Piles and Purls of Fun

As expected, we got lots more snow this past weekend. Also as expected, it drifted and piled up everywhere. Then our nice neighbor came by with his huge tractor and plowed out our driveway, leaving behind nice big snow piles perfect for climbing and sliding down. Kaylee had a blast.

The dogs seemed to enjoy it as well.

Peaches was king (or queen?) of the hill when all's said and done. Notice how short the birdhouse post looks? It's in the middle of a 3 foot snowdrift.


Snow piles may be fun to play on, but they're not exactly my idea of a good time. I'd rather be knitting in the nice warm house! We're hoping for better weather this week, hopefully tomorrow so Kaylee and I can get to town for our lunch/knitting/shopping/girl time plans. It will be so good to get out of the house and do something fun.

Speaking of knitting, I need more yarn! I'm almost finished with the class project, a booga bag. Here's mine, just 6 rounds, an I-cord, and felting away from completion. The lighting is pretty bad, but maybe you can make out the purple/teal blend stripes. I like it, anyway.

Hopefully it looks as good felted. Maybe I can use it to carry/store my future knitting projects. Some of those projects? Well, let's see. In no particular order, here's my project list for the winter.

1. A hat for Rich. He only has 1 warm hat.

2. A scarf for my baby sis, who we're going to see this weekend....think I can get it done by then?

3. Hat and matching mittens each for Kaylee and Miles.

4. Wool soaker (diaper cover) for Miles.

5. Matching hats for my other sister's new baby (expected in the next couple of weeks) and his 2 big brothers.

6. Scarf and hat for myself, to go with my wool winter coat.

7. "Longies" for Miles. These are wool pants that can be partially felted, lanolized, and used over cloth diapers as both pants and a waterproof cover. How cool is that? If I can make these, I can make anything.

It's very unlikely that I"ll actually get all of these things made, but luckily, most of them are small and won't take a ton of yarn. I'm hoping to purchase most of what I"ll need for everything tomorrow and then I'll have a good sized stash to work with the next time we're snowed in. Wish me luck.

Settling In

I guess it's time to settle in for the winter. We've got blizzard conditions predicted for the next 3 days, so it looks like we, or at least me and the kids, will be sitting tight for a while again. Makes me feel like making soup and bread and muffins and cupcakes. Oh, and starting a new knitting project. I"m really getting into the knitting thing. I downloaded some easy patterns from the web for hats, plus I've got lots of yarn on hand, so we'll see what happens. I've got all sorts of projects I'd like to start, and I definitely need the practice! As of right now I only have circular needles, so that does limit things a bit. Anyway, maybe I can keep myself busy. Now if only I had something to keep the KIDS busy!

It's been so nice to have Rich home from work the past week. I got a new phone today (for free!) and he's playing with the downloadable ringtones on it tonight.....he's having more fun than I would with it anyway. It's nice just to sit in the same room after the kids go to bed, just enjoying the companionship, even though we're each involved in something different. There's definitely something to be said for regular daytime work hours. Sigh. Maybe someday.

Cabin Fever

We've been confined to the house for over a week due to sickness and snowstorms. Turns out Rich got the bug worse than any of us. He lost 7 pounds in 3 days and ended up in the ER on Monday with an IV for dehydration. Fun stuff. His doctor told him yesterday that he has to be off work and rest until at least Friday. In spite of the circumstances, it's kind of nice to have him around the house for a change!

Trying to keep the kids entertained has become a bit of a challenge. They're both feeling better now, but the temps and wind chills outside make outdoor play impossible. Kaylee's become interested in talking on the phone lately, so that helps. That's what I do when I'm bored! Here she is in her pj's talking to "the new Grandma" in Missouri.


Ever since Rich got out the trackball mouse again Miles has been enthralled by the "ball". Yep, he's a boy! It does make computer work a little difficult =)


We got about 5 inches of light, fluffy snow yesterday, and up to 6 more inches are expected tomorrow. So if anyone's going to town for groceries, it'll have to be today. Maybe I'll get out of the house yet!

When the Cold Winds Blow

Ok, I thought it was cold before, but yesterday and today have been OUTRAGEOUSLY cold. I mean cold enough to cause all sorts of problems. My outside thermometer reads -15 degrees right now.


The furnace has been running nonstop and cannot keep the house at a constant temperature above 69 degrees. The upstairs bathroom tub water supply is frozen up. Seriously. When I got up this morning, there was a layer of ice in the tub. The drain trap is frozen. There's snow INSIDE my basement windows.



Yes, our house is old. In spite of all our remodeling efforts, its not very well insulated. And we had 35 MPH winds yesterday with wind chills at -30 as well. But this is ridiculous. I had to take a hair dryer to the RO water supply line just to get water to make coffee this morning. Is it too late to move south for the winter?

Favorites

So, another tag. This one courtesy of my knitting partner! :-)

What Are Your Favorites?

1. Favorite book? "The Secret Garden"
2. Food? Something Italian
3. Item of clothing? Comfy, cute pajamas
4. Hairstyle? Up off my neck
5. Beverage? Milk
6. Facial tissue? Uh...Kleenex, I guess
7. Place to sit? My old pink recliner with a good book.
8. Person? Do I have to pick one? Rich, Kaylee, & Miles :-)
9. Animal? Cats
10. House? Big farmhouse with wraparound covered porch, enormous kitchen, and tons of closet space!
11. Smell? Baby after a bath
12. Activity? Cooking and gardening
13. Color? Blue or purple
14. Day of the week? Saturday
15. Time of day? Sunrise
16. Hot thing? A fireplace
17. Cold thing? Kaylee's nose after she comes in from playing in the snow
18. Game? Rook
19. Hobby? Gardening, definitely
20. Season? Fall

What Goes Around

It's officially made the rounds: Rich now has the stomach bug. He's in bed. That makes everyone but Miles. We're quarantined for a few more days.

Tightzers

Kaylee has recently decided that she doesn't like tights. The seams on the toes always bother her, and the first chance she gets, the tights come off. Then she complains about being cold. So I decided to find some other options to keep her legs warm.

My first purchase were some legwarmers (yes, they really do still make them, and they're CUTE!!) from Kelly's Closet, one of my frequented online diaper shops. They are similar to BabyLegs, but for toddlers. They fit good, but seemed to have a problem with falling down after wearing them for a while. She was pretty pleased with the primary stripe ones.

Then I ordered some ankle tights from Hanna Andersson online. (By the way, I highly recommend hanna.andersson.com to anyone who wants good quality, comfy kids clothes. Plus they're earth friendly to boot!) These tights are wonderful. They're the good quality, cotton Hanna tights, but with no feet! I also got her some slippers from the same site: Swedish moccasins, to be exact. Kaylee's in love. Her new "tightzers" have pretty patterns with no feet to bug her. Mommy's happy to, because she's warm.