Come on in, the water's weather's fine!

I feel for all of you who are enduring brutal cold; hard to believe that in some areas even intrepid mail carriers have hung up their bags! We might get our first snow late this coming weekend . . . but I'm not holding my breath.

Here it's pretty sunrises and a little frost in the mornings; mild in the afternoons; and blue skies, sunshine, and green grass all day. Monday:

Tuesday:

This morning:

This moon is still so bright!

The snowdrops have opened up, 'airing their undies' so to speak. I think they are enjoying our weather, too!

The ewes are enjoying GRASS, and stretching their legs

And today, for the first time in a week, I got to enjoy some quality time on my big, glowing goober:

Last Thursday we drove to Walla Walla, WA for a three-day basketball tournament. Brian's team lost all three of their games and sustained several strains and sprains (half the team's ten players had to sit out the second game). But none of the injuries appear to be serious and just going is a highlight of their year, so Brian had fun and we enjoyed ourselves, too. It's always great to get crafting time, too; I finished spinning my flame-colored Christmas gift roving and all but the seaming and buttons on a Baby Surprise Jacket.

A couple photos from the drive:

During our absence our dogs were well cared for separately, Dozer at a friend's, where he was perfectly happy,

and Jackson at my MIL's, pining for our/my return. But once we did return, he happily demonstrated how he and Grandma spent part of their time together:

Before we built a fire to warm our cold house Sunday afternoon, Rick cleaned the glass doors and touched up the paint on the face plate of our insert. It made the resulting fire look as good as it felt!

Wishing you warmth, from . . .

Peacetime

It's early, still dark, and I'm the only one up. I relish this quiet solitude. Days and evenings are full of the expectations of others and my own sense of obligation and a mind too full to concentrate. But before the sun comes up, before the other people get up, I have this precious bubble of time. It's not long enough for much wordsmithing, mind you, but I can share some soul food. Like a glimpse of rapidly changing weather from earlier this week,

a little feast of winter flowers,

Sarcacocca – SO fragrant!

and the promise of much more to come.

Sharing blessings from . . .

Rollercoaster in review

Uh, I mean 'Week in review' – a rollercoaster week!

Last Sunday morning Brian left for a full day of labor – his usual Sunday gig working for one of Rick's clients, followed by some chores for his grandma (who in exchange is donating towards his mission trip), followed by a one-time job helping a friend's family pack up for moving. Around 7:00 p.m. he called to tell me he was headed home. At 7:43 he called again, shaking and breathless. He had taken a little (unauthorized) side trip on a gravel road, swerved to miss a deer (while probably going a little too fast), drove up the side of a bank – and landed like this:

Fortunately he was wearing his seat belt and other than a sore back, is perfectly fine. The truck, however, is most likely totaled.

When I texted the above photo to my folks, I found out that my step-brother, who lives with them, had fallen asleep that night in his room while warming his legs with a space heater (he has neuropathy from diabetes). When he awoke, he bad burns on his shins but wouldn't go to the ER.

The next day, Monday, my dad compelled my brother to go to the ER, not because of the burns but because there were signs of infection at the site of his recent surgery to repair a broken ankle. That night Brian had a basketball game. I spun an appropriately colored turtle while watching:

On Wednesday, I got a Christmas gift in the mail from a friend that 'sheep built' (she and her husband bought some fiber pets from me years ago and we've been friends ever since). She's a quilter as well as a spinner and knitter and made me the most gorgeous set of placemats! (I think the Laurel Burch horses bear a striking resemblance to my antique salt shaker.)

By Wednesday my brother was scheduled for surgery to remove his infected lower leg, but it had to be postponed until Thursday, which was also the day my BIL and nephew arrived for an overnight visit. Unfortunately my sister couldn't come with them for my BIL's uncle's funeral, but it was still good to see her husband and this little guy:

My nephew was jonesing to see ALL the animals and ride a horse, ALL BY HIMSELF, WITH REINS. We visited the chickens, sheep, and Chuckie Thursday evening,

and saved the riding for today (he rode twice, in fact).

Kudos to my big red goober of a horse who took good care of the boy while fulfilling his dream!

Now the Sabbath has begun. I am trying to rest from my rollercoaster week, resist a certain teenager's pressure, and pray this familiar prayer:

Good night from . . .

Back to 'normal'...

...whatever that means. Right now that means Christmas decorations are stashed away for another 10 months, the house is thoroughly vacuumed, furniture is put back in place, and I'm faced with the next 'big thing' – taxes. Not ours (yet) – first I have to do monthly and quarterly payroll taxes and W-2s for Rick's clinic. I plan to get all that done on Sunday, along with making a four-loaf batch of bread and getting some stuff listed on eBay. (MUST declutter more this year!)

We're in the thick of basketball season here. Brian had games Jan. 3, last Tuesday (he got his first double-double!) and last night; the next ones are coming up Saturday and Monday. His team won last night's game decisively, the first time they've done so; they are definitely improving as the season progresses. Here are a few iPhone shots of #23 (look for the fluorescent orange shoes) in the first three games of 2019 (Rick has gotten better shots on his 'big boy' camera but it's hard to get copies of those):

With the games getting more exciting, I've done less spinning and/or knitting, but sometimes NEED something to do with myself to keep from getting too worked up! Current WIPs remain knitting the green striped BSJ and spinning the flaming roving.

We're entering another short stretch of sunny weather before the drizzle starts again. It is both warmer and drier than average here. Hopefully the snow stays in the mountains so we get the slow melt needed to feed the rivers and reservoirs for the summer.

That's it for today from . . .