to my plea for more snow. I'm sure I'm not the only one asking for just a wee bit more Winter before Spring, um, springs.  But I might be the most grateful. Today's forecast calls for light snow throughout the day with flurries...the cutest snow and the most fun to watch. Tonight it might snow up to an inch or so.  Perfect!  I didn't ask for another Snow Day, just snow.  You WERE listening!

If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know.  I knit a mean pair of socks, just fyi.

Your humble snow-lover,
Brenda

February Happenings

 Joey turned 18!! He spent his birthday with his dad.  They went go-carting (indoor track) and to the Car Show in Baltimore.  And no, his mother isn't a lazy baker...he likes his favorite cake without icing or frosting.  Favorite cake? you ask...Marble Pound Cake. (Now you want cake, don't you?)

 I finished a mystery shawl on time with the rest of the 600+ knitters doing this project.  The clues were handed out once a week for five weeks.  Each clue had choices A or B...so you could pick which one each week.  You could also do two colors, if you wanted. It's fun to see all the different shawls in the end but some of those color choices...ew!

 Blocked a hat I knit. Very clever hat too. I love patterns that teach you something new. Non-knitters turn away...the brim is knit with short rows so the back is only about 1/2 an inch and the front about 2 inches.  AND the short rows aren't your usual wrap&turn, they're German short rows, oh yes, learned something new I did. Look 'em up on YouTube if you want to see how it's done.  The stitch pattern is super easy to do but the fabric looks woven! I got this hat in a kit from...wait for it...France! The yarn is very "woolly", like off-the-sheep woolly...and it had an odor. After blocking it was much softer and less odor-y.

 Took this cute picture of our cat, Lyra.

And lastly, I knit a new short-row heel created by Dolly.  No holes and no double wraps...don't cha just hate those?  Non-knitters, just nod your heads in agreement.

Confession Sunday

Well, it's Sunday. A good day for confessions, especially if you're kinda Catholic. Or Catholic, but not practicing.  Or as my friend, Mtr. K says "the church you're going to when you're not going to church".  Take your pick.

I follow several blogs, mostly knitting blogs.  If you're scratching your head and saying "What?!" to yourself, yes, believe me...there are tons and tons of knitting blogs just waiting to be read.  They're prettier than mine, better photographed and posted to more often but they don't include me, so how on earth can they be more entertaining? Really, I've never seen an escape-the-giant-spider-encounter post on any of them. So there.

In this lovely month of February, after several snowfalls (since November for some) and cold, cold temps...I'm seeing posts with titles that say "Done, Done so Very Done" and "I'm Finished".  They're not referring to their knitting, oh no.  That's right...they're sick of the cold and snow and want it all to be over.  Everyone from Florida to Maine is sick of cold and snow.  It hangs around long after it falls, piled high in parking lots and front yards, getting dirty and brown, slushy during the day and icing over again at night.  Who on earth isn't sick of this Winter?!

My confession?  I want it to snow AGAIN!!!  Just one more big snowfall before Spring dances in....pleeeeease!!  Mother Nature, if you're reading this...please one more beautiful blanket of white.  Create one more coating of quiet softness on my world, catch every branch and stubborn leaves on trees and Aunt B's still hat-less head (below).

I promise to celebrate Spring with the rest of the world but I'm not ready to bid Winter a fond farewell.

I like to party.

A few funnies for today...

 I finished this pair of socks!  They're Crowley by Alice Yu. Beautiful yarn by Susquehanna Knitting Company. 

Snow Days

These are pictures from our Snow days so far...

These icicles are from a big snow we had that I pretty much missed because I had the flu.  Yes, I got a flu shot! I got the stomach variety not the respiratory variety, which is what the flu shot works to prevent.  So no hope...just get through it.  Not fun. 

 The next snow fall came and I was ready! Here Justine and I are bundled up in our matching Fuego hats! The snow was so light and fluffy it was swirling around us...

 Gracie didn't like it too much.

 Playing in the snow with Padre.

 This is across the little swampy area by our trail.  Water was frozen over.

 Ahhh...now that's what I like to see: A teenager hard at work!

 Icicle toothpick?!

 These following pictures are the result of a snow fall a couple days ago.  The river at our dock is frozen and covered with snow...so pretty!

 The dock has a device that keeps the water bubbling under it so it won't freeze around the pylons and do damage to the dock (I'm guessing...jeez, what do I know, I'm from California!).

 We were out walking around around 4:30pm, just before sunset and man, was it cold!

 Mike has a theory that the brackish water of our river gives the ice a different color.  The river isn't frozen solid, good Lord that would take many, many days of sub zero temps, but it was frozen several inches! We saw foot prints in the snow of someone who was walking on the river.  Crazy.

 Wearing my newest hat...the Amanda Hat.

 Climbing hills in snow is tricky.

Our feet and fingers (and noses) were a bit numb when we got home but it was totally worth it to see the beautiful snow and river as the sun was going down.