Wednesday, January 30, 2019

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 . . .

12 comments:

Michelle said...

My layout looks wonky on my end, the type very small. Does it look that way on your end?

Retired Knitter said...

Everything looks normal on your blog from my end. It is that wonky blogger again, I guess.

Great pictures of the dogs - who I love - even from very far away. Love the movie of the running sheep. Sure wish I live closer so I could enjoy those animals in person. A big Hi to Chucky. I love that Baby Surprise Jacket. Can you believe I must be the only person in the knitting world who has never knitted one of those?

I am one of those souls who is living in the deep freeze. So far I have not suffered much. I have the indoors to entertain me and when I go out I am prepared in the proper clothing. It is winter so I am content. And one other upside - the bug population should be down for summer with weather. :-)

Cheers.

Mama Pea said...

The print does look a bit smaller than usual for me, but not uncomfortable to read. I always wonder how my blog post look on other computers, too.

We had a low of 26 below this morning. But no wind so the house was still very comfortably warm. (Maybe we're getting used to this.)

Love seeing the pictures of your yarn and that little sweater is adorable. I like darker colors on little ones so your yarn choice appeals to me.

Jackson doesn't look as though he suffered too much, although I'm sure he was wondering where you were. Such a big, furry, sweet boy.

Jeanne said...

I really missed you! I was just going to write to see if you were okay!!
Your yarn is gorgeous. Do you have plans for it?
Your pictures are all so beautiful. I always have to look at them several times.
Where can i find the pattern for the little sweater?

Susan said...

I just love that video - Shetlands are the cutest sheep in the Universe! They look so happy! I'd look that happy, too, if I was able to run in grass and not snow. Hoping that Brian wasn't one of the casualties...but happy they got the experience of a tournament. How do you get your spinning to line up so perfectly? What a wonderful color. (RK, that makes two of us....should we remedy the situation?)

Mokihana said...

As always, I love your photos. I'm glad you got to go out for a ride. We have made that drive to Walla Walla on our way to Montana several times and always seem to take photos of those wind turbines as well. You're spinning is beautiful! I am home recovering from pretty extensive knee surgery last week, so I am glad I can come to your blog and see all your beautiful pictures.

Goatldi said...

What fun!

Looks like you too have my firebox. A "Fireplace extraordinaire?" Love mine keeps us toasty this time of year.

Potential snow alert for Monday here.

Michelle said...

Elaine, good luck with that bug thing. The coldest place I ever lived (MN) also had the worst bugs.

Mama Pea, Jackson seemed to know when we were getting closer (within an hour) as he started whining and pacing. And he did NOT want to hang out at Grandma's any longer once we got there; he wanted IN THE CAR (except for a few moments when the Frisbee came out).

Jeanne, I have the pattern in Elizabeth Zimmermann's book "Knitting Workshop," but you can also buy it from Schoolhouse Press, I believe. It's a classic! No plans for the yarn yet.

Susan, yes, Brian was one of the casualties. Rick was worried Brian had torn the cruciate ligament in his knee, but he's fine now. (And yes, you and RK should remedy the situation!)

Mokihana, I rather like the wind turbines, unlike some people. I hope your healing is quick and complete!

Yep, Goatldi, it's a Fireplace Extraordinaire! We saw them at a Parade of Homes and were impressed, so we put one in when we built our house. Not as practical as a freestanding stove we could cook on if the power goes out, but it sure does heat the house.

Leigh said...

The flame roving on the spindle is really eyecatching. Love the shading and your neat winding on! Also love seeing your girls. :)

Retired Knitter said...

Susan and Michelle - haha! 'remedy the situation' I assume that means an actual visit as opposed to the virtual ones like I do now. Yes, indeed, that would be lovely. Being a 'not-shy-at-all' kind of person, I would have already invited myself, made the trip (across country from the east coast), visited and been planning my second trip already - except ... my traveling days a thing of the past. My husband is legally blind, lost his sight late in life, not independent, and probably never will be. My excursions are short and close to home now. So there you have it! Virtual visits it is! Thank God there are blogs, computers and the internet. It wasn't that long ago when that technology was unknown.

Retired Knitter said...

Oh, and Michelle - you are right about the bugs. The worst insects I every interacted with were in Alaska - a swarm of some kind of bug in July drove us out of a wooded area - running and swatting - till we got back in the car. Over time insects adjust to extreme winter conditions for sure. But these Maryland insects aren't that hardy ... yet. Of course, with climate change that could be a thing for us as well. Hardy insects! One more thing to look forward to. NOT!

Fat Dormouse said...


I love the bouncing ewes!