Sunday

Snow/Sleet

High: 42 °F

Sunday
Night

Snow/Sleet

Low: 25 °F

Monday

Snow

High: 27 °F

Monday
Night

Snow
Likely

Low: 10 °F

Can you guess what we'll be doing Monday?  If you said , "Why Donna Lee, I imagine you are going to have to use another vacation day because you may well be snowed in."  You would be correct.  Probably.  We haven't gotten any official Winter Storm Warnings yet but since Monday is one of my biggest clinic days, I had to make plans ahead of time.  I can't chance that my clients will try to make it out in the craptastic weather we are predicted to have.

My plan is to call Abe (my doctor colleague that I work with on Monday) early in the morning.  If he's not going to make it in and I'm not going to make it in, I will put a message on my phone at work to tell everyone to stay home.  I called everyone today and told them to call before they head in for their appointments.  I hope they use some common sense and don't try to come out if it's nasty.

Our Monday morning clinic is for individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and a mental illness diagnosis.  It's a challenging group to work with but oh so rewarding.  The problem is that they are often at the mercy of their caregivers and have no real control over their own lives.  We try to give them some measure of control.

Abe is one of the truly nicest doctors I have worked with.  The one that I had the most trouble with has resigned.  (no, I am not ashamed to admit that I breathed a small sigh of relief when it happened and there are some folks who are positively giddy at the release of tension)  I also work with another young male psychiatrist who is smart and pleasant and so easy to work with.  It's like being spoiled after 12 years of putting up with an abusive personality.  I'll get another doctor in July but it'll be a young one and hopefully one who appreciates that we are all part of a team.

But now we are facing more snow and another bout of especially cold weather.  (insert put-upon sigh here).  I know it's still winter but usually by this time we are starting to see bits of green as the crocuses push their way through the soil.  Not this year.  Not a single one.  It's just been too cold.  Pk planted bags and bags of bulbs so we could have a lovely burst of color but who knew we'd have an actual winter?

I have plenty of books to read and plenty of things to knit and/or spin and laundry to do and maybe some bread to bake so I'll be able to keep busy.  I am reading The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida.  It's an autobiography of a 13 year old boy with autism. 

I have some less serious things as well.  My guilty pleasure, JD Robb's In Death series has a new book and I've got it on my ipad just waiting for me.  There's a new Vogue Issue and the new Spin Off is out so I'm set. 

Peter Kevin has some soccer games on Saturday and a ton of work to do the rest of the time.  

At least this is not our grocery shopping week.  I stopped at the store on the way home and it's already beginning to show some shortages of "snow essentials" like bread and milk and there was a long line at the deli counter.

So, what about your weekend?  Is it shaping up to be a good one as we say good bye to Feb and welcome March? 

We've had some odd weather lately.  For instance, it snowed last week and then we had thunder and lightning ("very very frightening") and then late in the day on Friday we had this.

Right before the rainbow appeared, the sky was an odd color and we could see the front moving off.  And then we watched the colors appear and a full bow.  I've seen bits and pieces but not often do we see the full thing.  And it looks like it separates two worlds.  Under the rainbow is all orangey pink and the rest of the world was bluish grey.  It was amazing.  I stood out side in the drizzle just watching it.

Saturday the temps were 60 F (15.5 C) and the sun was dazzling. Peter Kevin went to the Wood workers show with his brother in law and had a great time.  He bought a chuck for the lathe and a device that looks just like a needle gauge for measuring some kind of tool.

Since it was his birthday, I made his favorite cake.  Angel food with whipped cream and berries.  I made it from scratch which really isn't difficult, it just doesn't get as high as when I use a mix.  But, the flavor is so much better.  And the cake itself is more moist. 

He didn't want a party so we had a seafood dinner with crab legs, clams, scallops wrapped in bacon and shrimp.  It was messy but oh so good.

 I finished a pair of socks made from Noro Kureyon Sock.  Noro is always interesting to work with.  I like the nubby texture and the one pair of socks I have made with this lasted a long time.  I tried to make them match as well as I cound but there were one of those infamous knots that threw the colors off just a bit on the second sock.  They really are the same length.  I just caught them at an odd angle.  They are not terribly soft but I love the way this yarn cradles my feet.  Just plain toe up socks that I will wear often.

I am working on a pair of Rivendell socks for Peter Kevin in grey.  I may not finish the green ones I started for me.  I am not thrilled with the way the yarn worked up.  It's soft and lovely but oh so splitty and I can see where I missed a ply here and there. 

The rollout of our new program went more smoothly than I thought.  Now, as people are actually diving in and trying to use it, the problems are surfacing.  It's tiring being an IT person on top of my regular job.  One of my coworkers resigned three weeks ago (suddenly) and there are many pieces to pick up and carry until they replace her.  Another one is retiring next week and they are not replacing her so there's her work to be distributed.  I think there is a definite limit as to how much work any one person can handle and for the first time I feel like I may actually be getting there. 

The last few weeks I have been running around all day and then going home and coming back and doing it all over again.  I am waiting for it to settle down. 

On the bright side, Pk is now 56 and one year closer to outliving his grandfather's 104 years.  He seriously plans on this. 

Everyone needs a goal......

Here we go again!  We got another 3 inches of snow overnight and into the morning.  Peter Kevin went out and cleared off the car before we left and we had to clear it off again when we left.  It snowed big, fat, light flakes so it cleared off fairly easily.

It compacted well and we could have had a terrific time making a snowman or throwing snowballs but somehow that didn't fly on a work morning.  At least it wasn't enough snow to need to use a snow day again.

Almost the only color in our landscape these days is the Stop sign at the end of our street and our neighbor's recycling bucket!  You can see the large lumps of snow/ice from the previous storms.  They're now covered by a softening blanket of new snow. 

Peter Kevin actually said he was tired of snow.  Since we don't usually get that much, this was unexpected.  I can understand, though.  The stuff is so pretty as it's falling and so festive.  After a few days it gets old.  Fast.  As it melts a bit at a time, it leaves ice everywhere.  It makes walking anywhere an adventure.  And there's been a lot of shovelling.  I hired some kids up the street to clear our sidewalks after one particularly enthusiastic snow storm.  They were happy for the money and I was happy to reward young business minded kids.

We went to dinner at The Royal Crackovia on Valentine's Day.   Peter Kevin is very good at surprising me with cards.  This one was stuck inside the cover to my ipad so I found it at lunch on Friday when I went to read the newspaper.  

Dinner was very eastern European.  The head chef is Polish and the two assistants are German and Ukranian.  We had pierogies and sausage and dumplings.  All very heavy and very tasty.  Not the place for a light meal!

Saturday morning we went to brunch and then to the bookstore to read magazines and just be out of the house for a bit.  It was sleeting as we drove home and then it snowed......

This is the third snowiest winter we've had since they've kept records.  You know how the meteorologists love their records.  I can't help but wish that some of our precipitation could move itself out west where they are so very dry.  Drought is not something we will have to worry about for a while.

Time to go to supervision.  Happy Tuesday!  

So, where have I been for the last few weeks?  I'll tell you.

First, I got the flu around Jan 31 and spent the first week of February moving between my couch and the bed and the bathroom.  I managed to get pinkeye during this time (I have no idea how, I didn't leave the house for days and days but the dr says it's not at all unusual for the virus to appear in the eyes).  I did have a flu shot back in October since it's a condition of my employment but obviously the virus didn't notice.

I tried to knit but was unable to focus on much of anything and my hands were busy keeping my nose dry.....

Most of this week, I was wearing a red vest (here I am in my office between requests for computer help).  We went "live" with our new computer system and the red vest was the way our project manager identified the SuperUsers and IT staff.  I spent most days helping folks get used to how the new system works.

It actually went way better than I thought.

The rest of this week, we have been dealing with this.  This is what it looked like out front of my house (from the front door since I didn't have shoes on and couldn't get outside).  You can see where they plowed the street and blocked in our car.  It was a good thing neither Pk nor I had to go to work (his office was closed and I put in for a vacation day just in case). 

I love snow, I really do but I hate that I am having to use vacation days when I can't get to work.  I won't have any time when the weather is nice and I want to take some time off.

This is our maple tree.  You can see the pre-buds there under the snow.  We got about a foot yesterday and then some rain/sleet and then about 3 inches more overnight. It was a mess this morning but we made it in ok.  I was hoping to get to the candy store and get Pk's favorite chocolate covered cherries but haven't had the time yet.  Today the place will be a mad house but I may go anyway.  He's worth it.

His birthday is coming up and once again he wants to go to the wood show with his brother in law.  I'll supply him with some cash and he will drool over tools and various types of wood (sounds just like when we all go to sheep shows doesn't it?)  He wants an angel food cake and I'll make that for him.  He says he's not in the mood for a party and I'll honor his request. 

Otherwise, things here are good. We are sheetrocking and spackling slowly.  It's hard to do it after work.  You know how it is.  You work all day and then who wants to come home and work more?  

I just got back from a walk to the candy store.  It's gorgeous outside!  The candy store was crowded but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be so I will be able to surprise my love with his favorite.

I hope y'all are having a Happy Valentine's Day!



I am a JRR Tolkien fan.  I have been since I was in 7th or 8th grade.  In those days we had "reading groups" within an English class.  Kids were divided up into groups depending on their reading ability.  My reading group read The Hobbit. 

I was in love.  It had adventure and swashbuckling and arrows flying through the air and a Dragon and gold and greed and lots of other human emotions.

That was the year I had my appendix out.  In 1972 this was a stay-in-the-hospital-for-a-week procedure and then I was home for 3 more.  My Language Arts teacher at the time bought the other three books in the series and brought them to me in the hospital so I would have something to read.

And thus began another lifelong love affair.  These have become my favorite books and the ones I probably have read the most. I have made knitwear from patterns based on these books/characters.  I made my first round shawl (Evenstar), my largest beaded shawl (In Dreams) and a cowl from LOTR based patterns.

So it shouldn't surprise anyone when I saw a pair of socks called Architect of Rivendell.  The design on the toes and the clean lines up to the design around the cuff.  It called to me.  It's a toe up pattern which didn't bother me, I've done toe up socks before and I'm not afraid.

But it's a different cast on and since the pattern is dependent on this cast on, I was determined to get it.  After 12 tries and probably 12 more starts, I have come up with this.  It has taken me 5 days to get this far.  The toe looks a a bit flat/square but I am convinced it will round off as I move on.  It's filled with twisted stitches and I had to relearn how to cable without a cable needle (or go crazy). 

If this time goes south, I may put it in time out for a while.

This is the view down our street last night.  You can see the edge of the clouds as they turn pink.  It was a very welcome sight.  Most everything around here is grey/white/black right now.  This may change as the temps rise to a balmy 40 degrees this weekend.

The program update continues at work.  People are having some difficulty adjusting to Win7 and then our new program goes live on Monday.  By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. 

This cold weather is tiring.  It takes a lot of energy to keep yourself warm!  I have to keep reminding myself that it's WINTER and is supposed to be cold.  I'll appreciate the memory of my cold toes when it's August and I'm too hot. 

Peter Kevin is having some issues at work and they are under a lot of stress.  He's putting out resumes but it's hard when you're in your mid 50's.  It's easy to become discouraged.  Fortunately there's a wood show coming up in February.  That will lift his spirits somewhat.



Fair

11°F
-12°C

This is the image in my mind of what the weather people are calling a Polar Vortex.  It's what's keeping our temperatures in the low double digits (and it's rather windy this morning so it's cold). 

The snow we got the other day was (still is in some places) beautiful but it was tricksy snow.  It got very cold right after the snow fell and so there is a nice layer of ice that only looks like snow on the ground. 

All of this is leading to the fall I took yesterday.  I am starting to feel like a real klutz.  I stepped off the curb onto what looked like snow but turned out to be ice and I must have looked like a cartoon character.  My feet went out from under me and I landed on my (fortunately well padded) butt and my right wrist. 

As I was laying there in the street in the snowy slushy wetness, a nice man tried to help me up but he began to lose purchase and was in danger of landing down right next to me so I thanked him and got my self up.

Needless to say, I am sore today.  I am so very lucky that I didn't break anything and am only left with a sore wrist/arm, back and neck.  Some ibuprofen helps and moving a bit slower also helps.  I love snow, I really do but I am getting too old for this falling down nonsense. 

Work is busybusy.  I am part of the user group that is responsible for the upgrade to our computer program.  Our "go live" date is Feb 3 so at this point we are running around trying to get things saved that people need and re-imaging all the computers.  It's really not that difficult if people would just read the directions (but we all know how that goes!).

I finished another pair of socks but I'm not sure if I want to put them into the Christmas pile (I have to start early-I hate deadline knitting) or keep them for myself.  I have a drawer full of hand knit socks so to put them into the gift pile is probably the smart thing to do.

I am taking part in a research study on walking.  I have an app on my phone that keeps track of all my movements all day including my travel to and from work.  It keeps track of my steps all day.  There is no "goal" for the day, it's only to see how much I walk on an average day.  My job is rather sedentary so I don't have high numbers most days.  I wonder if they are counting on the competitive spirit for us to increase our numbers so that we can score higher.  It is interesting to see how many steps I take on a given day-way more than I imagined but still not nearly enough.

Well, it's time to get to work.  I have to help some people fill out the form for their computers and actually do some of my real work.  I have let so many things slide this week because of the weather and then this upgrade.  Have a good weekend!

A finished pair of socks!  I bought this yarn in Rhinebeck because it was colorful and fun and at the time seemed to reflect the fun we were having.

And then the reality of finding a pattern that would allow the colorful yarn to shine without looking goofy.

I remembered Monkey socks which are made for this kind of hand painted yarn and it didn't fail me.  These will make my feet feel like they're having a party. 

I do not know who made the yarn since it had no tag on it other than the fact that it is a merino/nylon blend and it was 22 dollars.  It is not particularly soft and fuzzy and it is rather thin. I thoroughly enjoyed working with it and lovelovelove the results. 

This pair (well, one is done and one is started) is made from one of Zen Yarn Garden's Artwalk choices.  It's a merino/silk/cashmere single.  No, these socks probably will not last as long as some, although the silk will give them some strength as well as help them shine.  But (and this is a big but), working with this yarn was a constant pleasure.  It is soft and these colors are pretty true so it's beautiful.  It's just a plain sock pattern because in this case, I really just wanted the yarn to be the star.  The inspiration was Andy Warhol's Pink and Blue shoe. 

He did a series of shoes in different colors and this is one of my favorites.  The yarn is so evocative of the painting.  Next month is Monet's Irises.  (I can't wait!)

Our weather here has been so weird.  The temps have been up and down and there has been lots of precipitation.  Lately it's been in the form of rain but we have had two snowfalls.  One of them came after we put up the outside lights and it buried our snowmen.  You can see the stars (and in the front right corner, the rosemary bush which is hanging in there despite the cold), the bright spots in front of the stars are the snowmen.  Their little hats are just peeking out of the snow.  It took about 4 days of melting for them to make themselves visible again.  It's a good thing they're water resistant.

We took down the Christmas things and put them away for the year on Sunday.  It's a chore but this year I cleaned out the boxes and got rid of decorations that have seen better days.  I did keep the construction paper Santas that the girls made in Kindergarten (even though El tells me every year that it would be OK with her if I got rid of them) but I got rid of some things that held no sentimental value and were just broken or worn.  We carefully wrapped things in paper and put it into containers and Pk will put it all on shelves downstairs.  He wants to straighten out the rec room shelves and make them organized. 

What is it about this time of year that brings out the urge to purge the clutter?  I think it's partly due to the fact that we can't get outside as much as we might like but whatever it is, I'm glad for the feeling to be kicking in.  There are some closets that really need a good purge.

It's hard to take in that it's January 15 already.  We are two weeks into the new year and things are moving quickly.  We have 2 weeks until our new computer system at work goes live and I have been working hard to help get everyone trained and up to speed.  I still anticipate some issues but hopefully (as long as the system works) everyone will adapt quickly.  We are a building of social workers and we don't tend to be early adopters when it comes to new technology.

Pk has been enjoying the availability of soccer games now that we have a television.  He gets up early on weekend mornings to catch his favorites and plans his weekend chores around the matches.  I will admit it makes me smile to see him enjoy it so much.  I put on an audio book and spin while he yells at the players and rants about coaching. 

So, not much new here.  How about you? Is 2014 treating you ok so far?