This is what it looked like Wednesday when we got home. That is not snow but fog. It was a really strange storm. It started out as snow on Tuesday night and then changed to freezing rain. By the time we went to work in the morning, the rain had frozen on the snow and it was slick. I started the car early so it would help the ice melt somewhat. I hesitate to do that because of the waste but it was necessary. That slush there at the bottom of the driveway is frozen hard at this point and it crunches in a satisfying way when you drive over it. By the time we came home, there was a strange fog and you couldn't see anything as we rode over the bridge. Very unsettling.

I''ve spent a lot of time sitting at the wheel in the last few days. I've spun this lovely stuff. This is the Ina Gadda Da Vida roving I got for PK. You know the story of the title of the song? Iron Butterfly, a one hit wonder of a band, got really drunk one night and decided to write a song called In the Garden of Eden. They were so drunk, the words came out slurred and a legend is born. I love, love, love, this. I'd call it Robin Hood or something like Sherwood because that's what it reminds me of. The greens and browns dominate but there is the little bit of orange and teal in there. Pk reminds me frequently that he is waiting for socks from this.

He'll have to wait until I finish spinning it and for me to finish another project I started. It's strange because counting my commuting socks, I have 4 other wips. I never have more than two. I think it's a disease. I started my first top down sweater. It's a baby kimono style sweater (I found it on ravelry) that is practically seamless . I figured it's a good way to try something out because it's small. A coworker's wife is having a baby. The shower is Feb. 20th so I have about 3 weeks. I'm about 1/3 done and am ready to put the sleeves on waste yarn and continue down the front and back. I'm using some cotton/acrylic blend I had on hand. It's very soft and very washable. It's white and instead of ties, I'm going to get a cute button for the front. I just finished a gift item and once it's been gifted, I'll show you. It's a cutie.

Tomorrow is Friday and I took the day off. I would have called in sick today but it would count against me so I slogged through the day sneezing and blowing my nose. I figured I could take a vacation day tomorrow and then have the weekend to rest up. That's what I figured until Pk found an estate sale (with old tools) about an hour away on Saturday. He keeps telling me the woman was a knitter (yeah, right). He did offer to look up yarn stores on the way so it might not be too bad to go look at some old tools if I get to look at some fibery goodness, too. And breakfast. I insist on breakfast because we have to leave the house by 6:30. We don't leave that early for work! I'll let him drive and I can work on the morning surf scarf and maybe finish it up.

And now it's time for me to go. I took some benadryl and I want to stop writing before I start babbling. Benadryl makes me very sleepy but it works better than any other antihistamine for me.

Have a good Friday and a great weekend. Photos of the estate sale if the weather is nice and especially if the wife was a knitter! (although I'd bet all her friends have already picked through her stash!)

It snowed last night. Everything has a light dusting of the white stuff and it's snowing lightly now. It won't last. Today we're supposed to get flurries and then snow/sleet/freezing rain tonight with plain rain tomorrow. I hate these kind of storms. They start out all pretty and soft and before you know it, it's icy and slippery. And people drive like maniacs.

******************************************************************************

I'm sitting at my desk. It's shortly before 8 am and I know that as soon as it gets closer to 9, the phone will start ringing and people will cancel their appointments this afternoon and I'll be scrambling to find them new ones and make sure they have enough medication. A little snow makes people nervous and I guess I can't blame them. If you're dependent on public transportation inside the city, it's a mess when even a little bit of snow falls.

********************************************************************************

I am giving a Crisis Mgmt presentation today for our interns. No physical stuff, just some guidelines on dealing with individuals in crisis. I offered to do it so we could meet some regulations. We're due for a Joint Commission inspection (they accredidate hospitals. without it we can't get paid by insurance companies. It's a BIG deal) and they want all the i's dotted and t's crossed.

*********************************************************************************

On the train this morning, a woman sat in front of us with a fur (or a really good fake fur) coat. Around her neck she was wearing an orange/brown/rust colored..............thing. I guess I could call it a scarf since it was around her neck but it wasn't like any scarf I've ever seen. There was some eyelash yarn, some ribbon, and what looked like feathers. It was all I could do not to touch it. She didn't look like the kind of person you could ask to touch. She got on with headphones on and sat with her book. Definite walls in place there. I stared at it for 5 stops before I got off trying to figure out what it was made of and how it was made. It fascinated me.

**********************************************************************************

I am halfway finished the morning surf scarf. It feels nice (it's superwash merino) and the colors are really nice. It's bright and cheery when the days are grey and not-so-cheery. I want to finish it so I can finish my mittens. I need the mittens.

**********************************************************************************

My computer is back and running like a champ. The virus is gone and all of the software is now installed. Pk fixed the settings so it is almost exactly the same. I apologized repeatedly to him and he has forgiven me for being less than grateful. I reminded him that for him, playing with the computer is an adventure and he likes it to be new and different. To me, it's a tool. I want it to work the same every time. Newness and adventure are not words I associate with my comuter. He just says "you're not very good with change". Not entirely true, just some change.

***********************************************************************************

This feels like a bullet post so I'll call it the Tuesday Early Morning Bullet Post. Random thoughts from a random mind.

Today was a great day. I did the laundry and straightened up the house but I spent most of the day in fibery pursuits. I spun some roving I bought for Pk because it's called In A Gadda Da Vida (remember the song by Iron Butterfly?). He loves that song. It looks like this. It's lovely greens/browns/oranges. It spins up like this. I spun a bobbin full of it today. I'm planning to spin some more of it tomorrow and then ply it together. I have 8 ounces so if I spin it thin enough, he can have a pair of socks. Emily is coming for dinner and wants to bring her wheel so we could spin together. That's a new experience.

I also gave some quality time to the morning surf scarf. It's about twice that size now but I had to take advantage of the morning light because it was cloudy for most of the day and the light comes in through the window for only a short time each day. These colors are pretty close. I like the way the color changes occur. The purple doesn't clash with the oranges. I am not in love with the pattern. If you go to ravelry and check out the Ply by Night group, you can see what everyone else's has come out like. The more experienced spinners have thinner, more consistent yarn and their dropped stitches don't seem to stick out as much as mine. Since this is still relatively new to me, my yarn is not consistent, although it is getting better. My dropped stitches vary from one place to another and they all look different. It makes the scarf texturally interesting and I have to let go of my inner OCD and let it be. It uses up a lot of yarn. Fortunately I have a good amount so the scarf will have a chance to be a good length. I already have a good home in mind for it so it won't languish on the top of our coat closet.

Pk rebuilt my computer because it had picked up a rather nasty virus (random pop up ads and phishing expeditions which were driving me crazy) and we could not get rid of it by using spyware protectors. I was less than gracious when he told me he had forgotten to save my folder of photos and I can't find the software for my camera so I have to use the software that came with his (they're both Nikons) and it's different. I should have had a backup disk. I don't like change like this. I am not a computer whiz and don't like my software to change. I want to turn on the machine and have it look just like I expect and function like I want. With no changes. Now, I am feeling disgruntled and he is feeling unappreciated. I have apologized but I know I hurt his feelings and that makes me feel funny inside. Sigh. Someday I'll grow up.

And I can't remember the password for my email because I haven't used it for almost 4 years. I'll have to wait for him to call verizon tomorrow and set up the email. I'm lucky to have someone who is willing to spend several hours playing with my computer to fix it for me.

I hope things are running smoothly in your world and your toys are working.

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people. Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love. You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love. And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's" Your Word?

I've been busy working on the morning surf scarf. Surprisingly I like the colors but I still don't like the pattern. It's taken me several starts to find the size needles I like and to decide on a width I like. I finally cast on 36 stitches on size 3 needles. I don't like dropped stitches. I'll take some photos tomorrow when we are supposed to have sun and I can catch the colors. They go together much better than I thought they would.

In the mean time, I hope you are all having a good weekend. Our temps are more moderate and it's nice not to be freezing. At this moment, I have bare feet! And it feels good. Makes me want to go out and get a pedicure. But then I'd just put my feet back into my socks and shoes. I think I'll get one soon anyway. As much as they tickle, I love the way my feet feel.

Photos of the scarf soon to follow.

I thought I'd share some of the 'sunshine' I have been spinning. This is the rovin unravelled. It's every bit as soft as it looks. As you can see, there is some very deep purple, some yellows and oranges and even some pink and white. An odd combination of colors. Spun up randomly, is looks like this. The colors blend in an interesting way. I am not sure how I feel about it but since it's a group project, I'll finish. The first batch I spun up is a little thicker. I got thinner as I went. I want to use the thinner stuff for the scarf. It's very slippery to spin and I love touching it. The group decided on the morning surf scarf pattern so that's what it will be. If you go to the ravelry group Ply by Night, you can see how everyone else's roving spun up and see it knitted into scarves. I am slow and am bringing up the rear of the group.

Today, we are proud to be American again. There is a feeling of hopefulness in the air that we haven't felt for a long, long time. I know that electing one man will not magically make the problems go away. The economic problem is way too deep for that. It can however, make us all think that maybe there is a way out of this moral morass we find ourselves in (I was overjoyed to hear the candidate for Attorney General say "waterboarding IS torture") and the economic hole and maybe there is a light at the end of the long tunnel. President Obama has a long, hard row to hoe.

I wish him well and send him all my good thoughts. We need him now.

It's Monday morning and I'm sitting at my desk. No, scratch that. It's a Monday Holiday Morning and I'm sitting at my desk. For those of you who are not here in the US, it's the day we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's a federal holiday. That means the post office is closed, banks are closed and schools are closed. Community Mental Health centers are open.

It's normally quiet here on the second floor at 8 o'clock. Things don't really get hopping until 9. I enjoy this quiet time. I catch up on blogs and listen to phone messages and put myself into work mode.

Today, it's more than quiet. I think I'm the only one up here. A lot of people take federal holidays off. Pk is off and was sleeping soundly when I left. As I leaned over to kiss him goodbye, he smiled but didn't wake up. The train was running on a holiday schedule and was not crowded. One could even say it was empty. Weird.

Tomorrow is election day. There's a lot of pressure on Obama to make good and I hope he's up to it. Bush is a tough act to follow. Not because he was so good, but because he made such a mess. I hope the critics give Obama a chance to settle in and find his bearings.

My weekend was a good one. I started making a long overdue gift and did quite a bit of spinning. If you are a spinner/knitter, I'd like to recommend Crown Mountain Farms. I placed an order on Thursday and by Saturday I had a box of fiber in my hands. And it's lovely hand dyed merino. There is a ravelry group called Ply by Night. We are all spinning the same fiber and knitting the same thing (morning surf scarf) to see the differences. I am not fond of the color this round. It's all yellow and purple and some red/orange. It's called Sunshine of Your Love. It is definitely out of my comfort zone. I spun half of it to get a good feel for it and then last night started spinning it thin to make a fingering weight. I also ordered In A Gadda Da Vida for Pk. It's one of his favorite songs. (probably the only song Iron Butterfly ever did). It's green/blue/brown/purple.

That's it. A quiet weekend in a quiet life. Em wants to have a meeting of the Succulent Wild Knitters tonight but I'll wait to see how the day goes. Mondays are tough for me and sometimes I don't have much energy left at the end of the day.

Have a good monday.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
~Buddha

eta: blogger keeps taking away the paragraph breaks today. I bolded the beginnings to break up the large block of test.

A Day In My Life- January 14 (written on Jan 15th!)

It started out like all other winter days, dark. It was dark when we left the house after eating a breakfast of Cheerios and milk and putting a yogurt in my bag for lunch. I had time to make a pot of coffee so that went into the travel mug and into the bag along with the sock in progress and mp3 player. It's dark when I come home most evenings, too. This is when I really miss the light. I feel like a mushroom.

Pk and I ride the train together in the morning. We started this when gas got to be over 4 dollars a gallon and have continued just because we like it. It means no music or knitting on the train in the morning but hand holding and kisses goodbye. A good trade off!

I got into work and proceeded to do the progress notes from the Tuesday clinic and have supervision with my boss. She's really great and is supportive and understanding. We tried to figure out a way to use less paper with our new system but I think we'll have to wait until they make some system changes for that to happen.

Lunch time and the phone is ringing off the hook. People who need new appointments, or prescriptions faxed to their pharmacies or who just to talk about what's going on in their lives. I think if some of the women I have as clients weren't clients, I would like to have them as friends. As it is, it's hard to remember sometimes that they are NOT my friends and to observe professional boundaries. By nature, I am a friendly person and tend to think everyone likes me and wants to be my friend. This makes me good at my job but makes me vulnerable to making huge mistakes in judgement. I try to keep a good reign on this.

After lunch, it was off to see the dentist. She tried to "tap" the crown out. No way. It was on there so tight she had to drill it into pieces and then clean off the extra cement. It's root canaled so it didn't hurt. My gums are sore but that's about it. The hard part was biting into the trays of goo and having to hold them in my mouth until they hardened. The first two weren't too bad but the third one made me gag repeatedly. I was glad I had only eaten the yogurt. The dentist is going to submit this to the insurance company with an explanation and we'll see if they'll pay for it. I hope so. And on Feb. 5th, the new crown will be cemented in. I'll be due for my cleaning two weeks after that but we cannot combine them into one appointment because the insurance company will not pay for the cleaning unless it's 6 months TO THE DAY after the last one. That means I have to go back to the dentist at the end of Feb to get the cleaning done.

I went to the department store to score some dress pants for work at 75 percent off (!) and then picked Pk up at the station. We got home and decided to get some take out chicken for dinner.

We spent the evening quietly. He doing some programming work on the computer and I was trying to work on my Leaves of Whimsy socks.(I'd like to link the pattern but I got it off a Knit a Day calendar I got last year). I say 'trying' because around 7:30 I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep for about an hour with the knitting in my hand. I woke up and stayed awake until 10 and then fell soundly asleep and slept till morning. I don't know why I was so sleepy but I think your body knows what it needs and mine obviously needed sleep.

Today, Thursday, I am tackling some more notes and then we have a staff meeting. This should be good as everyone complains about how slow the new system is making things. Sometimes we spend so much time arguing against things we have no control over and we just make ourselves more upset. Sometimes, you just have to accept the situation and make the best of it. This is one of those times. We have no control over this new system and just have to go along. It's a case of 'choose your battles'.

The artic freeze has finally hit here. It's cold enough for me to wear a hat. That has to be really cold because I hate hats. They make my head itch. It's a "code blue" in the city and our Homeless Outreach Teams spend the night scouring the city looking for homeless folks and trying to coax them to come into shelters out of the cold. Sometimes, they're successful and sometimes the individuals choose to stay outside. They have the right to make the choice and whether we agree with it or not, we have to respect it. It's a tough call. I don't think I could be an outreach worker. It's a tough job. We have a great team. They know all the spots where people congregate and how to coax them in.

I hope where you are is warm and comfortable and safe.

I found this image in an online search for 'sock images' (I also found a link for emo sock images but you had to sign up so I have only my imagination as to what they would be!).

Actually, I am wearing my Go with the Flow socks today. Yay! Pair number 5 and they are on MY feet. They are a perfect match to the sweater I am wearing. I so enjoyed the pattern that I will probably make another pair.

I had a thought (yes, in the middle of the week) about the Brown Bag Sock Club (that's how I think of it). Suppose once or twice during the year, we exchange sock yarn. Anyone who wants can put their name in and we'll send each other small packages with sock yarn, patterns and possibly some goodies. It would not cost anything other than postage and would give everyone a surprise which is (to me) the best part of a club. You would send one of your brown bags to someone else and get a brown bag in the mail. Anyone interested? I'll organize it. The first exchange could be March/April and maybe one in August/September. Leave me a comment. I don't want to make this too complicated. If there are only a few people, then so be it. It'll still be fun.

Yesterday was marginally better than Monday. I spent a good deal of the morning playing IT for one of the doctors. I wish I could just say No. Today I am headed to the dentist for part eleventy thousand in the saga of the tooth. She's going to cut the crown off my tooth and we'll make a mold for a new one. It involves biting down on this really yucky green gooey stuff that hardens like plastic. I have a really strong gag reflex so this is torture for me. I am holding out hope that she will be able to just pull out the old crown and I can have it repaired. Then I can start arguing with the insurance company and the people who made the crown about just who should pay for this procedure (it's almost a thousand dollars). I may let Pk duke it out with them. He's more aggressive than I.

So, let me know if you're interested in the Brown Bag Sock Club (BBSC) exchange. I started my January pair last night. I'm using a pattern similar to embossed leaves from 25 Favorite Socks but it's called Leaves of Whimsy. It's an easy pattern and will look good in the variegated yarn.

So, what's in your January bag?

Exhausted. That's the word for today boys and girls. We started using a new program at work today and because we are not computer weenies but mental health professionals, it was not an unqualified success. It was probably not a success by anyone's definition.

I could go on and on about this but it's a tiring subject and I have a headache from all of the hullaballoo. Instead, I'll show you this. Why, yes it is exactly what it looks like: a brown paper bag sitting on my laptop. (and blurry at that). Why am I showing you a brown paper bag? Because it is the first installment of the "do it yourself sock yarn club". I have been inspired by Jeanne. The whole idea is to use up the sock yarn that just sits in the stash because something else catches your eye. So, you take 12 different skeins of sock yarn (c'mon, you know you have at least 12 in there!) and put them into separate brown bags. You can put a pattern in there, too, if you are so inclined. Each month you reach in and pull out a bag and knit up the yarn into a pair of socks. I put my yarn into bags and put them into my tote without patterns. I didn't feel like finding 12 patterns all at once. I figure, I'll choose patterns as I pick yarns. This was in the bag for January. It's a bamboo/superwash/nylon blend I bought from Jessie at a piece of vermont. I really like the colors. I'll be using it as soon as I finish my Go with the Flow socks. I'm almost done the foot. I've pulled out some sock pattern books and I'll look around for something for me. Some of the yarn I've put into the bags was earmarked for socks for family members so when they get chosen, those family members will get socks. This in no way means that I won't buy sock yarn that calls out to me but it does mean that I will use some of the beautiful yarns that are just sitting there. Anyone who would like to join in is invited! Pull out the brown bags! It's like giving yourself a gift each month and it doesn't cost anything. Can't beat that!

We are supposed to get ungodly cold temps this week. It's been cold but bearable. This week and next week it's supposed to be down below freezing and stay there. Is it wrong to hope that we get some frozen precipitation in the form of snow? Living here in the Middle Atlantic states (that's what we were taught in elementary school), is heartbreaking. They predict snow and then we are just on the edge where it turns to rain. The temps creep up just above freezing and it rains. But hope springs eternal in this child's heart! We are due for some precipitation this week and with the cold temps, maybe, just maybe, we'll get some snow. My fingers are crossed!

Tomorrow will be another day with the new program. Sigh. Thank goodness for the crock pot. I had a beef roast and some potatoes in there tonight and tomorrow it'll be chicken cacciatore (chicken with tomatoes, onions and peppers). Then I'll just have to come home and cook up some pasta. It's so easy when the day has been long.

Technology. Gotta love it.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
~Buddha





With all the talk of new year's resolutions, I've been thinking. I'm not much of a resolution maker. I've learned that I am not a goal oriented person. I like to have vague ideas of where I am going and aim in their general direction and then see where life takes me in the process of getting there. Sometimes, this is good. Like when I decided a few years ago that I wanted to make a gift for a baby and I wanted to knit a blanket. I didn't know how to knit but figured, "how hard can it be?" and taught myself and opened doors that have brought joy into my life. And when I bought spindles and wool for my girls for Christmas and got intrigued by this whole yarn making thing. Good things.


Sometimes, this is not so good. Like when you need to get something done and need a plan and a clear path. I can do this but it's not my preferred method of operation. I need to work on these kind of planning skills.

But, I think for the new year, I am going to try to notice the small things that I have to be thankful for. Happiness does not always come in with bells and whistles. Sometimes it comes in with whispers. I want to hear the whispers.


Because, as the Buddha said, 'at least I didn't die'.


We are in for some "winter weather" this weekend. People seem surprised by this. It's winter so go figure. I am going to be busy taking down the holiday decorations and maybe doing some spinning. Pk wore his scarf yesterday and showed it off at work. He tried to explain about it being handspun but they don't get it. (it's that "why would you go to all that trouble when you can buy perfectly good yarn.......")


If you need a shot of summer, check out Bells' photos of her garden. Makes me want to sit outside in the sunshine with my bare feet in the grass. Now if it were only not quite so cold.....

I went to a funeral today. When I went into the funeral home, I did not know the woman who had died. When I left, I knew her a little better.





I went because I have known the woman's granddaughter since she was a very young girl. She is a friend of my daughter and for a while we worked together at CVS. She is one of the nicest young women I know and she had a hard time growing up. Her mother has an addiction problem and to say she was erratic would be an understatement. Her grandmother was the stabilizing force in her life and her inspiration.





Today I learned that her grandmother, Norma, had been a librarian, a gardner, a woman who was meticulous in her dress and manner, a bible reader, a good cook, loving, kind and sweet. I learned all of this from a young woman who found it within herself to get up in front of a room full of people and talk about the woman she loved and would miss so much. She did it with grace and love. I was so proud of her today. I'm sure Norma was enormously proud.





It is raining again. The temp is just above freezing so it's cold. We had to get out the pump and there are great lakes of water on the lawns and a river running down the street. It could be worse. It could be ice.





Now I'm going to go and finish up Pk's scarf. I only have a few grams of wool left and I'll use it up. It should be long enough to wrap around his neck. I should have made it narrower and then it would be longer but too late now. I am really pleased with the way it came out. It's the best yarn I've spun and gives me hope I'll be able to make some more.
ETA: the scarf goes easily around his neck, it just doesn't wrap around twice. It fits quite nice actually, the width keeps his neck warm all the way up to his ears.




I hope you are all dry and warm. Go find someone you love and give them a hug.

This is what my Christmas tree looks like if you sit on the couch and take a photo without going through the trouble to get up and make sure you've gotten the whole thing. And if you try to find a setting to take a photo without a flash that doesn't come out all blurry.

I always love the Christmas tree. It's my favorite decoration and has sometimes stayed up well into January. I have been sitting downstairs and spinning by the tree or knitting in the recliner so I can spend time with the tree before I take it down. Probably that will happen this upcoming weekend. It's a process and takes some doing to put all of this stuff away.

I was wondering why we go through all of this every year. Why bring out 9 big totes of decorations and then a huge tree that blocks the light (at the time of year when light is scarce) and fills the living room? It takes forever to clean up the needles and pick them out of the rug and it sure isn't "green" to have a real tree.

And then I remember how much I love the tree. Each one has a personality and I start to feel like they're my friends. They bring out the kid with the sense of wonder as I stand there and tilt my head back and look at the angel on the top. The colored lights almost make up for the blocked sunlight and the tinsel sparkles as we walk by and it moves in the light breeze.

So, I'll go down and fix dinner and when it's over, I'll sit in the recliner and work on Pk's scarf (it's nearing completion) and bask in the glow of my friend, the Christmas tree. It tends to be cold down there so I'll wear a sweater and my warm socks and slippers. I'll listen to a book as I knit and purl and reflect on the beauty that is our Christmas tree. And know that there are only a few days left to do this so I'll enjoy it all the more.

Come Saturday, I'll collect the snowmen, reindeer, Santas, wreaths, snowflakes, penguins, lights and other things that were lovingly placed around the house in early December and pack them in tissue paper and put them away. Then I'll remove the tinsel, take off the garland and the glass beads and put them away and then remove each ornament and place it in it's box or wrap it in tissue and put it into the tote. Then I'll pull off the lights and drag the tree out front where it will rest on the curb until the trash men take it away next week. It will take all day. And when I'm done and the furniture is all back in place, I'll revel in the clean surfaces that are bereft of all the Christmas tchatchkes and the space and the light that can finally make it through the window. And the cats will be ecstatic to have the sofa in front of the window again so they can spy on the neighbors in comfort.

And Christmas will finally be over. Until next year.

Happy New Year! We survived another New Year's Eve and it is a beautiful, clear, sunny day. It was so windy last night that it felt like invisible monster was hitting the house with great big invisible pillows. I thought we'd wake up and find trees down but found only run away trash cans. I think it might be a problem for the Mummers today. Some of their costumes have large, feathered backpieces that catch the wind and would make it really hard to march.

You know, I've always said I was married to a good man. Well, I want to show you how good. 30 years ago (or thereabouts), he was in the Navy. Being the good girlfriend I was, I made him cookies and crocheted him a scarf. Now, we were young and he had given me a poem that said, "You are yellow, I am blue. Together we make green. Green is my favorite color" (Sappy, I know but we were teen agers). So, I made him a yellow, blue and green scarf. Bright, primary colors with fringe. Made of indestructible acrylic yarn. How indestructible? Here it is in the early morning sunshine today. It's in perfect shape. He's worn it for 30 years and still wears it. It is the Scarf That Will Not Die. I'd like to replace it with something a little nicer. So I am using this yarn that I spun myself to make him this. This is about 7 inches of the yarn harlot's one row scarf. The yarn is a two ply that I spun this past week. It's the best yarn I've done so far and I'm really proud of it. There is a subtle random striping going on. I have a large cake (138 g) and it's about 17 wpi which makes it a fingering weight. The scarf is soft but not limp and not scratchy. I love the natural colors of the wool and the idea that I spun it. I also have another skein drying that I think I'll turn into a hat or maybe some gloves. I'm not sure about the gloves. The whole idea of ten little finger tubes turns me right off.

I am more of a mitten person and here is my first thrummed mitten. I've made mittens before but the thrumming was new. The insides look like this. It feels like your hand is surrounded by a warm cloud. It's unprocessed alpaca that Emily gave me. The yarn is Patons Shetland Bulky in a Charcoal tweed. I learned that if you want neat, perfect thrumms you should probably not use alpaca. It's so soft and slippery that little fibers escape and get onto the surface of your knitting. If you are at all OCD, you should probably use something less wispy and more dense. I am not terribly OCD and I love the way the alpaca feels. I've cast on for number two and hope to finish it soon.

It's really cold here today. Yesterday we had an intense snow shower. I was in the store and couldn't see my car which was only about 20 feet away because of all the blowing snow. It lasted only a few minutes but lightly covered the ground with frosted-sugar looking snow. It's gone today and not a cloud mars the beautiful blue sky. I have a nice long weekend and I'm looking forward to more spinning and knitting and napping and maybe a little visiting. I like dragging out the holiday feeling as long as possible. Come January it's a long, cold slog until Spring.

Stay warm, stay safe and have a happy day!